The witch of Dundee

Throughout the war years, Helen Duncan of Dundee, UK, gave seances at which women sought reassurance about their men in battle. Once, Duncan apparently put a mother in contact with her dead son. She had not known he was dead because the Admiralty had concealed the news of the sinking of his warship for security reasons.

Duncan was arrested and accused of conspiracy, a hanging offence in wartime. But in court the charge was ?contravening the Witchcraft Act of 1735?, and she was jailed for nine-months.

Her story will be turned into a film, The Witchcraft Conspiracy, and her supporters are on a campaign to clear her name which has attracted global support from more than 20 million people from as far afield as China and Iceland. Said Michael Colmer, editor of Psychic World magazine, ?There are signs that the trial of Helen Duncan was a cover-up.? The Witchcraft Act was repealed in 1951, after nearly 200 years of persecution of several innocent women.

Source: The Independent

Dare to sing

The capital had a rare treat earlier this month ? a debut concert by Jalandhar-based Sufi singer Swarn Noora. Noora?s mother, Bibi Noora, was an acclaimed Sufiyana Qalam singer, but was convinced that a musician?s life was not for a woman. But Shefali Bhushan of Beat India, a folk music promotion group that organised Noora?s concert, says that Noora did not give up her quest for music. She was married off to qawwal Sohan Lal and trained under him. Beat India has now recorded her music for sale, music that underlines the story of a woman who dared to ? and did ? become a singer.

It?s a start

On Tuesday, Algerian President Abdelaziz Boutelfika gave his nod to a bill despite stiff opposition from Islamic parties. The reform of a 1984 law plans to ban men from divorcing their wives without a valid reason and give women access to financial support from their former husbands. It would also scrap the need for women to ask permission from a male family member to marry and polygamy would need a magistrate?s approval. Small potatoes, you say? Still better than nothing.

Reuters

The memsahibs

The title may be Kalasahib, but Mini Ghosh?s novel (published by Haowa) is not merely about brown sahibs. On the contrary, it is mainly the female characters ? namely the protagonist, Lizzy ? through whom Ghosh?s story about the Anglo-Indian community in Calcutta unfolds. Without being overtly ?feminist?, a glimpse into the lives of the women in this community helps build a comprehensive picture of realities of this community.

Singles for KErry

A new poll, conducted by Women?s Voices Women Vote, and released last week in Boston, says some seven million more unmarried women voted in 2004 than in 2000. They were largely driven by health care, equal pay and educational opportunities. ?It was about their economic security, which has been getting worse under the Bush administration,? Barbara Lee, a philanthropist working with women?s issues, was quoted as saying. No surprise that they voted for John Kerry by a margin of 62 per cent to 37 per cent for George W. Bush.

Source: International Herald Tribune

Overheard? at a cocktail party, a young man who said, ?While gross behaviour like discussing bowel movements or even expelling wind is perfectly acceptable behaviour for men in public, the same would be entirely inappropriate for their dates. A woman with a gas problem? no!?