Este mensaje es solo para informarlos. Contiene ademas la forma como subscribirse a esta y otras listas informativas. ----- WOC Alerts are distributed for free by: Women Leaders Online/ Women Organizing for Change, http://wlo.org We're building a network of one million women and men to gain equality for women. Help us reach our goal by forwarding this to all of your friends!! To subscribe, mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: subscribe WOC firstname lastname ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~<smaller><smaller> <bigger><bigger>WOC Alert 4/18/99 - Zimbabwe Women Stripped of All Rights; TODTW This Thursday; PBS Leads Backlash<smaller><smaller> <bigger><bigger>When Zimbabwe broke free of colonial rule 20 years ago, the country recognized the work of women in the long drive for freedom by guaranteeing women equality under the new law. The nation's constitution, a separate law enforcing women's rights and several international human rights treaties all served to provide a basis for outlawing discrimination on the basis of gender. The country thus moved forward as an independent egalitarian nation. But recently, equality for women came to a halt in Zimbabwe. The nation's Supreme Court just reversed all the laws protecting women, ruling that "the nature of African society" dictates that women are not equal to men, especially in family relationships. The court, by a 5-0 decision, said centuries-old African cultural norms, which are not written down, say women should never be considered adults within the family, but only as a "junior male." There is no appeal for this decision, which moves women further back than one might think. For it is the triumph for conservatives in Africa who have urged that the clock be turned back to pre- colonial days. They have argued for a return to the days when women could not own land, inherit property from their deceased husbands or fathers, choose their own wedding arrangements or have any rights to their children in the case of divorce. Their husbands could practice polygamy as they wished. While Zimbabwe's actions run counter to much of what is happening in Africa - a woman in Kenya recently became the first to sue her husband for domestic abuse, and female genital mutilation was outlawed in West Africa, for example - the Zimbabwe action gives hope to reactionaries everywhere. Under the guise of "family values," women will be forced to enter the 21st Century with the same rights they had in the 19th Century. ACTION: Tourism is a major industry in Zimbabwe. Let the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority know that you are unwilling to visit a nation which turns its back on promises made to more than half the population. You can write to or call (sorry, no email readily available) the Authority at: Zimbabwe Tourism Office Rockefeller Centre Suite 1905 1270 Avenue of the Americas New York N.Y. 10020 United States of America Tel: 212-332-1090 Fax: 212-332-1093 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Lifetime Television's original documentary "Confronting the Crisis: Childcare in America," directed by Academy Award-winner Lee Grant and hosted by actress and mother Kyra Sedgwick, premieres Tuesday, April 20th at 10PM ET/PT in honor of Lifetime's "National Childcare Month." These efforts are part of Lifetime's "Caring for Kids" campaign, which unites over 150 advocacy organizations committed to quality, affordable childcare and to making childcare a priority issue in the 2000 elections. </color>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* <color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>TAKE OUR DAUGHTERS TO WORK DAY Thursday, April 22 is Take Our Daughters to Work Day, when women and men everywhere try to provide wider vistas to young women by exposing them to the workplace, and the hopes and dreams their brothers take for granted. This year, the MS. Foundation for Women, sponsor of TODTW, is being joined by Dads and Daughters (DADS), a new group helping fathers become more involved in raising their daughters, with a special goal of fighting eating disorders among young women. For information about DADS, call 1-888-824-3237. For complete info on TODTW, including online activities, visit the official website at http://www.ms.foundation.org/ PBS - LEADER OF THE BACKLASH Our friends at the Women's Desk at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) send along an alert about a PBS series this month. The three-part series is on "the gender wars." Promising title, right? But no, the subject isn't men's violence against women - it is how the advancement of women is hurting men. This series is hosted by right-wing Spokesboy Fred Barnes, and underwritten by a number of reactionary foundations - including the ever-popular Sarah Scaife Foundation of Clinton bashing fame. The first of the series, "The War on Boys" relies heavily on the opinions of Cristina Hoff Sommers, who was paid 6 figures by the Olin and Bradley Foundations to write "Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women." The second part, "Politics and Warriors: Women in the Military" is hosted by MSNBC and Fox TV's favorite anti-feminist, Laura Ingraham, former law clerk to Clarence Thomas. The third part, "Title IX and Women in Sports: What's Wrong With this Picture?" is hosted by rightwing radio talk show host Larry Elder. ACTION: Complain about this biased use of the public airwaves (and the public purse) by contact PBS at 703/739-0775. You can find email contacts, phone numbers and mailing addresses for your local PBS station at http://www.pbs.org/voice/ For more information on this other issues of media bias, contact FAIR at http://www.fair.org AND NOW, A NOTE FROM OUR SPONSOR: If you have not yet become a member of Women Leaders Online, we really need your support. Your contribution of $100, $50, $25, $10 -- or whatever you can spare -- will help keep our financially-challenged but dedicated staff paid and our alerts flying across the Net. In addition, contributing members are entitled to participate in our interactive e-mail discussion lists, including WLO-News, WLO-Media, and many state lists -- visit http://wlo.org and press "Discuss" for details. So please send your contribution today to: Women Leaders Online, P.O. Box 11019, Washington, DC 20008, with your e-mail address on your check. You can also contribute securely by credit card by visiting http://wlo.org/join.html and clicking on the credit card icon. Jeanne Clark, Executive Director Rhonda Lees, Deputy Director Lisa Castagnozzi, Project Director ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Please Post Widely! 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