"Virtual" Murder

The following story appeared in my local paper today.

In Japan, a woman has been jailed on suspicion of murdering her virtual husband after he suddenly divorced her.

And from USA Today:
"A 43-year-old player in a virtual game world became so angry about her sudden divorce from her online husband that she logged on with his password and killed his digital persona, police said Thursday.

The woman, who has been jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his ID and password to log onto the popular interactive game Maple Story to carry out the virtual murder in May, a police official in the northern city of Sapporo said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations. The woman, a piano teacher, had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said."

File this under "Strange But True"

Thanks

Just wanted to say "THANKS" to all of you who have left comments for me on some of the many and varied topics covered here. Especially those of you who have taken time to read through the older posts and left your comments there. I do appreciate the time you take to leave a message - however long or short.

Many thanks - and happy reading!

~~~ Melisende

No Hijab - No Office

From The Australian:
"The appointment of two Kuwaiti women ministers breached the constitution and the law because they do not wear the hijab headscarf, a panel in Kuwait's conservative parliament ruled today.

"The committee unanimously decided that appointing the two ministers in the cabinet violated article 82 of the constitution and article one of the election law for failing to abide by Islamic regulations," Ali al-Hajeri MP, spokesman for the Legal and Legislative Committee, said.

The four members of the seven-person panel who attended the meeting are all Islamists or tribals. The remaining three are liberal-leaning MPs.

The two female members of government - Education Minister Nuriya al-Sebih and state minister for housing and administrative development Mudhi al-Humoud - were appointed to the cabinet following the May 17 general elections.

If the panel's decision is approved by parliament, MPs can either call on the prime minister to dismiss the two ministers or take a more serious action of grilling the two women as a prelude to voting them out of office.

At its first meeting on June 1, parliament, which is dominated by Islamists and tribal conservatives, voted to refer the case of the two ministers to the committee to establish if they broke the law.

As cabinet members took the oath on that day, nine Islamist and tribal MPs walked out of parliament in protest at the two women's failure to wear the Islamic headscarf.

The oil-rich Gulf emirate's election law requires women to "abide by Islamic regulations while voting or contesting the elections".

Kuwaiti women were granted political rights in May 2005. Fifty-four female candidates contested the last two general elections but none was elected.

As well as its 50 elected members, the Kuwaiti parliament also comprises 15 cabinet ministers."

Women Candidates Fear Elections

From the Buffalo News:
"Even as violence has declined, lingering fear bred by rampant crime and a small but die-hard insurgency has left many Iraqi women afraid to run in the elections, to be held by Jan. 31.

The election jitters are part of a larger concern about violence and traditional values or prejudice sidelining women from important jobs. The constitution provides that men and women have basic legal rights such as voting and owning property and suing in court. But deep differences exist within Iraqi society over the role of women and of Islam.

Under heavy U.S. pressure to promote gender equality, the Iraqis agreed to a 25 percent quota for women in the last elections for parliament and provincial councils, both held in 2005. A law paving the way for the new vote to be held by Jan. 31 maintains that requirement, opening the door for women to make up at least a quarter of the provincial councils.

But there's a crucial difference this time. In the past elections, names did not appear on the ballot - only numbers and symbols identified with political parties. That system helped empower well-organized religious parties and left many Iraqis feeling little connection with elected officials who were supposed to represent them.

In the new vote, the names of candidates must be presented to voters. The change to a so-called open list has scared some qualified Iraqis from running, particularly women. Activists are worried there won't be enough women to meet the 25 percent threshold, or that the parties will just find women to act as figureheads to fill the quota.

The problem is more acute for women who have come under attack simply for wearing makeup or refusing to don head scarves and head-to-toe black robes - behavior deemed un-Islamic by extremists.

Women also have come under scrutiny for defying traditional norms that discourage them from mixing with men or occupying a public role."

Congo: Rape Rampant

Unfortunately for Congalese women, rape is on the rise - it has become so endeminc that the United Nations has called the scale "horrific" and possibly ".. the worst sexual violence in the world.."

From the International Herald Tribune:
"Tens of thousands of women, possibly hundreds of thousands, have been raped in the past few years in this hilly, incongruously beautiful land and many of these rapes have been marked by a level of brutality that is shocking even by the twisted standards of a place haunted by warlords and drug-crazed child soldiers.

After years of denial and shame, the silence is being broken. Because of stepped-up efforts in the past nine months by international organizations and the Congolese government, rapists are no longer able to count on a culture of impunity.

Of course, countless men still get away with assaulting women. But more and more are getting caught, prosecuted and put behind bars.

European aid agencies are spending tens of millions of dollars building new courthouses and prisons across eastern Congo, in part to punish rapists. Mobile courts are holding rape trials in villages deep in the forest that have not seen a black-robed magistrate since the Belgians ruled the country decades ago.

The American Bar Association opened a legal clinic in eastern Congo in January specifically to help rape victims bring their cases to court. So far, the work has resulted in eight convictions. Here in Bukavu, one of the biggest cities in the country, a special unit of Congolese police officers has filed 103 rape cases since the beginning of this year, more than any year in recent memory.

The number of those arrested is still tiny compared to the perpetrators on the loose, and often the worst offenders are not caught because they are marauding bandits who attack villages in the night, then melt back into the bush.

United Nations officials say that the most sadistic rapes are committed by depraved killers who participated in Rwanda's genocide in 1994 and then escaped into Congo. These attacks have left thousands of women with their insides destroyed.

But the Congolese Army, a ragtag undisciplined force of teenage troops who sport wrap-around sunglasses and rusty rifles, has also been blamed. The government has been slow to punish its own, but Congolese generals recently announced they would set up military tribunals to prosecute government soldiers accused of rape.

No one - doctors, aid workers, Congolese and Western researchers - can explain exactly why Congo's rape problem is the worst in the world.

The attacks continue despite the presence of the world's largest UN peacekeeping force, with more than 17,000 troops. Impunity is thought to be a big factor, which is why there is now so much effort put into bolstering Congo's creaky and often corrupt justice system. The sheer number of armed groups spread over thousands of miles of thickly forested territory, fighting over Congo's rich mineral spoils, also makes it incredibly difficult to protect civilians."

From the Globe & Mail:
"At the Catholic parish office, on the cramped and crowded ledger pages where they list rape victims, at least half the names appear more than once: women who have been victims of sexual enslavement or public gang rape by rebel groups or the Congolese army; women, 30 in an average month, who have come to the parish to get help reaching a hospital to repair their injuries; women who have been healed, come home and a year or two or three later, been gang-raped again, during another small surge of the conflict. The youngest victim on the list is 6. The oldest is 74.

The epidemic of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo, without doubt the most horrific and persistent abuse of women anywhere in the world, has flared in a vicious new outbreak in recent weeks with renewed fighting in the country's troubled eastern region.

Mass rape began here with the civil war in 1996. That conflict quickly sucked in all of Congo's neighbours, and killed an estimated five million people. “And it brought systematic, planned, ordered, collective public rape – rape used as a weapon of war – it is a war within a war,” said Mathilde Muhindo, who heads Centre Olame, one of Congo's oldest women's organizations, founded nearly 50 years ago. Rape was used as a tactic by every single armed force here – each with their signature style: some raped women with guns and shot them off as a finale, some raped girls, some forced sons to rape mothers.

Congo moved into a fragile peace in 2003, and the rate of rape declined. Much of the country came under the nominal control of the central government – but not the volatile, mineral-rich east, home to no fewer than 23 armed groups. Here the conflict simmered for years, and flared once again into full-on fighting in late August because, it seems, a glacial peace process threatened to cut off warlords and neighbouring-country governments from their access to the illegal mineral trade.

With the fighting came a resurgence of rape. Admissions at the two hospitals in the east that can repair the injuries of rape victims have spiked in the past six weeks. Many more victims are assumed to be, as in previous years, trapped deep in the bush, cut off from help by the lack of roads, lack of transport, lack of any money or by the fighting.

But ending rape here depends on more than pushing the state to protect or prosecute. “Unless the war ends and unless the militias stop fighting, we will be sewing up vaginas for eternity – and unless the foreign governments who are benefiting from the resources in the Congo face pressure to cease the fighting and withdraw the troops, we will be here forever,” said Eve Ensler, the New York playwright best known as the creator of The Vagina Monologues, who has become an impassioned advocate for Congo's women over the past two years."

Saxon Princess

British Archaeology (Issue 47, September 1999) also had this interesting article about the discovery of the grave of a Saxon Princess.

Grave of an early Saxon `Princess' found in Newark
"The grave of a wealthy and important early Anglo-Saxon woman - possibly the leader of an early group of settlers, or a leader's wife - has been excavated in Newark, Nottinghamshire, in advance of a housing scheme.

The richly-furnished grave originally lay under a barrow with an enclosure ditch, and was in a prime position overlooking the River Trent, some 100 yards from the Roman Fosse Way and close to the parish boundary. It was isolated from other burials. According to the excavator, consultant John Samuels, its form, contents and position suggest an individual of the highest status. A similar grave found last century at Caenby, north of Lincoln, has been interpreted as that of a king of Lindsey.

The grave-goods, although rich, may once have been richer as the grave had been disturbed - and possibly robbed - in the post-medieval period. Surviving artefacts include a decorated urn, a bronze-rimmed wooden bucket containing three corroded Roman coins, two pairs of silver wrist clasps, a gilded bronze disc perhaps once attached as a decoration to a box or a bag, 47 glass and amber beads (with one trimmed snail shell) from a necklace, an iron knife, and other items. A lamb was also buried in the grave. The artefacts date the grave to the 6th or early 7th century.

The occupant, apparently buried on her side, was a woman in her late 30s or early 40s. She was about 5ft 8in tall - tall for women in the period - and, to judge from her bones and joints, she was `robust' and muscular.

The burial may shed light on the origins of settlement at Newark. The modern place-name dates from the 11th century, and until recently no evidence for pre-Norman settlement had been found in the town. Excavations over recent years at Newark Castle, however, have uncovered signs of Anglo-Saxon occupation and defensive ditches dating as far back as the 5th century.

Bede, writing in the 8th century, mentioned a place called Tiowulfingacaestir - the defended town of Tiowulf's people - by the River Trent in this area. The town has never been firmly identified. According to Mr Samuels, however, the Saxon defences at Newark Castle and the new burial strongly suggest Tiowulfingacaestir was the forerunner of Newark. `It would be nice to think we may have found the grave of Tiowulf herself,' he said. "

Pictish Women

I came across an old article from "British Archaeology" (Issue 3, April 1995) written by Dr Ross Samson, Editor-in-Chief of Cruithne Press. I would like to share it with you.

Power to the Pictish Ladies
"The idea that women may have had unusually high status in medieval Pictish society has long been the subject of scholarly fascination - and dispute - even though there has never been much evidence on which to pin opposing views.

The idea started with the 8th century English historian, Bede, who wrote that, whenever the Pictish royal succession was in dispute, kings were chosen from the female royal line rather than the male. Although dismissed by some scholars as a myth, others have taken the absence of sons succeeding fathers in the Pictish king lists as supporting evidence for Bede's words. Several scholars have gone further, arguing that if women had a decisive role in succession disputes, their power doubtless extended to other areas of society as well.

An entirely new line of evidence, however, may be provided by Pictish symbols. These are carved on rough boulders or cross stones, and about 400 examples survive. They have been taken, at different times, to represent inter-tribal marriage instructions, estate boundary markers, records of personal professions, Pictish `flags', simple artistic expressions, even pagan altars--but never on the basis of much hard evidence. In my view, the symbol stones were memorial stones, and the symbols represent names - either the name of the dead person, or of the person who had the stone erected. Moreover, I believe that a fifth of the names belonged to women. Compared to other contemporary societies, this would represent a very high proportion-- in Ireland, for instance, we know the names of about 10,000 men dating from before AD1000, but of only 200 or 300 women.

The symbols almost always appear as pairs, and in several contemporary societies names were produced from two themes. In Anglo-Saxon, for instance, we have Aethelgifu (`Noble-gift'), Aethelstan (`Noble-stone'), and Wulfstan (`Wolf-stone'). On Welsh stones we find Vindobarus, a Latinised version of Finnbar (`Fair-head'). The few Pictish names we do know, such as Bridei, pose difficulties because they do not look dithematic, but the reason may be that the names have collapsed - as happened to names in Ireland. By the 8th and 9th centuries, many Irish names could no longer be recognised for the two themes they once contained.

Knowledge of the Pictish language is miserably poor, and many of the symbols are too abstract for us to guess what they meant. But even without knowing the names, I believe we can distinguish those of men from those of women. The gender of themes used for Anglo-Saxon names could not be confused - gifu or `gift' was feminine and Aethelgifu had to be a woman's name. But in several languages the gender of a name depends solely on its ending - for instance, in Latin, Aeternus and Aeterna (`Mr and Ms Everlasting', which appear on an early medieval Welsh stone), or in Irish, Aadan and Aednat (`Mr and Ms Fire').

I believe Pictish names may have worked in the same way, and that feminine endings on the Pictish carved stones were represented by the mirror and comb symbols that follow one in every five symbol pairs. A mirror and comb appear to the left of the only unmistakably Pictish woman represented on a cross stone - there are several biblical females - that from Hilton of Cadboll, dating from about AD800.

If this theory is correct, 20 per cent of Pictish stones were erected for or by women, which is between five and 20 times more often than in any other contemporary Celtic or Scandinavian society. One motive for commemorating the dead publicly is the statement it makes - I am inheriting this person's wealth, power, authority and prestige. If women held 20 per cent of the power and wealth in Pictish society, it is no wonder Bede heard such stories about their dominant role in the royal succession."

"Ugly" Duchess

From Mail Online:
"For years, Quinten Massys' portrait of An Old Woman in the National Gallery has captivated audiences with her unattractive looks.

Looking at her upturned nose, wrinkled cleavage and beady eyes, one would wonder why the Flemish artist would choose to paint such an ugly woman.

After much investigation and debate, art experts believe they have found out why the woman looked like she did and have authenticated the masterpiece.

Medical research on the subject of the painting found she was suffering from an extremely rare form of Paget's disease - an chronic disorder which enlarges and deforms the bones.

The investigation into the 1513 creation found not only why the woman looked like she did, but also that the portrait was a truthful representation.

Researchers told The Guardian she suffered from an advanced form of osteitis deformans, which left her with an extended upper lip, a pushed up nose and enlarged jaw bones. Her hands, eye sockets, forehead, chin and collarbones were also affected by the condition."

Marie Stopes

It appears that the Royal Mail has come under fire for issuing a stamp with the image of Marie Stopes.

Stopes was the first woman in Britain to open a family planning clinic back in 1921. But that is not the reason for the uproar - it would appear that Stopes' other sympathies may have lain elsewhere.

According to the Telegraph:
"To her supporters Stopes, who has a sexual health charity now working in 40 countries named after her, helped liberate women and transform society with her campaigning in favour of family planning.

But Stopes, who died in 1958, was also a supporter of eugenics, the pseudo-scientific theories which promoted sterilisation of diseased or weak people to "perfect" the race, which was openly promoted by the Nazis in Germany.

She is also said to have been a supporter of Adolf Hitler, even sending a book of her poems to the Nazi dictator on the eve of the Second World War, enclosed with a warm letter declaring: "Dear Herr Hitler, Love is the greatest thing in the world."

In 1935 she attended a conference in Berlin to promote "population science". She openly advocated sterilisation of those deemed "unfit for parenthood" including those who were ill or suffered alcohol problems as early as 1919. She called for this to be compulsory in her book Radiant Motherhood."

But the Royal Mail has stood by its decision, saying that: "These stamps commemorate six unique individuals whose dedicated work not only changed the lives of other women, but society as a whole."

Others honoured include the Labour cabinet minister Barbara Castle, for her work promoting equal pay, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, the first British woman to qualify as a doctor, and her sister the women's rights campaigner Millicent Garrett Fawcett.