A darkly-dressed woman and a man sit in a secluded backyard. The woman takes a drag from her contraband cigarette and regards the impatience of the man across from her. “Hear my story first. You will know why you should listen.”
So begins a movie called The Stoning of Soraya M. The movie tells the story of Soraya M., a an Iranian woman who was stoned to death by her village. The movie is sometimes brutally violent (we couldn’t bear to watch the climactic scene in its entirety), but it definitely does the important job of addressing a crime that remains prevalent today. Catch The Stoning of Soraya M. as it enjoys a wider release in the U.S. this month.
Relevant links:
Official Website: http://www.thestoning.com/
International Women’s Fund Review: http://www.iwf.org/news/show/21657.html/
Frequently Asked Questions About Stoning: http://www.stop-stoning.org/faq_stoning/
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Welcome to the Delta Class!
Sigma at Yale is very excited to announce the new additions to the Sigma family! (permalink here)
When I first noticed Sigma, I saw an organization dedicated to the community. When I took a closer look, I saw a group of friends, a sisterhood, dedicated to each other. And when I finally stepped into Sigma’s embrace, I looked back and saw memories made, looked ahead and saw memories to be created, and realized this will be one of the best decisions of my life.
When she isn’t splashing through the cold puddles or frozen piles of snow of New Haven in her all-season footwear (flip f
lops), Jillian – a potential [insert subject here] major in Calhoun College’s Class of 2012 – enjoys sitting in the sun, decked out in summer apparel, in the “warm” 60 degree weather that the East Coast occasionally brings. Hailing from green Palo Alto, CA, that puts Old Campus to shame, besides obsessing over weather, frolicking with her golden retriever Millie, and listening to and playing music [guitar - she tries - and piano], Jillian loves fencing (its thrill and adrenaline), traveling (exploring new settings, diving into new cultures, and learning new languages), and watching movies (especially foreign films. And action films. And romance. Actually anything, depending on her mood.). She also can’t resist writing long sentences with tons of repetition and hyphens (and parentheses and brackets).
As a freshman, I often wondered what the transition to Yale would be like. After rushing Sigma in the spring I realized that this group of girls would offer me the invaluable support and unconditional friendships that you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else.
A peripatetic with homes in Shenyang, New Jersey, Maryland and more (it’s a long story), Sin is a psychology major in the Trumbull class of 2012 expecting to one day finish med school and become a psychiatrist. When she is not breeding hydractinia on Science Hill, Sin enjoys playing guqin, painting, baking, and studying literary Chinese. She dreams of winning the lottery and opening a pub-cafe with gorgeously colorful glassware, a sexy bartender under caressingly dim lighting, really good chips and an artfully engraved wooden sign. Currently, Sin looks forward to planning her summer 2012 wedding with her beloved fiance, Michael.
Ashley was born in Orlando, Florida but moved to the coastal town of Merritt Island when she was two and has lived there ever since. A member of the Jonathan Edwards class of 2012, she plans on majoring in Environmental Studies. Ashley enjoys going on unreasonably long bike excursions to places she has never been and running marathons at odd hours of the day. She is excessively thrilled by the Florida Gators and has more Gators paraphernalia than most UF students. Ashley can’t sit still for extended periods of time so can often be found wandering aimlessly in the outdoors without a care in her heart. She loves laughing, writing, and Publix. If you go to any football games, you might see her making a fool of herself attempting to play clarinet in the YPMB.
At first I was really afraid of doing something so out of my comfort zone, but now that I have, I realize how good of a decision it was. The people are amazing– I don’t know what I would have done this semester without them.
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Tags: ashley, deltas, jillian, sin
Indra K. Nooyi, 3rd most powerful woman!
I found this article about the Asian/Asian American women who made Forbes’ list of 2008’s most powerful women and I thought I’d share… read and be inspired!
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DV on Larry King Live, CNN
Joy Behar (a host of Larry King Live) and her guests Robin Givens – ex-wife of Mike Tyson – and Denise Brown – sister of O.J. Simpson’s late wife Nicole Brown – discuss the topic of domestic abuse, focusing on their own experiences as well as the most recent high profile example of the subject, Chris Brown’s attack on his girlfriend Rihanna.
In this video, CNN provides an analysis on the Chris Brown/Rhianna domestic violence case, examining the legal implications of the case as well as changing US attitudes towards Domestic Violence and Abuse.
Celebrities bring all sorts of issues into the spotlight, either intentionally or unintentionally– and recently, domestic violence awareness has been receiving unprecedented public and media attention due to the Rihanna/Chris Brown case. It’s troubling that DV has had to wait for something so high-profile in order to get its feet off the ground, but we hope that domestic violence continues to receive the attention it deserves as this issue continues to be discussed on a national and local level.
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Tags: chris brown, rihanna
We never would have imagined seeing Rihanna a victim of domestic violence. But recent reports of the Chris Brown / Rihanna assault case sharply reminds us that domestic violence affects all communities, regardless of socio economic status, age, religion, race, or occupation.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/09/chris.brown/
Perhaps most shocking has been to witness the hesitation in condemning Chris Brown. Despite the clear evidence of abuse provided by pictures of Rihanna’s beaten and battered face which have inundated media websites, celebrities were quoted as saying “Give the couple their privacy,” “Cut Chris Brown some slack” and “We don’t know what happened so we can’t judge as outsiders.” On websites bloggers went as far as to blame Rihanna: “The girl had it coming for her,” “She’s just as responsible as Brown.”
Certainly, we will never know the details of the escalation and the exact role Rihanna played. But to consider that “she deserved it” should not even enter into dialogue. No one deserves to be abused. Nothing can justify physical violence, and “self-defense” will never be able to explain the bruises.
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Tags: chris brown, domestic violence awareness, rihanna
1st Sister Retreat Recap
Our first (semesterly!) Sister Retreat turned out to be fantastic! Kudos to Emily and Crystal for putting in the hard work planning the retreat. Emily G, Flo, and Sandra– wish you could have made it (but don’t worry, we brought back souvenirs). We debated a lot of great ideas last weekend and should all look forward to implementing our new plans this coming semester. Let’s get excited!
To recap:
Sister meetings every Sunday in LC208 at 3:30pm
Group lunch in Commons every Tuesday
Group dinner in Silliman every Wednesday
Interested in getting to know what Sigma is all about? Feel free to join us at our meals. 
We always welcome the company (and the food).
Reminders:
For those who haven’t registered for spring convention yet, please do so as soon as possible!
Our first rush event is tonight in LC208 at 8:00pm. We’re all looking forward to the ice cream sandwiches…
For the full rush calendar, click here.
And last, but not least… check out some of the pictures from retreat!
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Tags: recap, reminders, sisterhood
Obama Overturns “Gag Rule”
On his first day in office in January 2001, President Bush reinstated the Global Gag Rule, which prohibited aid from going toward any organization that mentioned abortion as an option in family planning.
New Statesman reports:
President George W. Bush issued an executive order that had lain dormant throughout most of the Clinton administration. The Mexico City Policy, more commonly and descriptively dubbed “the global gag rule”, had been instituted by Ronald Reagan in 1984, and represented a tightening of the Helms Amendment 1973, which had made it unlawful for non-governmental organisations to use any funds granted by the US Agency for International Development (Usaid) either to provide safe abortion (in countries where it is legal) or to lobby for it (in countries where it is not).
The global gag rule allowed the US to use its huge financial clout (it currently provides 40 per cent of the global aid budget for population programmes) to take its anti-abortion stance much further. From the moment it was signed, NGOs receiving any help at all from Usaid – accepting supplies of condoms, for example – were explicitly prohibited from using any of their other funding to provide safe abortion or lobby for it.
As many as sixteen countries lost access to birth control.
Within his first 100 hours in office, Obama overturned the Gag Rule (on Jan. 23), in addition to many other steps in separating his administration from Bush’s legacy.
We’d like to think of it as one step forward for international women’s rights!
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Tags: bush, DV, international, obama, philanthropy, women's rights
SYZ Spring 2009 Rush
That time of the semester is upon us again! Click on the banner below to go to our rush schedule for Spring 2009.
Want to be updated on Spring Rush 2009 information, locations, and other news? E-mail us at syzyale@gmail.com and we’ll keep you updated!
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Tags: rush
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