We Can't Keep Quiet

Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault and suicide.

For Dalit History Month, Women’s March Geneva read Coming Out as Dalit by Yashica Dutt. The memoir explores Dutt’s own personal history and the history of Dalit discrimination and activism throughout Indian history.

To gain a further understanding of issues that Dalits face, we sat down with Manjula Pradeep, an activist and founder of the Wise Act of Youth Visioning and Engagement (The WAYVE Foundation), to discuss Dalit activism, alliances between Dalit groups and other marginalized communities, tension between mainstream feminism and Dalit feminism, and how we can support their fight for equality.

Coming Out as Dalit, Yashica Dutt, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43969859-coming-out-as-dalit

WAYVE Foundation website https://www.wayve.net.in/

WAYVE Foundation Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wayvefoundation/?hl=en

4 Dalits stripped, beaten up for skinning dead cow, Pallavi Chakravorty, Times of India

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/4-dalits-stripped-beaten-up-for-skinning-dead-cow/articleshow/53184266.cms

Forced Prositution in the Name of God, Manjula Pradeep https://idsn.org/wp-content/uploads/user_folder/pdf/New_files/Key_Issues/Dalit_Women/Forced_prostitution_in_the_name_of_God.pdf

India’s engineers have thrived in Silicon Valley. So has its caste system., Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post https://www.inquirer.com/business/indian-caste-system-silicon-valley-microsoft-apple-oracle-facebook-20201029.html

Leave no Dalit Woman Behind, Manjula Pradeep, Smashboard, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUMtfn3gnmc [video]

Untouchability still prevalent in rural Gujarat: survey, Manus Dasgupta, The Hindu https://bit.ly/3n9jhzb

Study shows Roma descended from Indian ‘untouchables’, Nick Holdsworth, University World News https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20121207171926304

Photo by Srimathi Jayaprakash on Unsplash

On 7 March, the Swiss public voted to ban full-face coverings, in a display of shocking — but predictable — sexism and Islamophobia.

Alarmingly, the institutionalisation of Islamophobia is the rise across Europe. Religious and gender-based discrimination against Muslim women has become more commonplace as right-wing, populist sentiments sweep across Europe.

Doreen speaks to Inès El-Sheikh of the Foulards Violets, a Swiss-born, Muslim feminist with North African roots about the results of the referendum; the intersection of race, religion and gender for Muslim women in Switzerland and Europe; and what the “burqa ban” means for all of us.

Note: in the episode, Isobel and Doreen discuss the recent French Senate vote in favour of banning the burqa. The bill is not yet in effect and requires the approval of the National Assembly.

Les Foulards Violets:https://lesfoulardsviolets.org/

French Senate Votes to Ban the Hijab for Muslim Women Under the Age of 18, Hafsa Lodi, Vogue https://en.vogue.me/culture/french-senate-votes-hijab-ban/

As a French Hijabi, This is What I Think of My Country’s Controversial Hijab Ban, Hafsa Lodi, Vogue https://en.vogue.me/culture/france-hijab-ban-impact/amp/

Where Face Masks Are Required but Burqas Are Banned, Rim-Sarah Alouane, Foreign Policy https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/10/switzerland-europe-burqa-ban-referendum-coronavirus-face-masks-egerkinger-komitee/

Switzerland referendum: Voters support ban on face coverings in public, BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56314173

Week in Review: Switzerland turns its back on freedom of religion, Ian Dunt, politics.co.uk https://www.politics.co.uk/comment/2021/03/12/week-in-review-switzerland-turns-its-back-on-freedom-of-religion/?cmpredirect

Swiss voters back ban on minarets, BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8385069.stm

La Suisse adopte « l’initiative anti-burqa » d’une courte majorité, Serge Enderlin, Le Monde, https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/03/07/en-suisse-une-votation-sur-le-niqab-ne-masque-pas-la-perte-de-vitesse-de-la-droite-populiste_6072230_3210.html

She Was Disqualified for Running With a Hijab. Here’s How Noor Alexandria Abukaram Fought Back, Taylor Dutch, Runner’s World https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a35618728/noor-alexandria-abukaram-human-race/

The opinions expressed in this podcast do not reflect the position of our employers.

Photo via Unsplash

In this episode, Isobel and Doreen discuss the gender dynamic of emotional labor.

-“I Feel Like I Have Five Jobs”: Moms Navigate the Pandemic, Jessica Bennett, 2020: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/parenting/childcare-coronavirus-moms.html?referringSource=articleShare

-You Should’ve Asked, Emma, 2017: https://english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/ (Français: Fallait Demander, Emma, 2017: https://emmaclit.com/2017/05/09/repartition-des-taches-hommes-femmes/)

-Emotional Labor: The MetaFilter Thread Condensed: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxpbnRlZ3JhbHdvbWVufGd4OjMwMTBhNGU5MTAxNTE1Mjg

-Swiss women continue to shoulder the burden of unpaid work, The Local, 2017:

https://www.thelocal.ch/20170714/swiss-men-doing-more-housework-gender-equality-unpaid-work-survey

-Young Men Embrace Gender Equality, but They Still Don’t Vacuum: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/upshot/gender-roles-housework.html

On today's episode, Franziska, Doreen, and Teresa discuss Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights, by Helen Lewis.

Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights, Helen Lewis, 2020: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46041151-difficult-women

You Should've Asked, Emma, 2017: https://english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/

Faillait demander, Emma, 2017: https://emmaclit.com/2017/05/

Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’ How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap. Claire Miller, 2019: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html

Swiss voters reject proposal to give basic income to every adult and child, Agence France-Presse in Geneva, 2016: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/05/swiss-vote-give-basic-income-every-adult-child-marxist-dream

It’s Earth Day!

In this episode of We Can’t Keep Quiet, Doreen and Isobel discuss the Coronavirus pandemic and its social and economic consequences.

They also talk about what you can do to mark Earth Day now that traditional celebrations and demonstrations are off the table.

Correction: Doreen meant to say that Rihanna is from Barbados, not the Bahamas.

Links:

Coronavirus pandemic

News

'A disastrous situation': mountains of food wasted as coronavirus scrambles supply chain https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/us-coronavirus-outbreak-agriculture-food-supply-waste

The Guardian view on the future of farming: let’s think about food https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/17/the-guardian-view-on-the-future-of-farming-lets-think-about-food

Coronavirus: How Are Countries Responding to the Economic Crisis?

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/coronavirus-how-are-countries-responding-economic-crisis

Africa coronavirus cases could hit 10 million in six months: WHO

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/africa-coronavirus-cases-hit-10-million-months-200417055006127.html

The Economic Fallout of the Coronavirus in Southeast Asia https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/02/13/economic-fallout-of-coronavirus-in-southeast-asia-pub-81070

To get coronavirus bailout money, the government is forcing airlines to fly ‘ghost planes’ [US] https://grist.org/climate/the-government-is-forcing-airlines-to-fly-nearly-empty-to-get-bailout-money/

Celebrities

Celebrities, coronavirus has exposed how irrelevant you have become https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/07/coronavirus-celebrity-influence-criticism

How Celebrities, Athletes, and Civilians Are Giving Back During the Coronavirus Pandemic https://www.glamour.com/story/how-celebrities-athletes-and-regular-people-are-giving-back-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic

The Human Struggle of the Stay-at-Home Celebrity https://jezebel.com/the-human-struggle-of-the-stay-at-home-celebrity-1842944284

Jokes and memes

Escape Our Current Hell With These (Good) Coronavirus Jokes https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/the-funniest-coronavirus-jokes.html

The Best Coronavirus Memes, Jokes And Tweets To Make You A Bit Happier Right Now

https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a31693127/coronavirus-covid-19-memes-tweets-jokes/

40 Funny Quarantine Signs By People Who Haven’t Lost Their Spirits Yet https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-quarantine-signs/

Earth Day

Earth Day 2020 https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2020/

Isobel’s plants

Echeveria derenbergii (Painted Lady) https://worldofsucculents.com/echeveria-derenbergii-painted-lady/

Echeveria colorata https://worldofsucculents.com/echeveria-colorata/

Echeveria green velvet

On 18 January, the 4th annual Women’s March took place around the world.

Women’s March Geneva and Women’s March Zurich, with participation from the Collectif Grève Feministe, the Socialist Party, and SolidaritÉs, hosted a march in Geneva under the theme “Climate Justice is a Feminist Issue”.

The Women’s March groups in Switzerland chose to deviate from the Women’s March Global theme, which focused on bodily autonomy, because we found it necessary to draw attention to Switzerland’s contribution to the growing climate crisis.

In this episode, Doreen and Isobel dive deeper into why climate justice is a feminist issue, the current state, and what we can do about it.

Resources referenced in the show:

Swiss Banks in the End of the Fossil Fuel Age, Greenpeace: https://www.banktrack.org/download/swiss_banks_in_the_end_of_the_fossil_fuel_age/greenpeace_banktrack_fossil_fuel_age_english.pdf

Global Wage Report 2018, ILO: https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/multimedia/maps-and-charts/enhanced/WCMS_650829/lang--en/index.htm

The Pursuit of Gender Equality, OECD, 2017: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/the-pursuit-of-gender-equality_9789264281318-en

The Task Force for Climated-Related Financial Disclosure: https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/

Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous People: https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/free-prior-and-informed-consent-protecting-indigenous

Marsha de Cordova: The government shouldn’t blame disabled people for its failings, 2017: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/12/marsha-de-cordova-disabled-minister-equality-battles

Further reading:

How to Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change, 2019, New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/opinion/sunday/how-to-help-climate-change.html

Top oil firms spending millions lobbying to block climate change policies, says report: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/22/top-oil-firms-spending-millions-lobbying-to-block-climate-change-policies-says-report

CO2 and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser: https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions

In this episode of We Can't Keep Quiet, Teresa, Franziska and Doreen discuss the latest book in the Women's March Geneva book club, Pink Mountain on Locust Island by Jamie Marina Lau.

In the first episode of 2019, Isobel and Doreen talk about (the backlash against) Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, the minimalism movement, elitism, and hoarding.

Doreen would like you to know that the ashtray she mentioned was merely decorative.

Isobel and Doreen would also like to apologize for the episode's abrupt ending.

Links:

-Tidying Up with Marie Kondo: Official Netflix Trailer https://bit.ly/2EueFA9

-The Marie Kondo Books Debate Has Classist & Racist Undertones That Can't Be Ignored by Kerri Jarema https://bit.ly/2DeSAUC

-The Backlash Against Marie Kondo Is So Stupid (And Racist) by Eliza Romero https://bit.ly/2upan6d

-Poor People Don’t Have the Privilege of ‘Tidying Up’ by Hanna Brooks Olsen https://bit.ly/2RBefip

-Ellen Oh’s author page http://www.ellenoh.com/

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

In this episode, Doreen and Teresa discuss All That Glitters, the book that Women's March Geneva read for our book club over the summer (sorry for the delay!).

They explore a few themes, including:

-mentorship between women

-familial pressure

-abusive relationships

In this episode, Isobel and Doreen continue their discussion on #MeToo, and discuss ways to begin changing relationships and value consent.