The Short Straw
The mayor of Lebanese town Brummana has issued female police officers with a new uniform, which includes short black shorts, saying it’s designed to change perceptions and bring in Western tourists. Not surprisingly, there has been something of an outcry with conservatives saying the move sexualises female officers and women’s activists arguing, quite rightly in my opinion, that it’s blatant sexism. It seems to me this new uniform falls down on just about every level. Why should only women be forced to show off their legs? What sort of tourists will this attract? What about those female officers who don’t possess particularly attractive gams? And what about the male officers who might welcome the chance to wear a nice pair of shorties in Lebanon’s hot summer? Bit unfair all round if you ask me. But then, looking at the pictures, I’m not even convinced it’s a real story — they certainly don’t look much like cops to me!
Record Breakers
Congratulations to the 2,505 Irish women who broke the Guinness World Record for skinny dipping, raising lots of cash for children’s cancer charities at the same time. The previous record or 786 swimmers was set in Perth, Western Australia. The ‘Strip and Dip’ as it’s called, looks like a great fun event, but I’ve been in the water off County Wicklow and, even with the present heatwave, the Irish Sea is always bloomin’ cold, so these ladies deserve an extra round of applause.
Still Fighting the Good Fight
As we went to press, organisations around the world were gearing up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela. There will be big-name concerts, a travelling exhibit and more. But, what’s really great to see is that the men of South Africa are stepping up with the 100 Men March (rather than the more commonly recognised 100 Women events) held in Pretoria to protest violence against women and children. Actor Maake kaNcube, who took part, urged men to use their power to build a better society, saying: “What I’m hoping to gather out of this march is to give hope to all the women that there are men who are standing up.” I think ‘Madiba’ would be pleased.
Prepare for Kick-off
By the time you’re reading this, the FIFA World Cup will be all over for another four years. But, as I’m writing, it’s with anticipation of the semi-finals. England is through and, as predicted, this is the point at which I actually become both interested and, of course, an instant expert. Which, in a very slight digression, gets me wondering about the Women’s World Cup. So, girls, it turns out it’s actually not all over at all. The ladies’ game has its own world tournament next year and I reckon we should be making as much noise about that as we’ve heard from Russia 2018. Players tell me the women’s game is woefully under-appreciated — time for sisters to do it for themselves, methinks.
Jiving to Jail!
OK, so I know Iran has strict modesty laws but, given that the country has some pretty serious economic and political issues going on at the moment, you’d think the authorities would have better things to do than persecute a teenager for dancing in her bedroom! Maedeh Hojabri was reportedly detained and then released on bail after the clip of her dancing appeared on Instagram. The state’s heavy-handed action prompted an immediate online backlash, with other women across the country risking jail to post dance videos of themselves in support. I’m glad they’re taking a stand, but sad that they need to.
