IWW 2014 - Your Inspiration

[ReleaseTheEvil]

Hey everyone, welcome to the thread. This thread is for us to all have an interactive exchange with people posting about men and women they know, or perhaps a celebrity or media figure, that have acted in an inspirational way to bring positive change on women's issues.

 

A good celeb example would be Patrick Stuart, also known as Captain Picard from Star Trek.

 

 

He is an advocate against domestic violence and violence against women. I found some great pictures with some of his statements on the matter.

 

 

 

 

 

Who are some people you know who are taking a stand against domestic violence and inspire you?

 

 

[Mystica]

My candidate for this year's theme is

Caroline Thienpont

 

 

 

 

Caroline is the founder of the organization Hachiko in Ghent, Belgium.

Hachiko trains guide dogs for the phyiscally disabled and has celebrated its 20th birthday last month, February. For 20 years Hachiko has changed the lives of hundreds of people.
For 20 years Hachiko gives these dogs to the disabled, free of charge, despite them costing 20.000 euros a piece without one cent of government funding.

For 20 Years Hachiko contributes in an enormous way to reducing the cost of the society in taking care of its disabled through the increase of their independence, reducing the level of depressions and highly reducing side-effect conditions that are a proven result from being dependent, disabled and isolated.

 

And it all started with this one woman.

A woman who, in some societies, would be criminalized, arrested and locked up for being who she is.
A woman who, even today, would need to fear for her life is she had been unfortunate enough to be born in the wrong place.
A woman who, simply by being herself is a living, breathing and unquestionable example of the importance of change.

 

For me Carline represents this years IWW Theme 'Inspiring Change' to a tee. Not only by what she does but simply by who she is and how much richer my community is because of her.

 

 

 

 

[Rhea]

 

Jackson Katz is an educator, author, filmmaker and cultural theorist who is a pioneer in the fields of gender violence prevention education and media literacy. He is co-founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), which enlists men in the struggle to prevent men’s violence against women. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, MVP has become a widely used sexual and domestic violence prevention initiative in college and professional athletics across North America. Katz and his MVP colleagues have also worked extensively with schools, youth sports associations and community organizations, as well as with all major branches of the U.S. military.

 

 

“[When we act] as if white people don't have some sort of racial identity … as if heterosexual people don't have a sexual orientation, as if men don't have a gender, [then] the dominant group is rarely challenged to even think about its dominance.” - Jackson Katz

[Harry Potter]

 

These are The Patriots, a motorcycle gang in my country who have actively taken a stand on domestic abuse against women, which is a real problem here. Recently they rode the length of the country, leading the White Ribbon Campaign, to try to bring the seriousness of the issue to light.

[Ryrin]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/19/pakistani-girl-malala-shot-returns-school/2000703/

 

Malala Yousufzai returned to school Tuesday in Britain, just six months after the Taliban shot the 15-year-old in the head because she advocated educating girls in her native Pakistan.

"I am excited that today I have achieved my dream of going back to school," she said in a statement. "I want all girls in the world to have this basic opportunity. I miss my classmates from Pakistan very much, but I am looking forward to meeting my teachers and making new friends here in Birmingham."

[ReleaseTheEvil]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/19/pakistani-girl-malala-shot-returns-school/2000703/

 

Malala Yousufzai returned to school Tuesday in Britain, just six months after the Taliban shot the 15-year-old in the head because she advocated educating girls in her native Pakistan.

"I am excited that today I have achieved my dream of going back to school," she said in a statement. "I want all girls in the world to have this basic opportunity. I miss my classmates from Pakistan very much, but I am looking forward to meeting my teachers and making new friends here in Birmingham."

 

I remember hearing about this incredible young woman. What a story.

[Ryrin]

She is a rare one.  I'm sad for her friends in Pakistan but happy that she recovered from a gunshot to the head and can now study in safety.

[Torrie]

Patrick Stuart amazes me. As a child I watched him on Star Trek and loved his character. Now as an adult, I see all the work he has done and I am doubly impressed.  

[Luciena]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24379018 

 

 

 

[Moon Sedai]

Hey everyone, welcome to the thread. This thread is for us to all have an interactive exchange with people posting about men and women they know, or perhaps a celebrity or media figure, that have acted in an inspirational way to bring positive change on women's issues.

 

A good celeb example would be Patrick Stuart, also known as Captain Picard from Star Trek.

 

 

He is an advocate against domestic violence and violence against women. I found some great pictures with some of his statements on the matter.

 

 

 

 

 

Who are some people you know who are taking a stand against domestic violence and inspire you?

 

 

Patrick Stuart amazes me. As a child I watched him on Star Trek and loved his character. Now as an adult, I see all the work he has done and I am doubly impressed.  

 

My blog:

I was there when he did that famous "reach out to the fan" and told the story of his mother/father. 

It brought the room to tears. 

He's an amazing man, and I think we declared him an Honorary Red. 

[Torrie]

Oh Moon! Good idea! I think he would love to be known as a Red supporter! Plus, I'm sure he can wield a spork like no-bodies business! lol

[Aidanna]

Patrick Stewart is so Awesome...

 

Everyone mentioned is totally amazing so far. 

 

Do the people who inspire us have to be alive? The person that I want to nominate isn't alive, but to me she is and always has been such an inspiration. I teach little kids about her, because people think that even one small decision probably never makes a difference, but sometimes one small decision can change everything.

 

This woman was Rosa Parks. Her very small decision not give up her seat on the bus, was a moment in time that forever changed the face of the civil rights movement in America. She wasn't already a celebrity, she wasn't rich and paying to start a company to try to change something. She just one day decided to say no, because she was tired. She was physically tired from her day, but she was also tired of being treated like a second-class citizen. Her spontaneous decision sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Montgomery Improvement Association was made up of local activists and volunteers - was already planning the bus boycott - because without the group of people they were discriminating against, the city of Montgomery would lose 75% of the income brought in by these buses. The leader chosen for the Montgomery Improvement Association was a newcomer to the Montgomery area, named Martin Luther King Jr. Sparked by Rosa Parks and her very small decision not to give up her seat on the bus, the boycott lasted an amazing 381 days into Dec. 1956 when the US Supreme Court ruled that the segregation laws were unconstitutional and the buses were integrated. 

 

Other women had been arrested for not giving up their seats on the bus, under the Jim Crow laws, but unfortunately, civil rights leaders didn't think that they would gain widespread, white support. Other bus boycotts had happened, but civil rights activists had given up before they had made serious improvements. It wasn't until Rosa Parks, that people decided they messed with the wrong woman. Because of her, the biggest bus boycott started, MLK Jr, decided to be the face of the civil rights movement, and ultimately, things started to change. She was such an amazing woman, and I think that people should never think that once small choice or decision doesn't matter. 

[Ryrin]

http://womenofthewall.org.il/

 

"As Women of the Wall, our central mission is to achieve the social and legal recognition of our right, as women, to wear prayer shawls, pray, and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Western Wall."

 

Women are prevented from doing so by Orthodox and Ultra Orthox males. There have been protests, arrests, and even violence.

 

While "modest dress" is requested for everyone, I saw it enforced only for women who must have their arms and legs covered.

 

My protest was that I wore three quarter sleeves, did not cover my hair, and I wore pants. They dont like women in pants either.