HERSTORY 

Huge turnout, some violence at Latin America Women's Day marches

By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda 

and Daina Beth Solomon

ReutersMarch 7, 2020

International Women's Day in Santiago

By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda and Daina Beth Solomon

SANTIAGO/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of women across Latin America's biggest cities flocked to the streets for International Women's Day on Sunday, with anger over inequality, femicide and strict abortion controls boiling over into sporadic violence.

As Women's Day events unfolded worldwide, with women donning purple to symbolize feminism, the Latin American marches were set against a backdrop of broader social unrest in the region.

Police said 150,000 protesters gathered in Chile's capital of Santiago, and another 40,000 marched elsewhere in the country. Many carried signs calling for access to abortion and an end to violence against women. Organizers said the number of protesters was much higher.

"We are a generation of women that has woken up. We are not afraid to speak out and struggle," protester Valentina Navarro, 21, told Reuters while marching in Santiago. She and a group of friends accompanying her had green bandannas around their necks, a symbol of support for abortion rights.

Incidents of violence were reported as demonstrators confronted police near government offices. Nineteen police were injured, authorities said, and 16 people arrested in the disturbances. Other Chilean cities saw protests as well, with 1,700 police officers deployed nationwide for crowd control.

Broader protests in Chile against social inequality began last October and at their peak included more than 1 million people.

In Mexico's capital, police and protest groups said up to 80,000 people gathered, including young girls and women in wheelchairs, for a march in which they hoisted signs and shouted chants against femicides, which have more than doubled over the last five years.

Miriam Hernandez, 42, a preschool teacher in Mexico state, wiped away tears as she watched thousands of people fill Mexico's biggest public square, recalling the recent morning when she was nearly kidnapped while walking to work.

"I fought and fought and then I ran," she said. "I want more security, I want me and my daughters to always leave the house and know we're going to return home."

Groups of women clashed outside Mexico City's main cathedral with male anti-abortion protesters, some with shaved heads and making Nazi salutes. Women activists threw Molotov cocktails at the doors of the National Palace.

Outside another historic building, protesters in black masks tore down a metal barricade put up to protect a monument, then sprayed the towering statue in pink and purple paint. Elsewhere, protesters overturned a vehicle and sprayed it with graffiti.

Some women said they felt compelled to attend their first march to act as voices for women who have been killed, and because they felt the government didn't grasp the gravity of the problem.

"The situation has gotten out of control... we have to march for those who no longer can," said Daniela Molinero, 29, a jewelry shop owner who wore a purple bandana and eye liner.

In Brazil's Sao Paulo, about a thousand women turned out, according to police estimates, with many protesting right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who came under criticism for comments he made about two female reporters.

Protesters also targeted violence against women in Brazil, where four women were killed a day in 2019, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Many marchers in Colombia's capital Bogota carried placards in support of safe and freely available abortion services. The country's Constitutional Court this month upheld limits which restrict abortion to cases of sexual assault, fetal deformity or maternal health risks.

Women's Day in Argentina lands just over three months into the new administration, which has announced plans to create a minister for women and support a fresh effort to legalize abortion after previous attempts were defeated in Congress.

Women in Buenos Aires planned to hold work stoppages on Monday in support of equal pay and legislation aimed at fighting violence against women and lowering impediments to abortion.

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(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Stefanie Eschenbacher in Mexico City, Natalia Ramos in Santiago, Eliana Raszewski in Buenos Aires, Julia Cobb in Bogota, and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo; Writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Daniel Wallis, Diane Craft and Jane Wardell)

HERSTORY
'Even men now cheer me on': Kabul women sell burgers in solar-powered foodcarts

By Hameed Farzad Reuters March 7, 2020
KABUL (Reuters) - On a sunny weekend in Kabul, 30-year-old Maryam Mohammdi drives a solar-powered rickshaw around a city suburb, selling burgers to hungry customers as part of a business that is employing dozens of women in a traditionally male-dominated profession.

Mohammdi, who wears a chador, or long flowing black robe with a head and face covering, said that she initially drew pointed remarks when she started her job.

"People were making fun of me and laughing, saying: 'look at her, she is working on the street', but now the situation is getting better and people are encouraging me on a lot," she said. "Even men now cheer me on and say our food is delicious and healthy."

The business was started in 2018 by 27-year old Farhad Wajdi, who was born in a refugee camp in Pakistan, and now employs 50 women running 25 food carts in Kabul. He hopes to expand to 100 carts this year.

"When I returned to Afghanistan...I saw women were treated really badly, they were not allowed to do businesses, they were not allowed to take financial independence, they were socially excluded from socioeconomic opportunities," he said.

"For me it was a triggering point that I started working for Afghan women, because I see Afghan women as a big human resource that should be... equipped with skills and knowledge so they can make an equal contribution in the economic development of Afghanistan."

Like many, Mohammdi expressed concern about a possible return to power by the hardline Islamist Taliban, who banned women from education, work or leaving the house without a male relative during their 1996-2001 rule. The Taliban, with whom the United States signed a troop withdrawal agreement last week, say they have changed and will allow women to work.

"This job is essential to us...in my opinion, the Taliban should not interfere in the work of women because there is no difference between men and women, and everyone can work to advance life," she said.

Twenty-one-year-old Benazir Mosawi, who stopped to order a burger from Mohammdi, agreed with her sentiment.

"When I first saw this lady working and selling burgers, I was so happy...Afghan women need to stand on their own and solve their problems independently."

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Deadly viruses are no match for plain, old soap — here’s the science behind it

Published: March 8, 2020 By Palli Thordarson

Soap works better than alcohol and disinfectants at destroying the structure of viruses

This is how soap removes dirt, and bacteria, from the skin. Palli Thordarson
Why does soap work so well on the new coronavirus and, indeed, most viruses? Because it is a self-assembled nanoparticle in which the weakest link is the lipid (fatty) bilayer.

That sounds scientific. Let me explain.

Soap dissolves the fat membrane, and the virus falls apart like a house of cards and “dies,” or rather, it becomes inactive as viruses aren’t really alive. Viruses can be active outside the body for hours, even days.

Disinfectants, or liquids, wipes, gels and creams containing alcohol (and soap) have a similar effect but are not as good as regular soap. Apart from alcohol and soap, antibacterial agents in those products don’t affect the virus structure much. Consequently, many antibacterial products are basically just an expensive version of soap in how they act on viruses. Soap is the best, but alcohol wipes are good when soap is not practical or handy, for example in office reception areas.

Soap outcompetes the interactions between the virus and the skin surface, and the virus gets detached and falls apart like a house of cards.
Supramolecular chemistry

But why, exactly, is soap so good? To explain that, I will take you through a journey of supramolecular chemistry, nanoscience and virology. I will try to explain this in generic terms, which means leaving out special chemistry terms. (I must point out that, while I am an expert in supramolecular chemistry and the assembly of nanoparticles, I am not a virologist.)

I have always been fascinated by viruses, as I see them as one of them most spectacular examples of how supramolecular chemistry and nanoscience converge.

Most viruses consist of three key building blocks: RNA, proteins and lipids.The RNA is the viral genetic material — it is similar to DNA. The proteins have several roles, including breaking into the target cell, assisting with virus replication and basically being a key building block (like a brick in a house) in the virus structure.

The lipids then form a coat around the virus, both for protection and to assist with its spread and cellular invasion. The RNA, proteins and lipids self-assemble to form the virus. Critically, there are no strong “covalent” bonds holding these units together.

Instead, the viral self-assembly is based on weak “non-covalent” interactions between the proteins, RNA and lipids. Together, these act together like Velcro, so it is hard to break up the self-assembled viral particle. Still, we can do it — with soap!

Most viruses, including the coronavirus, are between 50-200 nanometers — so they truly are nanoparticles. Nanoparticles have complex interactions with surfaces they are on; it’s the same with viruses. Skin, steel, timber, fabric, paint and porcelain are very different surfaces.

When a virus invades a cell, the RNA “hijacks” the cellular machinery like a computer virus and forces the cell to make fresh copies of its own RNA and the various proteins that make up the virus.

These new RNA and protein molecules self-assemble with lipids (readily present in the cell) to form new copies of the virus. That is, the virus does not photocopy itself; it makes copies of the building blocks, which then self-assemble into new viruses.

All those new viruses eventually overwhelm the cell, and it dies or explodes, releasing viruses that then go on to infect more cells. In the lungs, viruses end up in the airways and mucous membranes.

When you cough, or especially when you sneeze, tiny droplets from the airways can fly up to 30 feet. The larger ones are thought to be main coronavirus carriers, and they can go at least 7 feet. So, cover your coughs and sneezes!
Skin is an ideal surface for viruses

These tiny droplets end up on surfaces and dry out quickly. But the viruses are still active. What happens next is all about supramolecular chemistry and how self-assembled nanoparticles (like the viruses) interact with their environment.

Now it is time to introduce a powerful supramolecular chemistry concept that effectively says: Similar molecules appear to interact more strongly with each other than dissimilar ones. Wood, fabric and skin interact fairly strongly with viruses.

Contrast this with steel, porcelain and at least some plastics, such as Teflon. The surface structure also matters. The flatter the surface, the less the virus will “stick” to the surface. Rougher surfaces can actually pull the virus apart.

So why are surfaces different? The virus is held together by a combination of hydrogen bonds (like those in water) and hydrophilic, or “fat-like,” interactions. The surface of fibers or wood, for instance, can form a lot of hydrogen bonds with the virus.

In contrast, steel, porcelain or Teflon do not form much of a hydrogen bond with the virus. So the virus is not strongly bound to those surfaces and is quite stable.

For how long does the virus stay active? It depends. The novel coronavirus is thought to stay active on favorable surfaces for hours, possibly a day. What makes the virus less stable? Moisture (“dissolves”), sunlight (UV light) and heat (molecular motions).

The skin is an ideal surface for a virus. It is organic, of course, and the proteins and fatty acids in the dead cells on the surface interact with the virus through both hydrogen bonds and the “fat-like” hydrophilic interactions.

So when you touch a steel surface with a virus particle on it, it will stick to your skin and, hence, get transferred on to your hands. But you are not (yet) infected. If you touch your face, though, the virus can get transferred.

And now the virus is dangerously close to the airways and the mucus-type membranes in and around your mouth and eyes. So the virus can get in and — voila! — you are infected. That is, unless your immune system kills the virus.

If the virus is on your hands, you can pass it on by shaking someone’s else hand. Kisses, well, that’s pretty obvious. It goes without saying that if someone sneezes in your face, you’re stuck.

So how often do you touch your face? It turns out most people touch the face once every two to five minutes. So you’re at high risk once the virus gets on your hands, unless you wash off the active virus.

So let’s try washing it off with plain water. It might just work. But water “only” competes with the strong “glue-like” interactions between the skin and virus via hydrogen bonds. The virus is sticky and may not budge. Water isn’t enough.
Soap dissolves a virus’ structure

Soapy water is totally different. Soap contains fat-like substances known as amphiphiles, some structurally similar to the lipids in the virus membrane. The soap molecules “compete” with the lipids in the virus membrane. That is more or less how soap also removes normal dirt of the skin (see graphic at the top of this article).

The soap molecules also compete with a lot other non-covalent bonds that help the proteins, RNA and the lipids to stick together. The soap is effectively “dissolving” the glue that holds the virus together. Add to that all the water.

The soap also outcompetes the interactions between the virus and the skin surface. Soon the virus gets detached and falls apart like a house of cards due to the combined action of the soap and water. Boom, the virus is gone!

The skin is rough and wrinkly, which is why you need a fair amount of rubbing and soaking to ensure the soap reaches every nook and cranny on the skin surface that could be hiding active viruses.

Alcohol-based products include all “disinfectants” and “antibacterial” products that contain a high share of alcohol solution, typically 60%-80% ethanol, sometimes with a bit of isopropanol, water and a bit of soap.

Ethanol and other types of alcohol do not only readily form hydrogen bonds with the virus material but, as a solvent, are more lipophilic than water. Hence, alcohol does dissolve the lipid membrane and disrupt other supramolecular interactions in the virus.

However, you need a fairly high concentration (maybe 60%-plus) of the alcohol to get a rapid dissolution of the virus. Vodka or whiskey (usually 40% ethanol) won’t dissolve the virus as quickly. Overall, alcohol is not as good as soap at this task.

Nearly all antibacterial products contain alcohol and some soap, and that does help kill viruses. But some also include “active” bacterial killing agents, such as triclosan. Those, however, do basically nothing to the virus.
Alcohol works — to a degree

To sum up, viruses are almost like grease-nanoparticles. They can stay active for many hours on surfaces and then get picked up by touch. Then they get to our face and infect us because most of us touch our face frequently.

Water is not effective alone in washing the virus off our hands. Alcohol-based products work better. But nothing beats soap — the virus detaches from the skin and falls apart readily in soapy water.

Supramolecular chemistry and nanoscience tell us not only a lot about how the virus self-assembles into a functional, active menace, but also how we can beat viruses with something as simple as soap.

Palli Thordarson is a professor at the School of Chemistry at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

International Women’s Day: Best placards from annual March4Women rally in London

Sarah Young, The Independent•March 8, 2020

AFP via Getty Images

Since 2012, the March4Women rally has become one of the most significant events for championing gender equality and celebrating those who have worked to improve the lives of women and girls across the globe.

This year the rally, organised by the social justice organisation CARE International UK, was dedicated to the power and passion of the women and girls who are responding to the climate crisis and asking what can be done to support the environment.

On Sunday, the event started with an indoor rally at the Southbank Centre in London before the main procession began at Whitehall Place and moved on to Parliament Square.

Thousands of Londoners joined in on the march, including a host of famous faces such as singer Emeli Sande, Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs, Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer and model Lily Cole.
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There were also appearances and speeches from poet Nikita Gill, 1917 star George MacKay, actor Bianca Jagger and women’s rights activist Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu.

One of the highlights of the day was marvelling at the empowering messages plastered across the placards held by marchers as they stormed across London.

From demanding equal rights and an end to period poverty to asking “Does my brain look big in this?”, see the best placards from this year’s March4Women by scrolling through the gallery below.

To follow The Independent's live blog on International Women’s Day, click here.

To read more about International Women’s Day, click here.

 





YES THAT IS ANNE LENNOX

Most powerful photos as world marks International Women's Day

Alison Millington and Darcy Schild Snapchat

REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Events are taking place around the globe on Sunday to mark International Women's Day 2020.

While some celebrations have been impacted by the spread of coronavirus, women around the world are still protesting, parading, and partying.

Here are some of the best and most powerful photos from the day so far.

Protestors demand gender equality in demonstrations outside of Mexico City.

LUISA GONZALEZ/Reuters

Marchers in London hold signs with messages of gender equality at a "March 4 Women" parade.

TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images

Groups of people display feminist hand symbols at a parade in Madrid, Spain.

Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

A participant in Rio de Janeiro holds a sign showing the late Marielle Franco, a Brazilian politician and feminist rights activist.

PILAR OLIVARES/ReutersSource: The New York Times

A woman in a gas mask at a protest in Paris holds a placard that reads: "Patriarchy-virus. We are the antidote."

REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Women in Belarus, Minsk take part in a "Beauty Run" race.

REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko


A woman holds a placard during a protest against women's inequality and sexual violence in Nepal, where International Women's Day is an official holiday for women.
 

Sujan Shrestha/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A young girl holds a rose during an event marking International Women's Day in Kabul, Afghanistan.

AP Photo/Rahmat Gul


Bangladeshi disabled women playing basketball during a match in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka on Sunday.

Mehedi Hasan/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A member of the United Russia Young Guard holds a placard reading "You're the World's 8th Wonder" during a march to mark International Women's Day.
 

Donat Sorokin\TASS via Getty Images


Indonesian people participate in a colourful march in Jakarta on Sunday.

ADEK BERRY/AFP via Getty Images

A man wearing a protective suit carries flowers for female students of the Mechnikov North-Western State Medical University in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The students are under quarantine at the dormitory as part of precautions against the spread of coronavirus after an Italian exchange student who returned to Russia tested positive for the virus.

REUTERS/Anton Vaganov

Femen activists demonstrate at Place de la Concorde in Paris to call for gender equality.
 

MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images

A Filipino woman covers her face with a cloth as she joins a flash mob to occupy a street in Manila, Philippines.

REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Women Asylum Seekers, waiting at Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing to reach Europe, stage a demonstration at the buffer zone demanding to open the gate during International Women's Day.

Elif Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Kyrgyz law enforcement officers detain a women's rights activist during a rally in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov


Flowers are presented to participants of a 400m race held on Moscow's Pushkinskaya Embankment to mark International Women's Day.

Anton Novoderezhkin\TASS via Getty Image

Filipino women exchange flowers during a protest in Manila, Philippines.

REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez


Women bang pots and pans while protesting in Sol Square, Madrid to mark the start of International Women's Day.
 

Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images

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