June 2018 www.womanthismonth.com news 12 HOT SHOTS Home to Vote Within the last couple of weeks Ireland held a landmark referendum on whether to repeal its restrictive abortion laws. I was extremely moved, and remain so even as I write this, at pictures and stories across the Internet of women travelling “home” to cast their vote. What I didn’t realise at the time, but am even more inspired by now, was that many women who had been out of the country too long to qualify for the ballot, actually paid to enable others to travel and have their say. Whatever your feelings on this issue, and it’s one that polarises and will continue to be debated for many years to come, this level of commitment gives me great hope for the future of democracy. Word of the Month Loving these ancient word lists. Let’s bring back Ultracrepidarian – someone who gives opinions on subjects they know nothing about! Sky’s the Limit Congratulations to 13-year-old Bahraini girl Juwan Abdul Khaleq the youngest Bahraini girl to reach Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5,364m. The teen was among a group of Gulf women, aged 23 to 47, to make the 12-day trek and it’s also impressive that, from the rest of the party, 13 were Bahrainis. A super-fit, mountain running, exparatrooper friend of mine recently completed this same journey and found it tough going, so I’m full of admiration and respect for all these ladies. It just goes to show you, living on a relatively flat desert island doesn’t mean you can’t dream of mountains – and, with determination, make that dream a reality. From the editor’s chair, Liz O’Reilly shares the things that have piqued her interest this month. Positive Discrimination Though they’ve been around for some time, I’ve only just learned about Seoul’s pink parking spaces. They’re supposed to be women-only and I have to admit that, initially, I thought, ‘well, surely that just defies the whole idea of equality?' But, on reading further, it transpired that they’re usually well-lit, close to shops and other facilities and part of the Korean city’s drive to make the city a more femalefriendly space. So, with that in mind, I reckon a little positive discrimination’s not such a bad thing. And, let’s face it girls, how many of us would turn down the chance for easier parking? Grand Prix Gripe So Monaco decided to buck the trend and feature grid girls during the recent Grand Prix race – ignoring the move by F1’s new owners to take the beauty pageant out of the pit lane in a bid to encourage young drivers. Personally, I have some sympathy with former grid girls at other tracks who argued that they hadn’t been consulted and were losing a valuable source of fun and income. On the other hand, I also feel that if the sport is serious about encouraging more women and girls to take part, removing the grid girls and perhaps replacing them with positive female role models would have been a good step. What do you think? Ride Sally, Ride The release of a new postage stamp is not something that would usually grab my attention. But this is one I will be trying to get my hands on. Forbes reports that the United States Postal Service is to bring out a new stamp commemorating Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. An extremely accomplished individual, she was a nationally ranked tennis player before attending Swarthmore College and Stanford University. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English and Physics and then went on to study the interstellar medium, while receiving her master's and doctoral degrees in physics. So, how incredible does it seem that just 35 years ago she was facing journalists’ questions about the bathroom situation on the shuttle and crying in the simulator? Or even that she should be faced with a fake interview about her lingerie and taking makeup into space? Thank goodness we now live in more enlightened times.
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