Marta Vidal

Inside a new feminist platform that dares to be funny

MIDDLE EAST EYE (5/11/2020) Surrounded by books on feminism and portraits of women’s rights activists, Maria Elayan, the star of a new web-video series, holds up an illustration of human evolution to the camera, where Beyoncé represents the most evolved form of the homo sapiens. “There is not even one image that shows the evolution […]

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Meet Qahera, the Muslim superheroine fighting bigots instead of comic book villains

WASHINGTON POST/THE LILY (22/6/2020) “I can hear it! The sound of … misogynistic trash!” says Qahera. Carrying a sword as sharp as her wit and wearing a veil that is sometimes used to conceal her identity, the Muslim superheroine is out to fight against injustice. Her “super hearing” helps her detect misogynists, but also racists […]

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How domestic workers protect and support each other in Jordan

EQUAL TIMES (16/6/2020) When she left the Philippines to work in Jordan, Rosa took two mobile phones with her. She knew that one of them would be confiscated by the recruitment agency that brings women like her to the Middle East to work as housekeepers, nannies and caretakers. The other one she kept hidden in […]

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Detained in Jordan for disobeying men, girls use art to tell their stories

OPENDEMOCRACY (21/5/2020) Madeleine is seventeen and dreams of being a chef. But her ambitions have been curtailed. She is behind bars in a juvenile detention centre in Jordan, waiting to be released into the care of a male family member. “This is the story of a girl in prison: me,” wrote Shahed, another teenage girl […]

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Crimes sem honra

EXPRESSO (10/8/2019) Kifaya tinha 16 anos quando a família decidiu que devia morrer. O irmão mais velho amarrou-a à cadeira da cozinha, deu-lhe um copo de água e pediu-lhe para rezar a sua última oração antes de a esfaquear. A jornalista Rana Husseini foi enviada para cobrir o assassinato num dia quente de Verão em […]

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Meet Fado Bicha, Portugal’s queer anti-racist feminist musicians

OPENDEMOCRACY (28.8.2019) 2019 got off to a bad start in Portugal. In January, the leader of a far-right group – who spent 12 years in prison for his role in a racist murder and other hate crimes – was invited to speak on one of Portugal’s most popular TV talk shows. On air, he argued that the country needs a new […]

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“Discounted Maids” – ads perpetuate modern slavery conditions in Jordan

PUBLIC RADIO INTERNATIONAL (14/6/2019) “Discounted maids!” announces a male voice on the radio. “If you’re not satisfied you can return your maid for free.” Every week, ads aired on the radio in Jordan offer “one-month trial” periods and “cash on delivery” options for employers who want to hire migrant domestic workers. Online ads via social […]

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The Jordanian women fighting for labour rights

EQUAL TIMES (4/12/2018) In Jordan, more women than men are going to university and girls have been consistently outperforming boys academically. Yet women’s participation in the workforce remains one of the lowest in the world. Meet some of the women trying to change this.   When Dina Saad attended a job fair in Jordan’s busy […]

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