Support the women of Burma
Strip the military regime’s power
Help fund relief efforts
Send your panties for peace!
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: uawcc | June 3, 2008
Panties for Peace!
Posted by: uawcc | May 12, 2008
Sewing bee for girls in Tanzania
Some friends and I made around 80 reusable menstrual pads for a friend to take on her trip to Tanzania to give to the girls in the villages that she will be visiting. She’s involved with SIHA (Students’ International Health Association) and is going to do HIV/AIDs and malaria education there for 3 months. The pads were pretty simple to make - we used the pattern from here. We were lucky to get a lot of donated fabric and we sewed the outside pads from flannel, and the inside liners with layers of flannel, terry cloth, and a water proof barrier. We had a serger but if you only have access to a sewing machine they could be sewn along the inside and then flipped right side out
Sarah
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: uawcc | April 17, 2008
Parental permission needed to see “The Vagina Monologues”
at a high school in Edmonton..
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/theatre/story/2008/04/16/vagina-monologues.html
Posted in Uncategorized
You may have seen the commercials… the ones describing how girls in South Africa miss school when they have their period and how buying Tampax tampons will help them. There’s also a commercial for Always pads, with a similar message. Imagine having to use rags or newspaper, which is what many of these girls use for their periods.
Procter and Gamble (P&G) has started a program in Africa, where they are donating Always sanitary pads to girls who otherwise would miss several days of school each month due to inadequate menstrual supplies.
But what are the potential problems with donating disposable feminine hygiene products? Well, for starters, there is the environmental impact. In most of these areas, they have no solid waste programs or landfills. In other words, they burn their waste.
As such, products that have synthetic components (like sanitary pads and tampons) would be incinerated. For some schools, P&G is building incinerators near the bathrooms. But what about the pollutants emitted from burning these products? They may potentially get inhaled by the students and teachers. Any additional packaging, plastic or otherwise, would need to be disposed of in the same manner.
What would be a good alternative to help out these girls but without the environmental impact? Since most of these girls are using rags now, having a pad that is a more sophisticated (with a waterproof barrier) may be enough to allow them to participate in school and regular activities. They would still wash the pads as they normally do with the rags, but they would benefit from the extra protection.
Deanna Duke started Goods 4 Girls to provide the link for women wanting to donate hand-sewn menstrual pads to agencies who could provide the means to identify areas of need as well as provide the distribution to the women and girls needing the pads.
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: uawcc | March 25, 2008
Vagina Monologues Tomorrow Night!
Just a reminder that the Vagina Monologues is tomorrow night at the Myer Horowitz Theatre in SUB. You can get tickets at any InfoLink booth from 9am - 5pm, and there will also be tickets on sale at the door ($15, cash only). The doors open at 7pm for the art auction, and the play starts at 8! 
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: uawcc | March 17, 2008
Take action against the “Unborn Victims of Crime Act”, Bill C-484!
Make sure Canadian politicians hear your voice about women’s rights!
The University of Alberta Women’s Centre Collective wants to generate a large opposition to Bill C-484 in the Canadian government. We need your voice and letters to achieve this goal!
This is an effective 3-minute action.
Why?
The “Unborn Victims of Crime Act” has passed its second reading in the House of Commons. This bill introduces the idea of “fetal rights,” allowing charges to be laid in the “death of an unborn child”. First, this bill conflicts with women’s guaranteed rights
and equality under our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, where the woman and her fetus are considered “physically one” person under the law. In addition, the Criminal Code gives legal status and rights to a person only after they are born. Therefore, with the passing of Bill C-484 and the legal status of a fetus, how can abortion be exempt from the law (as stated in Section 7)?
As seen in the United States with a similar law to Bill C-484, the government could charge a woman for self-abortion or engaging in harmful behaviours, situations and environments that endanger the fetus.
Bill C-484 does nothing to prevent the cause of domestic violence; it does not protect women. Rather, it is a step back for a woman’s reproductive rights! Instead of this bill, we need better measures to reduce violence against pregnant women. Besides, “fetal homicide” laws in the U.S. have done nothing to reduce the high rates of domestic violence against pregnant women (or fetuses).
How to Take Action?
We feel that any participation you put into this action will have a great impact on the next reading of Bill C-484. Please take the time to look through the ways you can take action:
Contact your Member of Parliament, and express your concern for the bill. To locate the email address and phone number of your MP, visit this governmental website.
Use the sample letter provided and the information above to help you write a letter to your MP. Remember, the more personalized your letter is, the more effective it will be. Visit this website to view an informative letter.
Also, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada generated a very useful and informative list of counterarguments. If you are interested, visit http://www.arcc-cdac.ca/action/unborn-victims-act.htm
Sign a petition against Bill C-484 on the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada website: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/oppose-bill-c-484.html
The list below contains all of the Liberals voted in favour of the bill, as well as the MPs that did not show up to vote. It may be crucial to make these individuals aware of your knowledge and concerns regarding domestic violence and women’s rights; they are our hopeful candidates who could put an end to the bill. Please include these emails and names in your list to contact:
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: uawcc | March 10, 2008
Vagina Monologues - Ticket Info
Tickets are available for $15 and will go on sale on Monday, March 10th at the HUB, SUB (Students’ Union Building) and CAB (Central Academic Building) Infolink Booths located on the University of Alberta campus, as well as at the door on the evening of the performance.
Posted in Vagina Monologues
Posted by: uawcc | March 4, 2008
Today is…
Posted in Uncategorized
Posted by: uawcc | March 2, 2008
Spinning a Movement - Celebrating International Women’s Day
Saturday, March 8: 7-10 pm, the ARTery - 9535 Jasper Ave
A night of stories, poetry, music, and visual arts celebrating International Women’s Day.
$2 at the door - all proceeds go to the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters
18+ - no minors
DOORS @ 7
SHOW @ 7.30
Featuring stories from:
Omayra Issa - responsible for the Education Portfolio at the University of Alberta Women’s Center Collective and activist for women’s rights in Africa
Gail Sidoni Sobat - University of Alberta Writer in Residence and Woman in Black
—
Poems and stories from:
Jannie Edwards - Associate dean of Grant MacEwan’s arts campus, Trina Moyles, Jessica Wallace
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Visual art from:
Dorothy Loh, Maegan Rose, Uli Rossier, Aspen Zettel, Leah Mcinnis
—
Music from:
bronze leaf
… plus more to be confirmed!
… PLUS free food, interactive art, and an NGO fair.
Cafe Feminino coffee, produced by a women’s collective, will be for sale ($6 per 1/2 pound), with $1 from each bag benefiting Changing Together: A Centre for Immigrant Women.
Hosted by: Amnesty International, Global Projects Grant MacEwan, Oxfam Edmonton
Posted in International Women's Day
Posted by: uawcc | March 1, 2008
March 1st, 2008, Saturday @ 6:30pm: Movie - “The Business of Being Born”
Birth: it’s a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies.
The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal.
Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?
Location: Whitemud Crossing Library, Whitemud Crossing Shopping Centre, 4211 - 106 Street [Just west of the Rona Hardware Store - Michael
Cost: Free
Website: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com, http://www.birthingstuff.com/shop and http://www.asac.ab.ca
Posted in Uncategorized
