Quote of the week:

"The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now seems likely." - former U.S. President and international elections monitor Jimmy Carter, on anticipated problems in Florida come November, in Monday's Washington Post.

Mutilation in Montreal

The gruesome practice of female genital mutilation isn't only practiced far away in poor, foreign countries, but also here in the developed West, says Aoua Bocar Ly, president of the Montreal-based Réseau femmes africaines, Horizon 2015 (FAH2015). With the recent wave of immigrants from Africa especially, she says, has come genital mutilation - usually involving the circumcision of the clitoris - on young girls. It's a deeply embedded cultural practice dating back 4,000 years, she says, making it hard for women to speak out against it.

Bocar Ly is organizing a conference that looks at the legal aspect of female circumcision in Montreal next week. The practice has been outlawed in Canada since 1997 - 14 African countries have banned it as well - but that doesn't mean it isn't happening. "If politicians pass a law, they think the problem goes away," she says. "We want to equip legal professionals and sensitize law makers to deal with this issue, and advise the community in which this practice is being done." She notes that female circumcision is also seen in some South-East Asian and Middle Eastern communities.

"We can't be certain that it happens here as long as women don't come forward," she says. "But in 1999, in Paris, they found someone who had performed 50 circumcisions on young girls." If it's happening in Paris, there's a good chance it's happening here, she says.

The colloquium takes place next Wednesday, Oct. 6, at the Maison de Barreau (445 St-Laurent) from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., $20. For more info visit www.setisite.com/cls/fah. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Anti- pro-lifers stage fair

Two radical feminist groups are going to protest against protesters next Sunday, Oct. 3. For the last few years, anti-abortion activists have gathered in front of the Morgentaler clinic on St-Joseph just east of St-Laurent on the first Sunday in October. This year, however, the pro-lifers will be greeted by a pro-choice fair across the street in Parc Lahaie. The purpose, says one of the organizers, will be to denounce the protesters, albeit in a fun way. "The protesters say they are pro-life, but we say they are anti-choice," says organizer Audrey. She declined to give her last name, saying she fears it will turn up on anti-abortionist and far right Web sites.

"For years, we have been in opposition to these protesters," Audrey says, noting that she and other pro-choicers often turned up to counter-demonstrate, which has sometimes led to police intervention. This year, however, she hopes that the fair will put the pro-lifers on the defensive and steal their spotlight.

The fair, organized by radfems Cyrpine and les Sorcières, will do more than simply denounce the anti-abortionists. "We want to go further and celebrate and affirm our right to a choice, a right to control our bodies," says Audrey. She also says the right to choice is a woman's right to assert her independence from authoritarian, patriarchal institutions like the Catholic Church.

The child-friendly fair, taking place on Sunday, Oct. 3, at the corner of St-Laurent and St-Joseph from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature clowns, games, balloons, piñatas, songs and more. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Intellectually impaired neglected

Nothing good happens when a mentally deficient child gets neglected. "The province has always promised that no matter what, they'd never allow the children to be lacking services, but that's what's happening now," says Hélène Morin of Coalition action défi, an organization that has been pressuring the province to improve health care for the intellectually handicapped.

Six years back the group determined that 1,600 intellectually disabled were not getting such needs as home-care programs and relodging. They kickstarted a campaign to change that and it seemed fixed when the government poured $6-million into the mix. But services still aren't getting to the needy, says Morin, who counts the number of unserved and needy at topping 1,000. Of that total, 224 are in need of homes.

"Ageing parents or sick parents who can no longer look after their mentally deficient children are saying, ‘I want to know where he's going to live before I die,'" says Morin.

She also says that some of the more significantly mentally handicapped also need a lot of attention. "These are people who must always be stimulated or else they fall into depression. That can lead to social costs such as behaviour problems, they could end up in a hospital or become disagreeable or aggressive."

Coalition action défi held a meeting earlier this week of the relatives of some of Montreal's estimated 50,000 mentally handicapped citizens. For those interested in learning more, call 255-8111. » Kristian Gravenor

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

13 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Sept. 26 - Oct. 3, 1991

On the cover: Italian opera sensation Cecilia Bartoli, who is returning to Montreal to work with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and conductor Charles Dutoit. "He's a great musician, very thorough, very deep," Bartoli says of "our very own Chuck D." (as Andrew Jones writes). "But at the same time he can make work enjoyable and light. There's such an allegria working with him."

• Thanks to the tight-fisted Tory government, many community radio stations are feeling the pinch and are under pressure to commercialize. "As people continue to feel less empowered, less represented and at the same time we see access to our communications being cut, altered or denied, [pirate radio] could become a necessity," writes Josey Vogels.

• "Chock full of loose, rambling dub jams, BAD's newest sounds like Sandanista lost in a vast Japanese hip hop pinball machine, but it's endearing in a goofing around in the basement sort of way," reads the review of Big Audio Dynamite's The Globe.

• Slum Dog encounters a blind, banjo-plucking, blues-singing rat.

Angel >> Late-night comedy shows Yes, they may be smirky, smarmy and egomaniacal, but late-night comedy hosts do deliver news. The University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Survey of over 19,000 adults revealed that viewers who watched late-night talk shows, especially The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, are more politically knowledgeable about the American presidential candidates and their positions than non-viewers. Even stranger, Daily Show watchers scored higher than national news viewers and newspaper readers. They also tend to be younger, better educated and more liberal than most average Americans and Letterman and Leno watchers. And while this does bolster the claim that more Americans are getting their news from late-night TV, it sure doesn't say much about the state of American journalism.
Insect >> Forgetful Liberals Paul Martin's first Throne Speech as Prime Minister takes place next Tuesday, Oct. 5, and if he doesn't want the NDP rocking his minority-government boat, he'd better include a mention of Kyoto in there. NDP leader Jack Layton said that despite Martin's campaign-trail support of Canada's adherence to the Kyoto Protocol - which 82 per cent of Canadians back - the Liberals have done nothing except prolong consultations. It's been almost two years since Canada pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent, but no legislation has been produced. Over 30 discussion papers have been prepared for consultations with the country's 700 "large final emitters" - mostly in the mining, petroleum, electricity and manufacturing industries - but the feds aren't promising anything just yet.