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To arrange a media interview with Ellie Smeal or other spokespersons at Feminist Majority Foundation, contact the FMF media department at 703-522-2214.
Date: April-12-01
Contact: Julie Bernstein
Phone: 703-522-2214
Email:
Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal's Letter to the Editor
To the Editor:
The Feminist Majority Foundation is dismayed by Marjorie Williams’ April 11th column, “This Kills Women, Do feminist groups even care?” which speculates that either tobacco money is buying the silence of women’s groups, or feminist groups have an elite bias, or we simply don’t care. Too bad Ms. Williams doesn’t care enough about us to ask.
One call to our office would have made Williams aware of our strict policy against taking tobacco-related funds. The Feminist Majority Foundation never has taken—and never will—money from the tobacco industry. In fact, we are members of the National Coalition FOR Women AGAINST Tobacco, which is coordinated by the American Medical Women’s Association.
As to elite bias, Ms. Williams is wrong again. Is it elite to defend millions of Afghan women and girls who live in a world where education, work and mobility have been banned? Is it elite to defend reproductive rights, to stop violence against women, to increase Medicaid funding and Social Security benefits for women, to fight sex discrimination in employment and education, to work for affirmative action, to fight hate crimes, etc., etc.?
We cannot comprehend Ms. William’s total oversight of the breadth and depth of the Feminist Majority Foundation’s website. The site, www.feminist.org, includes a career center and information on breast cancer, domestic violence, women’s health, student activism, women and politics, sports, policing and much more. A quick search of our daily news will reveal 25 articles including information on women and smoking. We missed the Surgeon General’s report. We will correct this immediately. We made a mistake, but don’t deserve to be maligned.
No one group can do all things, so women’s groups work hard to be effective in the projects each are specializing in or leading, while we join coalitions led by our sister groups on work we believe is important for women.
For Equality,
Eleanor Smeal
President
Feminist Majority Foundation
1600 Wilson Blvd., Suite 801
Arlington, VA 22209
703-522-2214
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