Happy Halloween from GPPS! We hope everyone had a safe and spooky holiday!
Last Tuesday, GPPS and IGP students visited UN Women for a discussion with President Michelle Bachelet, the first executive Director of UN Women, and current Director Sima Bahous. Students had the opportunity to listen to a President Bachelet and Director Bahous discuss the importance of UN Women and challenges the organization is facing. Students also engaged in a lively discussion with President Bachelet, Director Bahous, and other UN Women heads on how to address challenges in gender policymaking.
Despite the many obstacles to overcome, both President Bachelet and Director Bahous reiterated that "youth are the present, not the future," and urged students as future policymakers to "keep the lens on" and consider gender across our careers.
Abortion Rights Round Table with President Bachelet and GPPS Director Ergas
Last Friday, the Institute of Global Politics in conjunction with SIPA's Women in Leadership and the Columbia Law School, hosted a roundtable event on the status of abortion rights around the world, featuring President Michelle Bachelet, GPPS Director Yasmine Ergas and Ting Ting Cheng, Director of the Equal Rights Amendment Project at Columbia Law School.
The roundtable hosted about 25 students who asked questions of the three panelists after they assessed the current status of abortion rights. Read the abbreviated highlights here:
"What are the biggest issues affecting women around the world?"
President Bachelet: The biggest problem often in policy-making is that women are treated as a homogenous group when that is not the case. Women are facing a large variety of issues of discrimination, from a lack of education access, salary gaps, lack of an economy of care and social security, and high rates of both child marriage and maternal mortality. Violence against women is also the most widespread human rights violation in the world.
Right now, there is a trend that policies result after terrible situations that almost force change after people realize things are not acceptable. However, the reality is, that these issues happen against women of all backgrounds and economic statuses and should be prioritized.
"Why do you think reproductive rights in the United States have been regularly moving more towards greater restriction, while the global trend is toward liberalization?”
Director Ergas: The most interesting trend is that the restriction of abortion access of legislation and jurisprudence are paradoxical to favorable public opinion here in the United States. It expands the issue dynamic to also be of political institutions and the accessibility of political participation.
We have to consider all the dimensions of the US being an outlier in a lot of ways. However, it is not unique, and the reason reproductive rights remain a wedge issue in most countries today is there is a lack of consensus on the definition of life, and whether this can be classified as a habeas corpus definition for women. It is a question of whether women have the right to be authoritative over their bodies and the right to be safe in their person.
"Can you narrow into how the effort around the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has interacted with the availability of abortion and reproductive justice in the US?”
Cheng: In the United States, we are in a bad place right now regarding what our constitutional foundation rests on, as most minorities are left out of the text. Historically, procedural rights have always been directly related to restricting civil rights, as in the case of the Dobbs decision.
The ERA would put specific language into the constitution that guarantees equal rights for women, which would cause cascading effects in the Supreme Court and its decisions. The Consitution does not have the capability right now to determine and acknowledge the discrimination differences between different groups. The adoption of the ERA can unite a spectrum of rights with reproductive rights as the main player, but will encompass other rights as well that additionally would protect against gender discrimination.
holds office hours in IAB 826 from 1:30 to 4:30 on Tuesdays. Use the QR code below to sign up, and feel free to stop by for a chat on anything gender-related.
Movie: India’s Daughter (Amazon Prime): a documentary about the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year old medical student Jyoti Singh on a bus in Delhi. The case sparked widespread protests about gender inequality in India.
Launched as an online-only platform in October 2013—with two celebratory film programs at MoMA dedicated to US serial queens—WFPP was begun 20 years prior by feminist film scholar Jane M. Gaines, who first envisioned the project as a multivolume book series. Since then, and thanks to the tireless work of its contributors, editors, library colleagues, and many graduate student research assistants (as well as international archivists and curators), WFPP has published articles on the careers of over 300 women—and counting—who worked behind the scenes during cinema’s first few decades.
Book: Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg: A groundbreaking novel about the complexities of gender, the book follows a butch lesbian in 1970s America. It is considered a vanguard of genderqueer and transgender social movements, and is available for free online.
NYC Recommendations
Isa recommends:
Hungarian Pastry Shop (Amsterdam and 111th)! As November arrives, take advantage of this cozy spot near campus to get coffee, cookies, and vibes. The line will be worth it :)
Allie recommends:
Artists and Fleas (Chelsea Market)! A great spot to buy art, jewelry, and vintage clothes from local New York artists! Check out Chelsea Market afterwards for great food options, or check out the High Line just outside.
