UN’s theme for International Women’s Day 2011:

Equal access to education, training and science and technology:

Pathway to decent work for women

100 years…and still a lot to do to make this world a better place!

“FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION HAS NOTHING TO DO
WITH CULTURE, TRADITION OR RELIGION.
IT IS TORTURE AND A CRIME.
HELP US TO PUT AN END TO THIS CRIME.”

Waris Dirie

STOP FGM!

PEACE!

•

Hi everyone!

We’re back in Casa.

Our holiday in Sydney was great but too short!

More Sydney pics coming in future postings…

I hope you all have a beautiful International Women’s Day!

picture: Self-immolation by women in Afghanistan
1st Prize Contemporary Issues Singles

This post is not about an American television comedy-drama series.

I read an article in New York Times.

“HERAT, Afghanistan —

Even the poorest families in Afghanistan have matches and cooking fuel.

The combination usually sustains life.

But it also can be the makings of a horrifying escape:

from poverty, from forced marriages, from the abuse and

despondency that can be the fate of

Afghan women.”

picture by Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Read The New York Times article here.

There’re several organizations helping Afghan women.

I support Women for Women International

How about donating a xmas money instead of buying to yourself,

don’t you have enough already?

Sexualization in products for children

Some commercial products seen as promoting the sexualization of children

have drawn considerable media attention:

Bratz Baby dolls that wear thongs.

Girls aged 10 and 11 wearing thongs in primary school.

Padded bras on bikinis aimed at seven-year-olds. Some people regard training bras similarly.

picture from Wikipedia

…

The Bratz brand,

which has remained number one in the UK market for 23 consecutive months focuses

core values on friendship, hair play and a ‘passion for fashion‘.

– Bratz spokesman,  The Daily Telegraph

Read more > Wikipedia

…

SPARK – Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge

What is SPARK?

SPARK stands for Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge.

SPARK is both a Summit and a Movement

designed to push back

against the increasingly sexualized images of girlhood in the media

and create room for whole girls and healthy sexuality.

SPARK will engage teen girls to be part of the solution

rather than to protect them from the problem.

What’s your opinion about the images of this video?

On Tuesday, 12 May, 2009,

I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I documented my feelings and what happened during 31 days

starting from the morning of the surgery…

You can download that pdf-book for FREE here > my story…

(that book has some old information: my blog is now self-hosted http://www.BLOGitse.com

and

I live now in Casablanca, Morocco, not in Cairo…)

How do I feel today?

I’m fine!

I take Tamofen for 5 years. I have some side effects but I can live with them.

Sweating at night, hot flashes – yes, but I can manage.

I like the idea of Pink Ride…

Breast cancer for women and

prostate cancer for men are the most common cancers in Finland.

Useful links

Breast cancer.org

tietoa rintasyövästä

I had mammography on June -

how about you?

ps.

“digital fun challenge” is open on my PHOTOblog

you give me WOrds and I give you an IMAge = WO*IMA

my IMAge #83

As always you have time till Sunday 6 pm Casa time…

Don’t know what WO*IMA is about?

Check this WO*IMA page!

Have F U N!

* * *

Objective:

“To provide youth and women with education about healthy relationships

and change attitudes that support violence.”

Read more here >>> Bloggers Unite

Zainab Salbi is the founder and president of  Women for Women International,

a nonprofit organization providing women survivors of war with resources to move from crisis to stability and build peace one woman at a time.

Yesterday I started to read Zainab’s memoir Between Two Worlds…

More of  Zainab Salbi in Wikipedia

Sky looked interesting yesterday…

Casa sky 15.9.2010 at 2:29 pm…

TED: Ideas worth spreading: Keith Barry, Nic Marks, Peter Molyneux, Eve Ensler

I love TED videos!

How about you?

Keith Barry does brain magic

Here’s the link to the video if you want to copy paste it…

http://www.ted.com/talks/keith_barry_does_brain_magic.html

Do you like brain magic? I do. But I remember there is the word ‘magic’ after brain…

•

Statistician Nic Marks asks why we measure a nation’s success by its productivity — instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people. He introduces the Happy Planet Index, which tracks national well-being against resource use (because a happy life doesn’t have to cost the earth). Which countries rank highest in the HPI? You might be surprised. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 16:49)

The Happy Planet Index: Nic Marks on TED.com

Here’s the link to the video if you want to copy paste it…

http://www.ted.com/talks/nic_marks_the_happy_planet_index.html

A comment by Luis Perez from Costa Rica

“I like to consider myself a citizen of the world. However, I was born and raised in Costa Rica… and I’m still here! Nick is right, we are very happy We still have a lot of problems and we could do a lot better but we are happy most of the time… Could be our history, could be our weather, but most of all I think is all about “doing the best you can with the tools you have”.

Now, you heard the man:

1. Connect

2. Be active

3. Take notice

4. Keep learning

5. Give

There are a lot of interesting comments, worth to read!

•

Peter Molyneux demos Milo, a hotly anticipated video game for Microsoft’s Kinect controller. Perceptive and impressionable like a real 11-year-old, the virtual boy watches, listens and learns — recognizing and responding to you.

(Recorded at TEDGlobal 2010, July 2010 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 11:16)

Meet Milo, the virtual boy: Peter Molyneux on TED.com

Here’s the link to the video if you want to copy paste it…

http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_molyneux_demos_milo_the_virtual_boy.html/

•

“Eve Ensler, playwright, activist, created the ground-breaking Vagina Monologues,

whose success propelled her to found V-Day –a movement

to end violence against women and girls everywhere.”

Eve Ensler on security

Here’s the link to the video if you want to copy paste it…

http://www.ted.com/talks/eve_ensler_on_security.html

•

Which one is your favourite video and why?

La Fete d’engagement in French or Haflat Khoutouba in Arabic.

We were honoured by an invitation to a Moroccan engagement celebration a couple of weeks ago…

It was an intimate family gathering with dance and good food.

Laaziza – thank you and your family for the hospitality and opportunity to celebrate with you

and take/publish these photographs!

Laaziza in ‘Henna Dress’

She was sitting still since 1.30 pm till around 8 pm! But she was happy and smiling…

Ali, a young gentleman who spoke several languages with funny mistakes.

Like when he talked about his brother Ashrah, Ali said ‘my daughter’…

You’re a cute little man! It was fun sitting next to you!

Before and after eating you are offered water to wash your hands…

We had yummy, tender chicken with olives…

You eat with your right hand only.

Tender meat…oh, it was good!

Watermelon was perfect dessert!

Thank you Laaziza!

We wish you and your future husband all the best in your life together!

I asked a couple of questions because I know you are curious to know too…

In Western it’s common to move together even if you’re not married. Are you moving together now or after wedding? Do you move to your future husband’s home or do you rent/buy a new place to live in?

“Here, you cannot move if you are not married. Now, we are married, but haven’t done the wedding. Which means, I will officially move after the wedding. And there is no issue if we meet even before the wedding since we are married. Yes, I will move to my husband’s home which he will rent for now.”

How do you prepare for your wedding? When are you getting married? Are they going to be traditional as well?

“We are getting married in November 2010, in shaa Allah, (if GOD Willing), And I do have to prepare my traditional outfits that we call in Arabic (Kaftan, Takshita…)

Yes, I love Moroccan traditions and outfits, so it will be traditional as well.

Bride’s family will celebrate their daughter alone and the groom’s family will celebrate their son alone and will come next day to take the bride to their home. Celebrations are all night until early morning.”

You remember my post Moroccan bachelors seek wives who work.

I asked Laaziza what’s her opinion about the situation here in Morocco.

“I do agree with Farid Laafraoui, life has changed and became more expensive than before, both men and women should be willing to help each other financially. Money is not everything in this life. We make money and not money that makes us.

One hand does not clap, so woman should be modest and pro-active with her husband and help him build their house, future, and their kids’ future together and step by step. We don’t have to live luxurious life but we can, together, set our goals in life and work together to achieve them.”

…and realized that even if I’m still sick and feel weak

there are women around the globe whose life is MUCH worse than mine!

United Nations Development Found for Women

UNIFEM

part of UN Women

>>> You can subscribe newsletter here <<<

Domestic Violence in Afghanistan

Let’s End Violence against Women

UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman and UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi in front of the ruins of the house of Hermione M. (centre), a schoolteacher who now conducts educational activities with children of the surrounding temporary shelters. (Photo: UNIFEM/Catianne Tijerina.)

How’s your life?

I’m going to be beautiful forever!

Read more in Wikipedia (it’s very interesting!)