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Call for Submissions:
Exhibiting You....

Submit Your Work to imow.org now....

Our project from January 2009 to September 2009 is exhibiting you! We're calling on our community to share inspiring stories, projects, art, photography, video, animation, writing, poetry and more. Tell us how you are exhibiting change and make your voice heard. You could be featured on our Website.

Now accepting submissions.
Submit
your work through our online community. Your submission could inspire the
change we all need.

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10 Powerful Months of Women,
Power and Politics....

See Our New Look, Video and Toolkit....

Since International Women's Day on March 8,
2008, I.M.O.W. has been building one of the most comprehensive sources of
women's political participation on the Web: the Women,
Power and Politics online exhibition.

In December, see the exhibition in its
entirety! We've unveiled a fresh
new look, a new
video from the I.M.O.W. team, an action-packed toolkit,
and the best of your
community voices. Reflect with us on ten compelling months of Women,
Power and Politics:

WELCOME
– Watch a video overview of the Women, Power and Politics global
online exhibition and read a personal letter from Curator Masum Momaya.

POWER
– Travel with us to ..India.., ..Nigeria.., ..Norway..,
..Mexico.., ..Morocco.., and the ....United States.... as we explore women's
political power throughout history.

BIOLOGY
– Find out how women are using their bodies and their roles as mothers and
wives to exercise political might.

APPEARANCE
– Investigate "leadership styles" and why women's appearance gets
more coverage than their political substance.

ENVIRONMENT
– Learn why women have a greater political stake in the world's resources, its
wellbeing and its future.

RELIGION
– Explore the relationship between faith and politics in the lives of women
around the world.

DEMOCRACY
– Discover what happens when women are denied--or given--a voice.

VOTING
– Meet daring women's suffrage pioneers and reflect on what the vote really
means to women.

ELECTIONS
– Join us on the campaign trail as we ask, do women experience elections
differently?

ORGANIZING
– Be inspired by women coming together through art, meetings and technology to
create change.

TOOLKIT
– Take creative action with our list of 10 ways you can transform lives,
communities and the world.

YOUR
VOICES – Read the top 30 stories from around the world submitted by our
community participants and submit your own work.

Subscribe to the RSS
Story Feed to receive the latest stories from imow.org as they are posted.

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Does voting really give women a voice? In September, the Women, Power and Politics global online exhibition looks at the women who have fought for the vote Then and Now and travels to Kuwait—the most recent nation to grant women the vote—for Kuwaiti Women's 1st Election Day.

Our September podcast introduces you to Saudi Arabian business woman and activist Rasha Hifzi, who speaks from and about one of the few countries where women cannot vote.

Melinda Henneberger, U.S. political journalist and author of If They Only Listened to Us, gives us insight into what every political candidate is aching to know: What Women Voters Want. Pulitzer Prize nominee Susan Griffin, who just published her new book, Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy, takes on voter apathy by answering the question Why Vote?

Curator Masum Momaya makes voting personal by sharing her own voting experiences and asks what is on many women's minds: Do Women's Votes Really Matter? I.M.O.W. community participants from six countries answer with their inspiring Voting Memories. Share your own voting memories in our featured forum thread throughout the month.

Call for Submissions: Democracy

Your Work Could be Featured in the Exhibition

In August, the Women, Power and Politics will look at how women have created recipes for democracy around the world. We want to hear your thoughts on women creating democracy. Submit your creative work by July 15 to be considered for the August focus. To learn more, visit www.imow.org/submissions.

Get your work ready for our upcoming submissions categories:

• September: Why is Voting Important?
• October: Women Running for Office
• November: Women Working Together Across Borders

Deadlines for submissions categories vary. Visit www.imow.org/submissions to find the latest date that you can submit work.

Join the Global Conversation

The I.M.O.W. Community Bridges Borders and Perspectives

• Riane Eisler, acclaimed author and visionary anthropologist, engages in conversation about spirituality, politics and the feminine. Add your comments >

• Thomas Brorsen Smidt, an active community participant from Denmark, poses the question about religion, politics and a woman's right to wear Hijab. Add your comments >

• Jen Siebel, actress, businesswoman and I.M.O.W. Board Member, talks political fashion from her experiences as fiancé of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Add your comments >

Controversial Topic of Religion and Politics is Focus of International Museum of Women's Global Exhibition

San Francisco – The International Museum of Women (I.M.O.W.), a non-partisan social change museum, examines the sometimes combustible combination of religion and politics this month in its global online exhibition Women, Power and Politics at www.imow.org. The exhibition uses multimedia stories to shed light on the complex intersections between religion and politics and the ways religion or spirituality help and hinder women's political participation.

The exhibition will reveal women's thoughts on this powerful topic using art, photography, video, essays, political cartoons and more. I.M.O.W.'s online community, spanning 200 countries, weighs in with Rania Matar's photos capturing women's relationship with religion in the aftermath of war in Lebanon. Serbia's Women in Black proclaim that they are neither whores nor saints in protesting their Orthodox Church's order to cover up. The community-submissions are part of I.M.O.W.'s increasing initiative to ramp up its call for user-submitted creative work to its exhibition.

July's featured podcast addresses faith and feminism, including one of feminism's most hotly debated topics: the veil. Listeners can hear Hadil El-Khouly, a young Egyptian women's rights activist, give her perspectives on how a women's faith influences her politics.

"There are differing opinions about how religion affects politics and this month we show the various ideological and passionate perspectives on a fascinating topic," said Dr. Masum Momaya, curator, Women, Power and Politics.

Women, Power and Politics connects visitors to stories of remarkable women claiming and exercising their power to transform the world and invites users to submit their own work. The exhibition features content from more than 50 countries and currently highlights more than 80 stories that cross international borders and engage a global audience. I.M.O.W. invites people of all cultures and political affiliations to submit their own stories and art and join the conversation in its online community. Launched on March 8, the cutting-edge multimedia exhibition runs until December 31 in four languages—Arabic, English, French and Spanish at www.imow.org.

The Political Power of the Body Exposed

in International Museum of Women's Global Online Exhibition

San Francisco – The International Museum of Women (I.M.O.W.), a non-partisan social change museum, confronts provocative stereotypes about women, sex and power in the global online exhibition, Women, Power and Politics in the month of May. Launched on March 8, the cutting-edge multimedia exhibition runs until December 31 in four languages—Arabic, English, French and Spanish at www.imow.org.

Debuting new photography, movies, a map, a podcast, interviews, essays and artwork in May 2008, Women, Power and Politics explores the question "Is Biology Destiny?" Through a colorful multimedia exploration, the exhibition showcases more than 10 new stories exploring the connections between the female body, sexuality and political power. A range of women who have used their bodies and biology to make lasting political statements are represented—from mourning mothers of missing children to an audacious adult film star.

We hear from the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo who have marched in the public squares of Argentina to call for justice for their 30,000 disappeared sons and daughters. And we experience Ciccolina, a porn star elected to the Italian Parliament who took on the country's notoriously corrupt politicians in nothing more than sequined lingerie and a crown of flowers. Multimedia installations explore how women have used their bodies for political art, as well as to shame men who have ignored their political voice. Controversial artist, Ingrid Mwangi, uses her tan lines to make a political statement in her work Body as Art, while women in the Niger Delta demand the attention of one of the world's largest oil companies using a rarely used political weapon known as "The Curse of Nakedness."

"From exposing the practice of using 'sexual slander' to take down a strong woman to celebrating the power of "maternal politics, the International Museum of Women is exploring a wide range of topics related to the power of the body in Women, Power and Politics this month, says I.M.O.W. CEO Chris Yelton. "Women have been harnessing the power of their bodies since the beginning of time—we not only give birth to babies with our bodies, but we've proven that we can birth great movements of change using that power as well. We are eager to open up these stories for comment to a global audience at www.imow.org in our online Community Forum."

Women, Power and Politics connects visitors to stories of remarkable women claiming and exercising their power to transform the world. The exhibition will feature content from more than 50 countries — crossing international borders and engaging a global audience in four languages. I.M.O.W. invites people of all cultures and political affiliations to submit their own stories and art and join the conversation in its online Community.

In conjunction with Women, Power and Politics, I.M.O.W. is spearheading a timely online campaign to inspire people around the world to connect with each other and spark a global dialogue on why women's political power matters. The Power of Politics Campaign (P.O.P) provides five easy steps that people can take today.  Steps include connecting to I.M.O.W.'s online Community, taking action in your own community to help increase political knowledge, becoming active in the political process or supporting women who are interested in running for both informal and formal political positions worldwide. To learn more about the importance of the Power of Politics in the lives of women globally today, please visit www.imow.org.

International Museum of Women's Women, Power and Politics Global Online Exhibition Undresses Ideas of Power and Appearance in April

San Francisco – The International Museum of Women (I.M.O.W.), a non-partisan social change museum confronts provocative stereotypes about women in politics in the new global online exhibition, Women, Power and Politics. Launched on International Women's Day, March 8, 2008, the cutting-edge multimedia exhibition undresses the question "What does power look like?" in the month of April 2008.

Using photography, political posters, podcasts, films, interviews and essays, Women, Power and Politics gives leadership "style" a whole new meaning in April. The global online exhibition spends the month looking at the power suit, the power pearls and the power heels and invites its global audience to explore the questions: What does power look like? And just what does fashion have to do with politics?

The exhibition also looks at women who figuratively "wear the pants" in political arenas around the world. From Madam Mao to Margaret Thatcher to Michelle Bachelet, these powerful "iron ladies" confront the stereotype that all women can lead with either emotion and compassion, or toughness and might.

"Why is it that the clothes, hairstyles and handbags of women politicians receive more attention than their policy ideas or political competence?" asks I.M.O.W. CEO Chris Yelton. "By questioning this one-dimensional coverage, confronting tired stereotypes and bringing the substantive political contributions and expertise of women into the spotlight through our global online exhibition, Women, Power and Politics, we at I.M.O.W. aim to offer more equitable perspectives of women in power."

In conjunction with Women, Power and Politics, I.M.O.W. is spearheading an important online campaign to inspire women around the world to connect with other women and spark a global dialogue around the issue of why women's political power matters. The Power of Politics Campaign (P.O.P) has five easy steps that women can take today to help increase their political knowledge, inspire each other to become active in the political process and support women who are interested in running for both informal and formal political positions worldwide. Visit www.imow.org to learn more.

Women, Power and Politics is a global online exhibition at www.imow.org from March 8 to December 31, 2008 that uses interactive media to connect visitors to stories of remarkable women claiming and exercising their power to transform the world. The exhibition crosses international borders and engages a global audience in Arabic, English, French and Spanish, invites people of all cultures and political affiliations to submit their own stories and art and join the conversation in its online community.