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Stay connected with the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs, the Elliott School's resource for curriculum, scholarly research, and engagement in the policy and practice of promoting and achieving gender equality globally.
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 | Enjoy Fall Break!
If you are looking to get a break from assignments and projects, GW hosts several events all across campus.
Browse the GW Event Calendar here.
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In This Edition | October 21
- 100 Years of Women's Rights Activism
- Gender Equality News
- Student Spotlight
- Career & Internship Opportunities
- Other Upcoming Events
- Book Highlight
- Webstory Highlight
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100 YEARS OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVISM
Showcasing pioneering women leaders and male allies
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The year 2020 marks the anniversaries of several pathbreaking policies, laws and events for women's rights. It will mark
In this series we explore the lives of the brave women and their male allies from across the world who have been champions of women's rights. In every issue of the Bulletin we will showcase pioneers of women's rights activism from across the world.
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Rosa May Billinghurst (1875 - 1953)
Rosa May Billinghurst was a British suffragette and women's rights activist.
In her youth, Billinghurst involved herself in several social issues, including the condition of sex workers, children in slums, and working conditions of the poor. Such exposure to injustices may have contributed to her interest in women’s suffrage. She was a dedicated member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU).
She had suffered polio as a child and was paralyzed from the waist down. She relied on a tricycle for the mobility she needed to be a full participant in the suffrage action (source). Billinghurst became known as 'the cripple suffragette'.
Billinghurst’s efforts earned her several prison terms. On one such sentence, she took part in the hunger strikes. She was released early following brutal force feeding sessions that left her in poor health and with broken teeth (source). Once released she protested and brought much needed attention to the practice of force feeding, publishing graphic accounts of her experience in suffrage journals.
She passed away in 1953 and left her body to science.
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Did you know?
During a 1910 protest, the police temporarily restrained Billinghurst by throwing her out of her tricycle “in a very brutal manner,” as she recounted later, and forcing her arms behind her back. Police disabled her tricycle and left her “in the middle of a hooligan crowd,” she said. Undeterred, she was back in the action again only days later, now prepared to use her tricycle as a battering ram. (source)
You can learn more about the suffrage movement in the United States at the following events/exhibits:
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Shall Not be Denied - Women Fight For The Vote
June 4, 2019 - September 2020
Monday - Saturday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Southwest Gallery, Second Floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
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This year, numerous DC museums and institutions are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment.
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GEIA will be hosting a student led conference on each of these breakthrough moments in history in March 2020. More information will be provided in future editions of the Bulletin.
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Some key findings from the report are as follows:
- Ninety percent of the world’s countries have one or more laws that discriminate against women.
- About 379 million women experienced intimate partner violence in 2018. Yearly rates are a third higher in conflict-affected countries.
- The global gender gap in employment spans 30 percentage points.
National Geographic is also hosting an exhibit in Washington, DC titled WOMEN: A Century of Change from October 22 through Spring 2020.
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Sahra MerchantSahra Merchant is double majoring in International Affairs and Arabic Studies, with a concentration in Conflict and Conflict Resolution. Many of the classes within her concentration have focused on women's role in conflict. She has taken classes such as 'Women and Leadership in Africa', and is currently enrolled in 'Women in Global Politics', taught by GEIA Director, Dr. Shirley Graham. Alongside her studies she has focused much of her undergrad experience in increasing diversity and inclusion across the GW campus. She has participated and lead diversity and inclusion events within her sorority, extra curricular activities, and internships. She hopes to attend law school after she graduates and would like to eventually practice Immigration or Human Rights Law.
"GEIA's programming has strengthened my knowledge on gender theory and the role it plays in International Affairs. Through GEIA I have had access to the most qualified professors, resources, and events. Whether it be through my professors or events I attend, I have been inspired to incorporate women's studies in my future career in International Affairs. The work put on by GEIA makes me proud to be a part of the Elliott School as a woman of color."
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CAREER AND INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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- **NEW** Program Assistant, Women Enabled International
- **NEW** Research Associate, Global Health, Economics, and Development, Council on Foreign Relations
- **NEW** Program Intern, Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault
- Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Specialist, Tetra Tech
- Program Coordinator (Sexual Harassment), DC Government
- Program Coordinator, GWU Library (GW LAI)
- Associate Policy Advisor, Climate Change, Oxfam America
- Gender and Global Security Program Assistant, Women in International Security
- Women Political Empowerment Expert, Creative Associates International
- Policy Advocate or Fellow, Futures Without Violence
- Director, Gender and Social Inclusion Programs, ACDI VOCA
- Gender Consultants (Global) - Banyan Global
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The Ethics of Promoting Justice Across Borders
Thursday, October 24th, 2019 | 5:15 pm - 6:15 pm
Cloyd Heck Marvin Center | 800 21st St NW | Room 43
The event will feature a conversation with Lucia Rafanelli, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University, and Emily Brown, Gender Equality Advisor for Save the Children. Professor Rafanelli will discuss the ethics of development interventions, and Emily Brown will consider ethical considerations in gender-sensitive research, program design, and implementation.
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Divided Societies and Memory: GWU Colloquium with Queen's University Belfast
October 24 - 25, 2019
The George Washington University, through the Office of International Programs, hosts scholars from GWU and from The Queen’s University in Belfast in a colloquium to discuss history, division, and memory from global perspectives, including the U.S., Ireland, Britain, Israel, Turkey, Syria, Vietnam, the Balkans, India, Pakistan, and others.
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Africa in Transition: The Role of Women in Peace and Security
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 | 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center | One Woodrow Wilson Plaza | 1300 Pennsylvania, Ave., NW
The prosperity of a nation cannot be divorced from the prosperity of its women. In sub-Saharan Africa, demographic trends, including rapid population growth and urbanization, ethnic tensions, and environmental degradation and climate change represent some of the compound security risks facing the region. A multisector and integrated approach that is inclusive of women is a precondition to curbing the underlying trends influencing instability in the region. When women are involved in security decision-making, the likelihood for conflict decreases, and peace negotiations last longer.
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Would you like your event featured in our Newsletter? Interested in co-sponsoring an event with GEIA? Submit your inquiry and we'll be in touch as soon as we can.
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The Museum of Lost Love: Tyler is in therapy. Katia and Goran are in love. On a summer trip to Zagreb, the couple discovers an unusual museum that displays mementos of broken relationships. Inside, Goran stumbles upon an exhibit that seems to be addressed to him, from a girl he met in a Sarajevo refugee camp at age fourteen. What follows is a whirlwind summer of reconnecting with lost pasts: Goran confronts the youth he lost during the Yugoslav Wars, Katia heads to Brazil to find her roots, and Afghanistan veteran Tyler pours out his soul. Set against alternating backdrops of violent circumstances, this novel is a soulful testament to the resilience of the human heart.
Gary Barker is a leading global voice in engaging men and boys in advancing gender equality. He is the CEO and founder of the international organization Promundo, which has worked for 20 years in more than 40 countries to end violence against women. He has been awarded an Ashoka Fellowship and an Open Society Fellowship for his work in conflict zones. His previous novels include Luisa’s Last Words, Mary of Kivu, and The Afghan Vampires Book Club (co-written with Michael Kaufman). Barker lives in Washington, DC.
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Eco India, by Scroll, brings stories of innovations from across India and Europe, and the people who make them possible.
This story is from Maharashtra, in the west coast of India, where fisherwomen have been building bamboo structures in the creek behind their village to farm oysters, which, by consequence, also helps the environment around them. Supported by the United Nations Development Program, this is a perfect example of a sustainable and inclusive empowerment project.
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1957 E Street NW, Suite 501
Washington, DC 20052 Phone: +1 (202) 994-8483 | Email: geia@gwu.edu
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