"The daughters of Muslim families in Europe must face different challenges to defend their individual freedoms and their emancipation as women.
On the one hand, the patriarchal traditions that come from their country of origin, intimately linked with religion.
On the other, the onslaughts of racism from the far right, which discriminates against them whilst calling for them to be relegated to second place as foreigners.
Finally, there are two revived phenomena that make the process more difficult: Islamic fundamentalism and a certain relativism. In the face of all this, what they want is a genuine freedom, unconditioned by origin, class or identity."
"The Plural Masculinities Centre is a new municipal facility which is opening to foster a diverse, positive and plural perspective of masculinity, helping to generate different collective perceptions from the strictest and outdated meaning of “being a man” or “behaving like a man”.
Greater flexibility in the perception of masculinity paves the way for promoting healthier and more equal relationships and doing away with binary-based stereotypes.
The new centre is an open space for citizens and will carry out its projects in conjunction with organisations linked to masculinities, through three areas of action:
Education: boost awareness among young people through work with the education community, taking into account formal and non-formal education alike. This action must allow for work on different models of masculinity with children and teenagers, and also to address parent models and ways of exercising masculinity with parents and adults.
Culture: foster the creation of pieces and spaces at cultural facilities in the city which address this area, with projects which allow them to reach the general public and open up the debate on the problems of hegemonic masculinity.
Sport: this is a social sector where the stereotypical role of masculinity has a strong presence, meaning work will be geared towards collaboration with sports organisations to conduct training and awareness campaigns.
The centre is located at Av. Marquès de l’Argentera, 22, and has a team of ten specialists. The premises include a large multi-purpose room and shared facilities with the Men’s Support Service for the Promotion of Non-Violent Relations (SAH).The annual budget for the new centre is 1.3 million euros.
The idea behind the opening of thePlural Masculinities Centreis to developpublic policies on gender which include menand offer reflection from the perspective of masculinities in two ways: firstly, to highlight thebenefits for men in the construction of positive and respectful masculinities, and secondly to get men to commit men to the change towards equal gender relationships.
Debate on masculinities with the Decidim platform
In a move to facilitate open debate with the general public, a specific section has been created on the municipal participation website Decidim Barcelona, to work on masculinities jointly and connect local people with experts and organisations in this area. Initially, the project has three different spaces: introduction and perspective, open debates, and city agenda and resources on masculinities. Campaigns and communication initiatives will also be designed to reach out to young people via social media."
Read more from source at Barcelona's local government here.
"Centuries ago, Spanish writers challenged gender norms and barriers...
An exhibit at the Cervantes Institute in Madrid focuses on some of the most important — but largely ignored — women writers of Spain's 16th and 17th centuries.
Think "Spanish literature" and you might come up with "Don Quixote," by Miguel de Cervantes. But there's so much more to classic Spanish lit than "Man of La Mancha."
That’s the focus of "Both Wise and Valiant," an exhibition at the Cervantes Institute in Madrid, which looks at some of the most important — but largely ignored — women writers of Spain's 16th and 17th centuries.
The exhibit opened in March but closed due to COVID-19. Now the exhibit has reopened and will be on display through September.
“What is surprising is that we haven't known many of these female writers until very recently," said Ana Rodríguez-Rodríguez, curator
“What is surprising is that we haven't known many of these female writers until very recently. They are better known now, in the academic world, but not so much for the greater public. I think that’s something we have to keep working on, and that’s the idea of this exhibition,” said curator Ana Rodríguez-Rodríguez, who is also a professor at the University of Iowa..."
Read more (and listen to a podcast of the story at PRI here.
How can Teen boys grow personally and develop their identity in a positive way? What role does gender play in the development for boys? What is masculinity today?
As author of The Remade Parent, as well as being a former secondary school teacher and father of a teenage boy, I am leading this interactive and engaging 2 hour workshop where your son, from the age of 11 to 15, will explore what becoming a young man in today’s world means for both himself and his relationships.
This time spent together will include open dialogue, personal growth/trust exercises and professional mentoring in a safe environment.
Details: 13 November, 18.30 - 20.30 (Address: Calle Teodora Lamadrid, specifics To Be Supplied on request.)
Investment: 20€ Places limited To reserve, contact co-host: niki@shinesparkleradiate.com or WhatsApp Niki a message on 639781994
Via the excellent Business Over Tapas, I came across the above short video that tells how "when Aïna Coscollola began working with a group of teenage girls from
Pakistan who had recently moved to [Besos in] Barcelona, she came up with a unique
approach to tackling the self-confidence and language challenges that
many of these young immigrants faced.
She started an all-women’s cricket
team. Cricket, the most popular sport in Pakistan, proved a unifying
force for this community, helping the girls unearth a sense of identity,
cooperation, and a newfound sense of self-esteem at school."
[Healthcare reform activists from 'TRANSforma la Salut' in October press conference. Photo: Ferran Sendra / El Periódico]
"• Move announced as part of a desire to ‘de-pathologise’ transexuality
• Special unit set up in Barcelona to handle all gender identity healthcare needs The regional health service in...Catalonia has dropped its controversial requirement for individuals
seeking a medical gender change to first undergo psychiatric evaluation,
removing what transgender and LGBT activists in Spain have long
protested as a stigmatization that equates homosexuality and the desire
for gender change with mental illness.
[Catalan] health minister Antoni Comín announced Monday that
individuals experiencing gender identity disorder over the sexual
identity they were assigned at birth and who seek hormone treatment or
surgery through the...health service will no longer be treated as
though they have a mental disorder prior to undergoing therapy.
As part of Catalonia’s push to “de-pathologise” healthcare related to
sexual identity and gender change, Comín said, a new multi-disciplinary
specialist Gender Identity Unit (GIU) has been established at
Barcelona’s Manso primary healthcare center to meet the specific needs
of individuals undergoing hormone therapy and sex-change surgery. Currently, there are 437 people at different stages of sex-change
treatment within the Catalan health system, with 93 new applications
each year from individuals seeking initial hormonal treatment of two
years prior to being placed on the waiting list for sex-change surgery."
This Wednesday afternoon, along with two other writers - Gloria Montero and Inez Baranay - I will be speaking at an international seminar titled Borders of Belonging at the University of Barcelona. I will be focusing on gender and emotion, two themes that are explored in my non-fiction book, The Remade Parent.
Sometimes I get the sense that I am
living in a past era...
“A how-to manual called Marry and
Submit Yourself(Casate
y se sumisa) is proving a hit in Spain...
It is aimed at newly-wed women -
teaching them to accept criticism of their cooking or housekeeping,
and to learn to keep the peace in a marital home. The author, Costanza Miriano [has
said] that her book is not about women being doormats, but being
supportive.”
Girls earn better grades and have less tendency to repeat courses. Women are the majority in Spanish universities…and they dedicate more time to make studying a priority.
A report by Gloria López (AmecoPress) on work by the Institute of Women in the Asturias region.
Last Christmas in Spain six women were killed. On average in the previous year there was a woman slain every five days in this country.
One of the most significant factors here is that immigrant women account for 45% of the dead. The particular difficulties and pressures that immigrants have, account for only one of the reasons for this figure.
Antonio Garcia, a member of the coordinator of the Association of Men for Gender Equality said "The problem is essentially male…We need to change the mandates of machismo [ultra-male attitudes and behaviour.]”
One judge stated that "The solutions will come with our children. Meanwhile, we can not stand idly by.”
I believe that Spain is probably the best country in the world to live in and that domestic violence is a huge problem in many societies. But until there is a big improvement in levels of domestic violence, this wonderful land will be terribly and unnecessarily stained with the blood of women.
