Editorial

EDITORIAL
We're sorry to announce that due to ill-health November's issue is suspended. At the moment it is next to impossible to use the computer. There may also be no issue in December, or a very limited one, but we hope to return at full strength in the new year. Apologies too for the lack of main features in September and October - delayed for the same reasons. Please stick with us, we will be back.
Navigation
A word on navigation. There's a lot here, and a lot to post each month. To help you, the archive is at the top right of the page, just under this editorial. You'll see posts listed by month and topic. If you want to skip straight to Sport, or Arts, you can do so using these links. Otherwise you'll have to scroll down through more than one page to read everything each month. Please note that any queries about content or other matters should be directed to the original publications of linked articles as WHTW? can't be responsible for fact-checking and vetting sources of all of them.
This month's issue
While you are waiting, October's issue is full of fascinating articles. We are asking is child labour wrong? Girls in Bolivia's new child union don't think so (see Women/Work) and are demanding respect from society for their labour (and give us your view in our poll at the foot of the page). In Politics, Denmark has a new woman prime minister and you can read a statement on increasing women's political participation from UN women leaders, and research on peace and gender. In Family and society, there's a list of the best and worst countries for women and an article on the pros and cons of pirate husbands in Somalia. In Arts there's a comment on the furore over pop-star Rihanna's in-your-face raunch. And in Science and technology we celebrate Thai and Kenyan women's scientific achievements. In Health, there's a warning about injectable contraceptives and HIV infection, and a rise in breast cancer in UK Asian women. In Law, a US lawyer is protesting at the treatment of jailed women in childbirth. In the Mind, body and spirit post you can engage in debate over the Pill - or the lack of it - and its transformative effects on society. And, for a giggle, look at the men in pin-up poses in the And another thing section of this blog.
Our special feature this month will be a collection of links on Women in the Arab Spring. Look out for it coming soon!
We hope you will find this blog a useful resource and a provocative and productive place for debate. We look forward to your comments and feedback.
Anna Purna

Saturday, 8 October 2011

Women/Law, crime and justice: shackled childbirth, Sri Lankan jails

Shackled childbirth
Rebecca Brodie, a Massachussetts lawyer, plans to have her third child in shackles as a protest against women's treatment during childbirth in USA prisons: http://www.colorlines.com/archives/2011/10/shackling_women_in_prison_during_childbirth.html

Sri Lankan jails "hell"
"About 150 of us sleep in a cell designed for 75 people. An open drain infested with rats runs the perimeter of the room. Recently, one of the inmates was bitten and had to be rushed to the hospital for an anti-rabies shot."  Conditions in Sri Lankan women's prisons are said to be like 'hell':  http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/07/2011725142452794174.html 

Petition
Can we remind you all of the petition also listed in the sidebar, to the UK government, to improve treatment for women in prison and on remand in the UK. The demands includes better mental health support, safe bail accommodation and an end to disproportionately punitive sentencing for women: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/women-in-the-criminal-justice-system.html . Please sign up! Thank you.

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