Archive for the ‘international’ Category
India’s single women resist stigma, demand rights
A must-read article from Women’s ENews! quick highlights:
Formerly-married women in India outnumber the entire population of Canada. Ever-single women haven’t even been counted. But 58,000 women belong to single women’s organizations in 8 of India’s federated states. These organizations have lobbied for economic support, equal pay, and the right not to be burned as witches.
The article includes several organizations’ names and link – I hope our many readers in India will follow up with them!
News roundup for the new year
Several AtMP members around the county used their winter holidays to scour the news for interesting stories about marriage and its alternatives. Here are just a few of the many worth talking about:
Ann was the first to spot the efforts of different-sex unmarried couples to be included in domestic partner coverage being offered to employees of the U.S. State Department. (Yay! if you have a connection to Mr. Howard or Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, please let us know!) According to the L.A. Times,
Supporters of extending benefits to unmarried heterosexuals include such key Congress members as House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village) and the committee’s top Republican, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.
Thomas was the first to point out the ironies of Karl Rove’s divorce, as Rove worked to build connections between the Bush II administration and religious/political figures who favored marriage promotion.
Stephanie was the first to share the news that Virginia’s statewide Advance Health Care Directive Registry is set to go live for individuals on February 17, 2010.
Marisa pointed out CNN’s approach to covering the “people get married for health insurance” story. Hardly news, but a good summary of the issues with lots of relevant and not too obnoxious comments.
I really appreciate AtMP members sending these tips, which always go beyond what I catch via key words on Google Alerts. I also pick up interesting news from other organizations’ email lists. Just before the new year, folks at Smartmarriages shared the Onion’s trenchant predictions on cohabitation, and Women’s Enews publicized fascinating legal reforms around marriage and divorce in Uganda and Nepal.
“What’s next, marrying your dog?”
Their lonely-hearts faces peer out of the advertisements, hangdog and looking for love. …In matrimony-mad India, where marriage is the central event of a lifetime, these posters could easily be for lovelorn, small-town bachelors, pasted up by anxious parents seeking a bride. But the suitable girl these single fellows seek is of the furry, four-footed variety. Finding one, though, is not easy. “I have been searching for months, but no luck,” said Kunal Shingla, who is looking for a mate for Foster, his 2-year-old basset hound.
This “only in August” article in today’s New York Times caught my attention for several reasons.
1 – A dear friend is preparing to move to New Delhi. As she packs she is also planning how to manage / hide / present her non-traditional relationship in this largely traditional society.
2 – Despite our U.S. focus, AtMP frequently hears from unmarried Indians seeking community.
3 – “What’s next, marrying your dog?” Real, normally intelligent, people have actually asked me this rude and thoughtless question upon hearing the mission of the Alternatives to Marriage Project.
At the moment, the best I can offer them all is a deep and compassionate sigh.
