Editor’s letter newint.org
NEW INTERNATIONALIST The New Internationalist workers’ co-operative exists to report on the issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the f ight for global justice. The New Internationalist magazine was founded by Peter and Lesley Adamson in 1970. Together with a range of other publications it is published by New Internationalist Publications Ltd which is wholly owned by the New Internationalist Trust and co-operatively managed: Accounts: Frank Syratt. Advertising: Michael York. Administration: Anna Weston. Design: Andrew Kokotka, Ian Nixon, Juha Sorsa. Editorial (Magazine): Vanessa Baird, Dinyar Godrej, Jo Lateu, Lydia James, Hazel Healy, Jamie Kelsey-Fry. Editorial (Publications): Chris Brazier. Mail Order: Bev Dawes, James Rowland. Marketing (Magazine): Amanda Synnott, Rob Norman. North American Publisher: Ian McKelvie. Marketing (Publications): Dan Raymond-Barker, Amy Guest. Production: Fran Harvey. Web and IT: Charlie Harvey, Pete Stewart. SUBSCRIPTIONS Website: newint.org/subscribe Email: subscriptions@newint.org Phone: +44 (0) 1604 251 046 Phone (from Ireland): CallSave 1850 924 331 Fax: +44 (0)1604 251031 Post: New Internationalist, McGowan House, 10 Waterside Way, Northampton NN4 7XD, UK. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION PRICES UK: £39.85; Institutions £70; Ireland: �47; Rest of World: Individuals: £44.85/�58/ US$68/ZAR 300. Institutions £90. Despatch by air only. Subscribers in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan should contact their local subscriptions of f ice whose addresses can be found at www.newint.org/about/contact/ UK OFFICE New Internationalist, The Old Music Hall, 106-108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JE. Tel: +44 (0)1865 403345; Fax: +44 (0)1865 403346; Email: ni@newint.org Advertising (magazine & web): Michael York 01865 403339 michaely@newint.org Contract enquiries: ni_cg@newint.org Web queries: tech@newint.org Permissions & general enquiries: Anna Weston 01865 403345 annaw@newint.org News trade distributor: COMAG Specialist Division, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1895 433800. Fax: +44 (0)1895 433801. The New Internationalist is published monthly except that the Jan/Feb and July/Aug issues are combined.
facebook.com/newint
@newint
It helps us occasionally to allow carefully screened organizations to mail our subscribers. If you do not wish to receive their material please write to your subscription office. © New Internationalist Publications Ltd. 2014 ISN 0305-9529 ISO accreditation 9001-2008
It starts in the womb
‘So, pink or blue?’
The sonographer was prodding my belly. He grabbed a different ultrasound. ‘She’s using the wrong one,’ he said irritably of his colleague, standing next to him – who presumably had a name, and one that he knew.
Apparently the link to feminine pink or boyish blue – and associated life choices – starts in the womb, already established while my foetus was still gulping down amniotic fluid in preparation for breathing.
‘If you mean boy or girl,’ I said, with as much stiff dignity as I could muster, on my back, smeared in cold gel, with the sonographer’s hand resting casually on my crotch, ‘then yes, I would like to know.’ After more prodding, her sex was revealed: it was a girl!
Growing a girl, while I work on this feminism edition, brought the issues into sharper focus. It’s the world I have experienced as a woman in my lifetime and it’s the one that awaits her too. I wonder, how will she navigate the vagaries of consent? Persistent inequality?
But while concerned about what she’ll be up against, I have also been impressed by the fantastic women whose work is likely to make the world that bit more equal by the time she starts to make her way in it.
We were lucky to be able to draw on the expertise and experience of all-round internationalist feminist, the writer Hannah Pool, who has acted as Contributing Editor for this edition.
Women are celebrated throughout this magazine – Mixed Media reviews solely female authors and filmmakers, and this month we’ve elected to highlight Yemeni political activist Tawakkol Karman in Agenda. We are also excited to welcome comedian Kate Smurthwaite, who has a beef with cupcakes.
Elsewhere in the issue we check back in with developments in Haiti and analyse the propaganda war in Ukraine. n
Hazel Healy for the New Internationalist Co-operative newint.org r i g h t
C a r t w
J o n
This month’s contributors include:
Kate Smurthwaite is a comedian and political activist who has appeared on TV and radio shows from This Morning to Question Time. Her new solo comedy show ‘The News At Kate: Leftie Cock Womble’ opens at the Edinburgh Fringe on 2 August.
l u n e h
M u i d a
P h o t o g r a p h y i a
P e r u g
J o n a t h a n
This issue's cover illustration is the work of María María AchaKutscher, a Peruvian-Spanish feminist visual artist. Her art focuses on women's struggles for emancipation and equality. She lives in Mexico City. acha-kutscher.com.
Hannah Pool is an Eritrean-born journalist and author who acted as Contributing Editor for this issue. She writes regularly for the national and international media. She also curates talks at Africa Utopia and Women of the World festival, Southbank Centre, and is chair of UK Feminista.
Lily Hyde is a British writer and journalist who has spent more than 10 years living and working in Ukraine and the Crimea. She is the author of Dream Land, a novel about the Crimean Tatars’ deportation and return to Crimea.
Help shape our future and a fairer world
Like you, I’m a passionate reader and supporter of New Internationalist, and have been for many years. I’m now on the ‘other side of the page’, writing this short message to you.
We’re in an exciting time of change at New Internationalist. We’re looking to our future and asking how we can continue to make waves, cover stories with an alternative edge, amplify the voices of marginalized people, expose global injustices and – with you! – help build a fairer, more equal world.
We only exist because of your support, and want you to help shape our future. We want to hear your opinions – what excites you about New Internationalist, what do you think we should focus on, do more or less of, or perhaps change altogether? What new stuff would you like to see? Tell us what pushes your buttons; we’d love to know! Email me at helen.wallis@newint.org Helen Wallis Engagement Manager, New Internationalist Fancy getting more involved? Become a Friend of NI (shop.newint.org/ukfriends)
N e w I n t e r n at i o n a l i s t ● july / Au gust 2 014 ● 3
