Kieran Lawrence looks at autonomous weapons and the effect they could have on modern warfare
Continuing a series on world leaders, Miles Deverson takes a look at Angela Merkel
Ben Bland examines the fallout from the Iowa caucuses and looks forward to the New Hampshire primaries.
In the first of a series on world leaders, Miles Deverson takes a look at Nicholas Sarkozy
Why, you may ask, did hundreds of women and men take to the streets on Saturday 19th November dressed in 1950s styled housewives’ clothes? Was it to celebrate how far women’s rights have come? How gender inequalities have been eradicated? No. It was to show to the coalition government how far they’ve turned back the clock on gender equality since they have come to power.
It was Labour who passed the Equality Act in 2010 and Labour who led the way for women’s rights throughout the twentieth century. Now we must accept along with those out in support last weekend that it is up to level headed individuals, in lieu of the government’s lack of support, to fight the way for gender equality in the 21st century.
Anna Bird, acting chief executive of the Fawcett Society who led the “Don’t turn back time on women’s equality”, voiced her frustrations over the weakening of gender equality, "decades of steady, albeit slow, progress on equality for women is being dismantled, as cuts to women's jobs and the benefits and services they rely on turn back time on women's equality."
Not only do women face cuts to child benefits, but also cuts in the funding to charities for post-natal care, and rape and domestic abuse counselling. Two thirds of workers laid off in the recent recession were women, and 80% of women graduates face never paying off their debts once the higher tuition fees are implemented. Gender equality has undeniably regressed, and only through campaigns, such as those led by the Fawcett Society, can we truly hope to make a difference during this coalition government.
This weekend Labour societies and women rights activists are coming together again for the annual “Reclaim the Night” march against rape and sexual violence. Support for this cause is vital as the financial vulnerability of women across the country increases and the need to highlight prevalent gender inequalities heightens.
Closer to home, a motion has appeared on the YUSU referendum agenda that proposes changes to the way in which women’s rights have been previously upheld; on the agenda is a motion that asks whether the University should replace the role of Women’s Officer with that of a Gender Equality officer.
Not only does this ignore that gender inequality undoubtedly impacts more significantly on women, but also eradicates the assurance of female representation that is intrinsic to providing adequate support for cases of rape or sexual harassment. As a sign of gender equality advancement, this proposition has come too soon; a belief wholeheartedly supported by all of last weekend’s “Don’t turn back time on women’s equality” campaigners.
The solidarity we saw then towards women’s rights draws attention from the press and by consequence from the government. As this government is yet to impress on issues of gender equality, the profile of women’s disproportionate suffering under the coalition’s cuts must be raised. We, in the Labour Club, will continue to support all women’s issues to ensure that growing gender inequalities are not ignored.
Visit, [www.labourstudents.org.uk/reclaim-the-night---26-november www.labourstudents.org.uk/reclaim-the-night---26-november] to find out more about this weekend’s events, and follow the University of York Labour Club to keep up to date on upcoming gender equality campaigns.
"80% of women graduates face never paying off their debts once the higher tuition fees are implemented"
Lucky them, they'll have got their education cheaper than the other 20%, especially seeing it's not actually a "debt" and is an unsecured loan.
While I wholeheartedly agree that more must be done to create equality between the sexes (and it looks as if we're roughly on the right track with figures from the ONS http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8910239/Womens-pay-to-overtake-mens-by-2020.html), I don't think it should be done through positive discrimination to somehow artificially protect women from government's reduction in spending. We must be working towards equalling out employment prospects in the long term, rather than saying that just because someone is a women the money spent on them should be automatically protected.
Growing gender inequality? In England? I know David Cameron's obviously the big bad wolf but do you seriously believe there is a big threat to women posed by the government.
Absolutely ludicrous.
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