He Raped as a Teenager and Now Works to Stop Sexual Violence

  By lipstickrevolt | May 7, 2012 - 8:09 pm | Human Rights Leave a comment

This story is amazing and I hope more people step up and understand what a HUGE issue this is in our society.

Johannesburg (CNN) – Dumisani Rebombo is no ordinary advocate for women’s rights in South Africa. He is a rapist.

He is a rapist who sought out his victim two decades after his brutal act to ask for forgiveness.

He is all this in a nation where sexual assault has become so common that a woman in South Africa is more likely to be raped than learn to read.

Sexual assaults rarely shock anyone anymore, though a video of abrutal gang rape of a mentally disabled teenager went viral on the Internet last month. That touched a nerve.

As the young suspects face their day in court, Rebombo spoke with CNN to tell his own story — an extraordinary tale of violence, redemption and determination to change things in his homeland.

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Symphony of Voice from Turkic Lands

  By lipstickrevolt | April 8, 2012 - 1:53 pm | Music 1 Comment

For immediate release:

Why?:     This is an amazing event brought to you by the Karabach Foundation, a non-profit organization who preserves the art, culture, and history of Azerbaijan and rest of Caucasus.

Who will be there?:    TURKSOY Symphony Orchestra which consists of 80 musicians from different Turkic nations are presenting the celebrated Ahmed Adnan Saygun’s magnum opus “Yunus Emre Oratorio.”

Who Else?:      The New York based Jonathan Giffith Singers!

Not Convinced?:     There is no where else within a four hour drive that will teach you the culture of Azerbaijan and such a variety of Turkic nation through music and art.

Where can you get tickets?:  Click Me!

-Lipstick Revolt

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Fewer Women Enrolling in Stem Classes

  By lipstickrevolt | March 23, 2012 - 4:12 pm | Science Leave a comment

I Just had a great conversation with my friend. She is researching stem cell at John Hopkins and then I stumbled upon this article. I think women would be great in that field.

(CNN) – While it has been argued that science, technology, engineering and math may open the door to more job opportunities, it seems that fewer women are pursuing those courses of study, at least at the nation’s community colleges.

A study released Tuesday by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research says that while women represent a majority of college graduates overall, only 27.5% of Associate’s degrees and occupational certificates in the STEM fields were awarded to women in 2007. Cynthia Costello, the study’s author, found that women are losing ground: This statistic was more than 10% higher in 1997.

Underrepresentation in STEM fields at community colleges may be part of the reason women lag behind men in the STEM workforce. According to the study, women make up almost half of the American workforce but only around a quarter of the STEM labor pool. Data presented in the study shows that women are leaving some STEM fields. From 2000 to 2009, the number of women working in computers and math dropped about 3%.

While the number of women employed in these fields is falling, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the rate of American STEM job growth is outpacing job growth overall. The agency says that while the U.S. economy could add 10% to its workforce between 2008 and 2018, many STEM fields are expected to grow around twice that rate.

Women’s salaries in STEM occupations lag behind the median earnings of men, but this gap is generally smaller than the gender wage gap found in other fields. In addition, STEM fields generally provide higher salaries than positions that require a similar level of education.

Costello suggests that the combination of higher salaries and increased growth provides women and minorities an opportunity to increase their presence in the STEM fields through obtaining an Associate’s degree or occupational certification. Shorter-term, cheaper community college STEM programs, Costello argues, can help single mothers and their children rise out of poverty easier than typical four-year degree programs.

Costello’s report outlines a few rationales for the drop in women choosing STEM fields. A lack of female role models, instructional methods that are not geared toward women, and care-giving roles at home are cited in the study as reasons for women not entering these fields.

To address these issues, Costello says, “community colleges themselves need to invest more heavily in STEM programs and they need to actively recruit and support women.” Costello suggests that community colleges will need support to address these issues. “A whole set of policies and funding streams need to be reinforced out of the federal government in order for STEM programs to expand to the level needed both by industry, by the economy as a whole and by students, especially women students.”

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research, which developed this study, describes itself as a nonprofit organization that funds research regarding economic and social policy issues that affect women. The study, “Increasing Opportunities For Low-Income Women And Student Parents In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math At Community Colleges,” can be found on the Institute for Women’s Policy Research website.

Source: CNN

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Is the Arab Spring bad for Women?

  By lipstickrevolt | March 23, 2012 - 4:55 am | Politics Leave a comment

Egyptian women shout political slogans during a demonstration to mark International Women’s Day in Cairo on March 8, 2012. Hundreds of women marched through the Egyptian capital demanding the right to co-draft the country’s new constitution. (Getty Images)

Here is what Fareed Zakaria had to say:

I think that overall the Arab Spring will be good for women. In the short run, however, the Arab Spring has opened the lid on a Pandora’s Box of problems, which have existed for decades, and are now being aired. Reactionary, illiberal forces that have been suppressed and repressed are coming to the fore. But I don’t think these forces will determine where the countries of the Arab Spring end up.

Take a look at a very rural, tribal society like Afghanistan, which does not have progressive attitudes toward women.  Nevertheless, the Taliban’s imposition of reactionary policies on women was very unpopular. Most men didn’t like it; most women didn’t like it.

Over time, Arab societies will find a way to accommodate new expressions of Islam with democracy and women’s empowerment. It’s not going to be on our time schedule, however. That’s the thing we really have to understand.

I was talking to Liberian peace activist and Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee about confronting female genital mutilation in Africa.  She argued that you have to work on changing the culture slowly. Change is not going to happen because Hillary Clinton makes a speech about it. These are deep-rooted practices.

Now, they are abhorrent practices and I would love to wave a magic wand and get rid of them, but we have to recognize that if we want these changes to be incorporated into the tradition of the country, we have to work on education and modernizing from the ground up. It’s frustrating but that’s the reality and that will be the reality for women’s rights in the Arab world.

It can’t be something that happens because it is decreed from on high – and certainly not from Washington. It is going to happen as these societies gradually modernize, which is happening, albeit more slowly than we would like.

 By Fareed Zakaria 
Source: CNN

 

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How to be Successful: Sheryl Sandberg

  By lipstickrevolt | February 11, 2012 - 6:05 pm | Business 1 Comment

(CNN) — Facebook’s decision to file for public status last week means its No. 2 executive, Sheryl Sandberg, might be worth as much as $1.6 billion. According to Forbes, that would catapult her just below the seemingly untouchable Oprah in the ranking of the richest self-made women. She won’t have much company: Only 7.5% of the major earners at America’s Fortune 500 companies are female.
The many media profiles of Sandberg all seem to be asking the same question: How did Sheryl do it? How did she get the confidence to perform so well at such a high level?
And perform she has. According to The New York Times, she took Facebook from 70 million users and no business model to profits reaching $1 billion on $3.7 billion in revenue in just four years.
Sandberg’s own mentor, Larry Summers, ignited a firestorm in 2005 when he wondered publicly whether one reason women weren’t achieving at the highest levels in the sciences was a lack of biological aptitude, particularly for math. Before long, he was ousted from his position as president of Harvard — not officially for this reason — and the nation was abuzz about women’s lack of parity in so many fields and forums.

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Jordan Retro 11 Concord

  By lipstickrevolt | February 3, 2012 - 3:41 am | Shoes Leave a comment

Size 11 Retro Concord
Only 1 pair
Fresh out the Box
Never worn
Never tried on

Size 11

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Newt Gingrinch – The New Hitler

  By lipstickrevolt | January 31, 2012 - 5:15 pm | Human Rights, Politics 2 Comments

Hitler made the majority people in Germany believe all their financial problems was at the fault of the Jewish people.

Newt Gingrinch wants Americans to believe their financial problems come from giving away too much food stamp instead of paying attention to the US governments corruption and how they have been embezzling our tax dollars for decades.

Watch this video to see my point:

How is it possible that the people are applauding? Is that how much hate they have in them? Are non of them Christian?

What will happen if he takes office? Do you sincerely believe our country would be headed in the right direction? I personally believe we’d become a circus. Please comment.

Woman Killed for giving Birth to a Girl

  By lipstickrevolt | January 31, 2012 - 4:46 pm | Human Rights, Politics Leave a comment

Afghan police: Man kills wife for giving birth to daughter instead of son

By Nematullah Sarfraz, for CNN
updated 9:02 AM EST, Tue January 31, 2012

Kunduz, Afghanistan (CNN) –

Police in the northern Afghanistan province of Kunduz are looking for a man they say strangled his wife after she bore him a third child that was not a son.

Sher Mohammed, 29, married his 22-year-old wife, Storay, four years ago, police said.

The couple had three daughters, the last of whom was born three months ago, said Khanabad district police chief Sufi Habib.

After the youngest daughter was born, Mohammed blamed his wife for not being able to deliver a boy, Habib said. ”Finally on Saturday, the man, with the help of his mother, first beat the woman and then strangled her to death,” the police chief said.

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New York mothers have to Chose between their Job and their Child’s Health

  By lipstickrevolt | January 20, 2012 - 1:31 pm | Human Rights, Politics Leave a comment

New York City Workers Deserve Paid Sick Days

By Sherry Leiwant
WeNews commentator
Friday, January 20, 2012

1.5 million New Yorkers face a terrible dilemma when they or their child become ill. That’s because they have no paid sick days. 

Your 2-year-old wakes up with 104 degree fever and trouble breathing. You are due at work at 9 a.m. but you know you must get your child to the doctor or an emergency room immediately. What do you do? 

For the fortunate among us, there isn’t any question.

You call your employer, explain the situation and take your child to the doctor, or you call your employer and say you’ll be in as soon as you recover from your stomach flu.

But for about one and a half million working New Yorkers–and 40 million workers nationwide–the choice is not so easy, because they do not have a single hour of paid sick time to use when they or a family member is sick.

The burden falls especially hard on low-income working moms, who often work in job sectors with the least paid sick time–retail and food service.

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Stoning a women for adultery in Iran- Who will stand up for Human Rights?

  By lipstickrevolt | December 26, 2011 - 4:22 pm | Human Rights 3 Comments

TEHRAN, Iran — A local judiciary official says an Iranian woman sentenced to death on an adultery conviction will be executed either by stoning or hanging.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani had been sentenced to death by stoning, but that sentenced was believed to have been suspended in July after an international outcry over the case.

Malek Ajdar Sharifi, the head of justice department of East Azerbaijan province where Ashtiani is in prison, was quoted by the semi-official ISNA news agency on Sunday as saying judicial authorities are still discussing whether to execute Ashtiani by stoning or by hanging.

Ashtiani was convicted of adultery in 2006 and sentenced to death by stoning. She was later convicted of being an accessory to the murder of her husband.

Celebrities including Robert Redford, Robert De Niro, and Sting have called on Iran to release a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.

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