Kumbaya anyone?

I've been nervous about the EU referendum from day one. You see, it's all deja vu for me. I was about 10, when countries in the Soviet Block - of which my country was a member, split up and gained independence.

Although it made social and economic sense as that interpretation of socialism was oppressive, the consequences are felt to date. Almost 25 years later.  The consequences I am talking about are feelings of bitterness, divisive nationalism, and hatred.

These feelings resulted in a brief war in Transnistria, and I can vividly remember my grandmother's auntie talking about her son being blown up in the fighting, and I can remember not being able to go to school because the horrible sounds of bullets and bombs were too close for comfort.

My daughter is nearly the age I was then. And here we are in the UK and I can't shake the feeling that it's all happening again. I know it's not the same, but the atmosphere, the conversations, the questions are all too familiar. Most of it boils down to bitterness and divisive nationalism.

Budgets, layers, and motorbikes

Reflections of a feminist

As Chancellor George Osborne prepares to amuse us with an emergency budget (aka "summer budget 2015")  - amongst other things seeking to cap benefits at 20K outside London and introduce further austerity measures, I get a lot of questions about the impact of further cuts on women.

Without a doubt, women will be bearing the brunt of austerity most.

Before we even get to the question of gender equality in the face of tightening budgets, let's take a step back and see all extra levels of vulnerability that come with age, ethnicity, documented presence in the UK, and others. Creating various layers of vulnerability to austerity is not helpful. We are all in the same boat, and the boat is sinking.

In the face of a neoliberal budget proposal, we should stay united. United across age, gender, race and ethnicity. United - dare I say it - even across right to live and work in the UK.

Tackling Political Taboos - Immigration

We often watch with admiration documentary programmes about the migration of birds. At the same time we are very likely to accept politics of fear and rejection when it comes to migrants who are coming to the UK - be it because they are trying to avoid persecution and abuse, poverty and discrimination, or because they want to better their education and economic situation.

Most politicians tend to steer clear of any discourse supporting migrants in the run up to elections.  Migrants are unable to vote in the General Election and their voices don't seem to count.

I'd like to break the cycle on this issue. I am a migrant myself. A migrant who chose to make the UK my home because its values of human rights, equality, and fairness really resonated with me.  

Top 5 reasons for standing

Women's political activism reviewed

The general election is upon us, and everybody is jumping on the bandwagon of women and politics. Everybody that is except the Labour Party who are jumping in a pink minibus. But that is another story.

The main questions I want to explore is why are women not engaging with politics? And if they are not - either as voters or as candidates - why is that?

Social media is now buzzing with campaigns that are focusing on getting women out to vote - ranging from posters about suffragettes to hustings for women to meet the candidates and get more involved in the decision making process.

In Bristol, Bristol Women's Voice are partnering with Fairplay South West and Bristol Fawcett for a series of Women's Question Time across the city in the lead up to the General Elections in May. These will allow women in the four constituencies to meet the candidates. The motto of the event "women can win the general election!" implies that as a result, women will vote and elect a candidate that will represent their views best.

Impact of public spending cuts on women in Bristol

From a talk delivered at "Creating a Manifesto for Bristol South" event held by Green Party Candidate for Bristol South Tony Dyer on January 31, 2015. 

The impact of austerity on women's equality has been a growing concern since 2010. Independent research bodies, academics, and practitioners have highlighted in numerous reports how reducing public spending has a disproportionate effect on women. The Fawcett Society presents regular reports on the impact of public spending cuts on women that highlight the problems in details. 

As a practitioner who works with women regularly, I see how many women are becoming poorer and financially dependent. 

If we look at women in Bristol. the context in which we live is already putting us at a disadvantage when it comes to the economy, health and wellbeing, decision making, and safety.

Women's economic security:

• Over 40% of women living in Bristol South and Bristol East constituencies earn under the living wage (£280) per week;
• 25 % of children in Bristol are living in poverty; 29% in Bristol South and 60% in Lawrence Hill. 75% of these children live in lone parent families 92% of lone parents are women. The changes which require lone parents to move from Income Support to Jobseekers Allowance when their youngest child is 5 is likely to lead to an 8.5% drop in real income by 2015; 
• The occupational areas targeted for development by the West of England LEP are male dominated industries - aerospace, high tech manufacturing, low carbon, creative digital and professional and managerial. The policies and budgets behind these developments rarely take into account ways to get more women in board.

Come on Mark, let's make reading accessible!

I love reading! Reading is my hobby, my passion, my love. It allows me to grow, become a better person, and at the same time live multiple lives on different levels, through different characters. This is why Mark Zuckerberg's commitment to reading a new book every fortnight this year was great news for me!

Such a powerful public figure taking up reading as a regular activity is bound to inspire more people into the habit, right? And so it did! The first book of the year - The End of Power, a 320-page non-fiction tome by Moisés Naím, the former editor of Foreign Policy magazine - is said to have already been sold out. And this is where the tricky bit comes in.

This year, reading up alongside the 30-year-old billionaire is going to be expensive! The book is £ 7.19 to download on Kindle and £ 17.59 on paperback (although don't hold your breath, it's already soldout on Amazon!).

While a wonderful initiative, close to my soul, it will only reinforce the belief that growth and development through reading is a privilege.  It becomes the habit of the white middle class person, and these books will not be accessible to those who would benefit the most - people trapped in the welfare system, criminal justice, unemployment, lack of education, aspirations and opportunity.

I don't want to simply point out a negative, complain about it, and walk away. I would like to ask Mark Zuckerberg to work with Amazon and make the books on this year's list free. Not for the duration of the year, but the duration of the time he is reading them (ie. make The End of Power free for two weeks, and them move to the next book). Alongside him, millions of other people will read them and grow their love of books.  Amazon will only have to benefit from hundreds of thousands of new readers. Come on Mark, don't leave reading to the white middle class guy. Help make it accessible to every person!

Top 5 reasons for not standing

As I was considering stating in the general  elections 2015, I've spent a lot of time talking to women in Bristol about what is keeping them from being more engaged in the political process. Five main reasons have emerged, and although they are not the only ones, they kept on coming up again and again.

1. Lack of confidence came up in all conversations, and I can't say that I am unfamiliar with this feeling. As women, we are faced with confidence issues all the time - from our bodies and the way we parent our children, to the way we take care of the extended family and express ourselves at work. We often suffer from what is known as the "impostor syndrome" - a feeling that we are not as good as people think we are, and we are going to be found out any minute now.

Remember that time when you stood in a meeting and you had so much to say? But just before you came in you were unable to verify that data with a thousand sources, so you did not want to say anything for the fear of everybody discovering that you are not so clever? I do! But guess what - we are clever, we have a lot to contribute, so it's time to take off the cover up and step in the way we are!