India’s Daughter, a new documentary of the 2012 brutal gang rape of a 23-year old woman on a Dehli bus who died from the injuries caused from the assault. The film sparked massive debate—India banned it and many feminists critique the work. Padmalatha Ravi, Indian film maker and journalist, discusses her response within the context of India’s feminist movement.
Graduate students and other demonstrators picketing outside Sproul 1964
Twenty years after the Free Speech Movement rocked Berkeley, the University of California, and eventually the culture, UC Berkeley exploded in passionate activism. Students and faculty joined the wave of campus anti-apartheid movements calling for divestment of university pension funds and endowments from South Africa. In 1986, the UC regents' vote to divest $13 billion from companies doing business in South Africa represented the largest single divestiture and may have helped to speed the end of the apartheid regime. This accomplishment was recognized by Nelson Mandela, during his 1990 speech in Oakland.
How did that student movement emerge, mobilize and achieve this historic victory? How was the Berkeley anti-apartheid movement influenced by the Free Speech Movement two decades earlier, and the women's movement which came between?
On a special Women's Magazine on the first day of our Refresh KPFA pledge drive, I explore those questions with then-student leaders Andrea Pritchett and Rita Himes and faculty activist Ruth Rosen, who was also involved in the Berkeley movements in the 1960s, especially the anti-war and feminist movements. We'll also listen to excerpts of the film, SOWETO TO BERKELEY, which tells the story of this extraordinary time on the Berkeley campus.
We'll be offering SOWETO TO BERKELEY as a thank you gift for your pledge to KPFA during this hour. I hope many of you will donate to show your support for feminist programming and progressive, community-controlled radio. But whether you can give or not, please don't miss this hour of great conversation and stirring footage.
California Coalition of Women Prisoners is sponsoring a caravan and rally on July 31st to protest the re-opening of McFarland prison, to be run by the GEO Group, a private company with an abysmal reputation. Low level women offenders qualified for release are being transferred to McFarland for a brutal program falsely entitled Enhanced Rehabilitation and Recidivism Reduction Campaign. The caravan will meet at MacArthur BART at 11 AM and link up with Trail for Humanity. A rally at 5 PM will be held at McFarland Park. For more information contact CCWP at 415-255-7036 ext 4 or email notomcfarlandgeo@gmail.com. To find out more about Trail for Humanity you can find them on Facebook.
Breanne Fahs, professor of women's and gender studies at Arizona State University, discusses the controversial but important life and work of Valerie Solanas. Fahs is author of the new book, Valerie Solanas: The Defiant Life of the Woman who Wrote SCUM (and Shot Andy Warhol).
Breanne Fahs is an associate professor of women and gender studies at Arizona State University, where she specializes in studying women's sexuality, critical embodiment studies, radical feminism, and political activism. She has a B.A. in women's studies/gender studies and psychology from Occidental College and a Ph.D. in women's studies and clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. She has published widely in feminist, social science, and humanities journals and has authored three books: Performing Sex (SUNY Press, 2011), an analysis of the paradoxes of women's "sexual liberation," The Moral Panics of Sexuality (Palgrave, 2013), an edited collection that examines cultural anxieties of "scary sex," and Valerie Solanas (Feminist Press, 2014), a biography about the controversial and politically significant life of author/would-be assassin Valerie Solanas. She is the director of the Feminist Research on Gender and Sexuality Group at Arizona State University, and she also works as a private practice clinical psychologist specializing in sexuality, couples work, and trauma recovery.
“What is remarkable about these articles is their resonance on our contemporary political landscape.”
“Published during the last decade of the twentieth century, these columns remind me just how much June Jordan’s formidable voice is missed today. She was a poet, but also equally a journalist, and no ordinary journalist, for her illuminating accounts of ongoing events were always infused with her unique poetic vision.”
Today's show falls on the holiday celebrating the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Kate Raphael opens the program with a thought provoking commentary about the Civil Rights movement today and other freedom struggles. Click here to listen to Women's Magazine. 59:50 min
Black Women Led Birth of N.O.W.
Daisy Bates speaks during the Aug. 23, 1963, March on Washington. Bates, mentor to the Little Rock Nine, was the only woman to speak at the event 50 years ago in which the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. Source Times Record: Online Edition
In the first part of our show today we'll listen to a fascinating history put together by Fran Luck of WBAI's Joy of Resistance for Sprouts, a national weekly program. Luck tells the story of how black women activists, frustrated by being shut out of the 1963 March on Washington, led the charge to form the National Organization for Women. Link for Sprouts is http://pacificanetwork.org/?page_id=289 Look for Black Women Led Birth of N.O.W. to hear this segment.
And then, we'll listen to a first-hand account by Freedom Rider Jean Denton Thompson, about what it was like to be inside that world-changing moment. Our original interview with Jean Denton-Thompson is at:
We hear from Indian feminist activist Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association, a group that organizes poor women workers against feudal violence and state repression against women. We hear the talk she gave at UC Berkeley this September called Women Want Freedom -- Shifting the Terms of the Debate which is about the uprising that followed the brutal rape and murder last December in India of a young 23 year old woman which lead to a new type of movement against rape which had broad support and which raised important questions of male entitlement that had not been raised so broadly before. And she also raises questions about rape culture in India, the U.S and internationally and the influence of capitalism and neoliberalism to structurally support all rape culture's by continuing to exploit women's labor in the home and the work place. Kavita Krishnan's talk was sponsored by the Center for South Asia Studies. 45 min.
Dance Explores Women Workers
Pictured: Christine Cali. Photo by Nathan Weyland.
Kate Raphael talks to Choreographer and founder Jo Kreiter who uses dance to engage imagination, physical innovation and the political conflicts we live with. Her pieces have explored the world of women garment workers in San Francisco and the women who worked on the Bay Area's bridges, to name only a few. Her new piece, "Give a Woman a Lift," opens this Friday Nov 8 thru Nov 16 at Joe Goode Annex. 14 min.
Hannah Arendt, the subject of a new film by Margarethe von Trotta, did not
consider herself a feminist and never wrote about the women's movement, although
she did write about other social movements of the sixties and seventies.
Nevertheless, generations of women have combed her work for feminist
implications. Why are feminists so fascinated with Arendt, and what does her
work bring to our understanding of feminism?
Kate Raphael discusses this
question with Linda Zerilli, Professor of Political Science and outgoing Director of the Center for the Study
of Gender and Sexuality at the University of Chicago. Zerilli is the author of Feminism and the Abyss of Freedom, one of many books
interpreting Arendt's work through the lens of feminism.
This Memorial Day, we consider whose "sacrifices for freedom" are acknowledged and valued in our culture.
First up, Kate Raphael speaks with Cynthia Enloe, research professor at Clark University and one of the foremost feminist scholars on militarism, masculinity and sexual violence. Enloe discusses the recent revelations about who's running the sexual assault prevention programs in our military, and what "feminist questions" that should lead to. Enloe is the author of thirteen books including Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics; Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women’s Lives and Nimo’s War, Emma’s War: Making Feminist Sense of the Iraq War. Her newest book (co-authored with feminist geographer Joni Seager) is: The Real State of America: Mapping the Myths and Truths about the United States.
Arab women are frequently claimed as the beneficiaries of our current military enterprises, but this lens applies colonial definitions of Arab womanhood, says Rabab Abdulhadi, Professor of Ethnic Studies/Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University. Abdulhadi was one of the keynote speakers at the recent San Francisco Arab Women's Conference, an annual event hosted by the Arab Cultural and Community Center. In this challenging and informative talk, she confronts the Islamophobia and Orientalism of some well-respected Western feminist icons, and cites stories of how Arab women are resisting both colonial and nationalistic efforts to control their image. (unedited, 34:37)
Kearny Street Workshop presents KSW Runway: Celebrate Your Body
Coming up this Friday night, May 31, at SomArts, KSW Runway: Celebrate Your Body is an alternative fashion and music show that pays tribute to the creativity and plurality of the Bay Area. For one night only, SOMArts’ Bay Gallery will be transformed into a street fair, replete with battling models, live performances, a DJ, pop-up food stalls, vendors, prizes, and surprise guests. Featured designers and stylists include 31 Rax, Bambie, Zuriel Bautista, Chartreuse, Kalakari, and Prince x Rose, while Dirty Boots, Little Sister, Cynthia Lin, and Micropixie rock out on the music stage. The Rice Rockettes, an all-Asian drag troupe, performs at intermission.
TJ Basa tells us about the origins of KSW Runway and the mission of Kearny Street Workshop, the oldest Asian Pacific American multimedia arts organization in the country.
Sharon Sobotta hosted and produced today's show with a journalism class from St. Mary's College. This is a broad spectrum hour that talks about violence against women, restorative justice, Black History Month, and wholistic changes in the world today. Many amazing women participate in this Women's Magazine, including Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest National Park Ranger; Latoya Peterson from Racialicious; Julia Barboza and Leticia Brea from Bayview Hunters Point Foundation; Erin Baker, director of Heartbeat of a Planet; an interview with New Delhi native Roos Pal, Sujatha Baliga, Director of the Restorative Justice Project in Oakland, and Justa Gutierrez, the founder of an up and coming social justice website called 'likeyoumeanit.com. 1 hour.
What role does gender play and why is it so ignored by the media?
How is empathy bred out of men, and how can we restore it?
How can we make people feel the deaths of thousands of children in Afghanistan and Palestine, or in our own inner cities, as acutely as those in Newtown, Connecticut?
Is this a "tipping point" moment for action on gun control?
These and other questions are explored in this engaging half hour discussion.
A discussion with authors and activists Elana Dykewomon, Kathleen Barry and Judith Mirkinson about unexplored dimensions of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Audio: 31:26
Interview with Meditation & Spirituality Teacher Spring Washam
Spring Washam is hosting two Great Turning events New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. She writes:
"The great turning is happening NOW as we turn towards a life sustaining model of community, generosity and interconnectedness. We have enormous power and our hearts songs are weaving a new tapestry in the collective consciousness of our human family. Gaia is our home. It’s time we reclaim the earth as our sacred altar."
In this interview with Syra Smith, she talks about her philosophy, her work in mediatation and spirituality, the purpose of the events and how they came together. The Great Turning is a benefit for The Sujata Project, which will provide accessible retreats for low-income Bay Area women.
Spring Washam, cofounder of East Bay Meditation Center and teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, talks about her work making mediatation accessible to women of color, LBT and low-income women. Audio: 15:29
Phenomenon 2013 is the second New Year's extravaganza organized by Roke Noir and Siren Theatre. The first, Blue Moon Phenomenon 2010, was named "coolest spiritual New Year's Eve for women" by the San Francisco Examiner. Food, dancing, drumming, fire play, comedy -- Phenomenon 2013 has it all. Find out more.
Roke Noir of Siren Theater explains Phenomenon 2013, a spiritual New Year's feast, ritual and celebration for women. Audio: 7:06
Women's Magazine's Kate Rafael discusses the new Syrian opposition coalition with Afraa Jalabi of the Syrian National Council and Mohja Kahf, Professor of Literature and Gender Studies at the University of Arkansas.
courtesy: Mohja Kahf
"This is not your father's revolution," says Mohja Kahf. There is an active and escalating non-violent, grass roots movement in Syria. Mohja and Afraa give a personal and political account of the Syrian revolution. There are over 33,000 prisoners of conscience in Syria prisons. 472 are women. They have been there for over a year without due process. Stay in tune with the grassroots movements in Syria through links on Stop the Killing Campaign Facebook page.
"Brides of Peace": In the Middle of Madness, Four Women March for Nonviolence in Syria
By Mohja Kahf
Four young Syrian women staged a women’s march for nonviolence through the middle of Medhat Basha market in Damascus, Syria, on November 21, 2012. In the finest tradition of subversive street theater, all four dressed in bridal gowns and veils, carrying red banners... Read more
Television for the Discerning Feminist Palate
Is television shaping ideas about women, simply reflecting, or are the lives of television women completely divorced from the lives of real women? Next we dissect gender roles on some of the hottest shows on television (Nashville, Revenge, Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Girls) with bloggers Camille Morgenstern of TurnUpTheSass and Anna Sterling of feministing.com. 27:02 min.
Special note to KPFA members: Don't forget to vote for the KPFA board members. Your ballot is due in New York on December 11, so get it out
early. And if you're not a member, please donate to KPFA and mention Women's Magazine. Thanks.
To listen to the entire show click here. 59:49 min.
KPFA Women's Magazine takes a look at the social issues that inspired Nayomi Munaweera to write a novel about the Sri Lankan Civil War and Leslie Feinberg about Trans Liberation.
Nayomi Munaweera
Nayomi Munaweera, author of Island of a Thousand Mirrors, speaks to Tara Dorabji and Nono Girl from Apex Express about her book and the incidents that inspired it. 35:20 min.
Next we hear a speech given by Leslie Feinberg on the complex relationship between the Trans and Women's Liberation Movements. 18:33 min.
Listen now:
or Get MP3
Click to hear entire show as it aired on KPFA. 59:00 min.
On the anniversary of the start of Occupy Wall Street, Kate Raphael asks if the movement is helping us build a new world or just a dressed up form of patriarchy? Cyn, Kaitlyn and Frank of Occupy Oakland's Feminist and Queers Against Capitalism and Shaista Husain of Occupy Wall Street's Safer Spaces and Immigrant Justice Working Groups - share their thoughts on this and other Occupy-related issues. 55:22 min.
Her movies were called fluff and schmaltz, scorned by feminists and promoters of "serious art." But is that really just a reflection of society's disdain for middle-class, middle-aged women? So says Sady Doyl, publisher of tigerbeatdown.com.
Nora Ephron was an unapologetic feminist. She made fun of the women's movement, not to denigrate it but because it was part of her. Hear her talk about climate change, small breasts, Newsweek, and lots more.
The Siren Project's Playing with Fear
Roke Noir, Founding Artistic Director of The Siren Theatre Project, speaks with Kate Raphael about her upcoming multimedia theatre work "Playing with Fear" on July 29th, which weaves together the personal stories of a group of Bay Area women artists. Audio 25:42
"Playing with Fear," is a multimedia theater project directed by Roke Noir, produced by Siren Theatre Project and presented by an all-women cast and crew.
Share in the real stories from a diverse group of Bay Area women who collaborated for over three months facing, understanding, and playing with their fears. This unique hybrid, an experimental ensemble performance, exposes their explorations through word, image and movement. Join us in this life-changing journey to see magic unfold as these raw personal stories tug at your heart's core and leave you transformed forever.
Kate Raphael talks with Rose Aguilar, host of Your Call on KALW and columnist for Al Jazeera, about who's really waging war on women. Rose shares strategies for getting women's real stories into the mainstream media.
And Ana Martino says instead of reclaiming the word "slut," feminists need to reclaim the word "housewife." "Domestic Feminism" via WINGS and her radio show, Too Fat for Our Pants.
With host Eryn Matthewson, click here to listen to the entire show as it aired on KPFA Monday, April 16th. 58:38 min.
Moving to the Head of the Line: Elana Dykewomon on Passing of a Literary Generation
Adrienne Rich
photo: Gypsy P. Ray
Also writer, teacher, and activist Elana Dykewomon reflects on the passing of Adrienne Rich and what it means to "move to the head of the line" of feminist writers. Elana describes Adrienne as part of the generation that was her direct first line and the first chapter into the world of feminism. 25:51 min.
Coming up this weekend, Purple Moon Dance Project celebrates 20 years with its most ambitious project yet, "Uhane." Ten unstoppable women over 60 share over 950 years of stories. Kate Raphael talks with artistic director and founder Jill Togawa and performer Susan Almazol.
Uhane premieres Friday-Sunday, April 13-15 at Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco. For info and tickets see http://www.purplemoondance.org. 22:28 min.
For a quick analysis of "ObamaCare" and how it will effect heathcare for women and women's event calendar click here to hear entire show as it aired on KPFA.
In the second half of our March 26 show, Nina Serrano of La Raza Chronicles interviewed feminist historian Max Dashu.
Max's work "uncovers the realities of women's lives, internationally and across time, asking questions about patriarchy and slavery, conquest and aboriginality. About mother-right, female spheres of power, indigenous philosophies of spirit-- and the historical chemistry of their repression. Even more important, their role in resisting oppression."
Nina talked to Max about how she began to unearth the suppressed history of women in the Americas, and how the "rebel shamans" of the past can inspire women's resistance for today. They also talk about Rush Limbaugh and other recent events.
Marti Kheel was a passionate advocate for both women's liberation and defense of the earth and animals. Lisa Dettmer of Women's Magazine presents a moving tribute to Marti and an interview from 2005 in which Marti makes the connection between feminism and defense of the earth and animals. Audio 28:47
or Get MP3 http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/03/12/18709171.php
The Bay Area Arab Women's Conference is an annual event held in San Francisco. Kate Raphael talks with Loubna Qatami, director of the Arab Cultural and Community Center, about the great lineup for this year's conference, the history and accomplishments of this groundbreaking women's event. Audio 14:07
or Get MP3
Karinda Dobbins and Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, that's what, or who. Listen to these two introspective, irreverent, "clean" funny women talk about how they make people laugh while struggling against the sexism and racism of the mainstream comedy world. What's funny? What's not? What if the audience isn't getting you? What's it like to be an Indian American from Alabama, or an African American lesbian mom who likes to make Macbeth jokes?
Karinda and Dhaya will be performing as part of two all-female shows Saturday, March 10, 2012 at The Purple Onion, 140 Columbus in San Francisco. Find out more
We also re-broadcast an interview with Aileen Clarke Hernandez and Judith Mirkinson on the history and significance of International Women's Day and the importance of building an internationalist feminist movement. Hear the full show.
Zainab al Khawaja (@AngryArabiya) talks about the Arab Spring, the goals of the democracy movement in Bahrain, and her father's hunger strike for freedom. She also talks about how she became one of Bahrain's leading tweeps. 15:11 min.
Lateefah Simon is former director of the Center for Young Women's Development and the San Francisco Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights. Now living in Oakland, she won the MacArthur Genius Fellowship at only 26 years old and used the money to fund a college education. She is now studying public policy at Mills College and working at the Rosenburg Foundation's California's Future Initiative. Eryn Matthewson of Women's Magazine began her wide-ranging conversation by asking Simon how she decided to focus her work on the juvenile justice system. 27:33 min.
Saria Idana's one-woman show, "Homeless in Homeland," explores her identity as a Jewish American through her experiences of Israel and Palestine. Opens this Thursday, March 1, for a three-performance run at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley. 9:57 min.
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