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Newsletter - August 13, 2026

LWVIN | Published on 8/13/2026

PRESIDENTS DAY 2026

Thank you, Hamilton County League for hosting Presidents Day! The Carmel Clay Public Library was a wonderful venue for our 55 attendees! We heard great information from speakers about how to Get Out the Vote and Election Protection, and our members had terrific discussions with each other.

Julia Vaughn's presentation (shown in the photo below) is available HERE on the LWVIN website.There you can also find the presentations by speakers Linda Hanson and Ami Gandhi, as well the handouts for election protection and election laws.

ELECTION PROTECTION FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION

LWVIN has received funding to support our full participation in the Election Protection effort in Indiana. We have applied for official membership in Election Protection (see https://866ourvote.org/partners/). LWVUS is an original member. For more information see https://866ourvote.org/

Geri Pawelski is coordinating our League effort, working with Julia Vaughn (Common Cause) and Ami Gandhi (Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights). She will write to all local league leaders early next week about specifics and a link to a sign-up sheet.

Want to be involved? Not much time? Volunteer for this one-and-done action! Election Protection provides opportunities for episodic involvement. Individuals or Leagues can choose their level of commitment. Observing involves training and election day work. Or volunteers may put out signs at polling sites the day before and pick them up the day after election day.Contact Geri with questions— geripawelski@gmail.com

The All IN for Democracy coalition supports redistricting processes and enforceable standards that promote fair and eIective representation at all levels of government with maximum opportunity for public participation. Our maps should reflect communities, not political calculations.

Sign the ALL IN FOR DEMOCRACY petition here:

https://tinyurl.com/46bda94z

(Thank you, Indy League, for the graphic)

August 14, Friday—DEADLINE to REGISTER for First Amendment Conference on August 22 (see below).

August 19, Wednesday—12–1 PM Eastern.Join us for our next Hoosiers Vote Community of Practice session, where we'll focus on student voter registration advocacy and what it means to vote as a student in Indiana. Whether you're mobilizing on a campus or supporting students from the community, this is your space to connect, share strategies, and sharpen your advocacy. Hosted by ACLU. Register HERE.

August 22, Saturday–-First Amendment Conference on the relationship between church and state. 9 am-3 pmCornerstone Center for the Arts, 520 E Main St,Muncie, IN47305 You can register to attend HERE.

September 15,Tuesday—National Voter Registration Day

October 7, Wednesday—Indiana Secretary of State debate. The Indiana Debate Commission will be hosting all 4 candidates (Ballard, Bayh, Engling, Schilling). It will be broadcast from the WFYI studio. Laura Merrifield Wilson will moderate.

Zulaykha spoke publicly, nationally and internationally, in support of Palestine throughout her life.

FORGOTTEN FOREMOTHERS
Profiles of lesser-known heroines in the fight for women's rights

Zulaykha al-Shihabi

When the Egyptian Feminist Union held the Eastern Women’s Conference for the Defense of Palestine in October 1938, Zulaykha al-Shihabi was one of 27 Palestinian women who traveled to Cairo to speak as representatives of the Arab Women’s Society of Jerusalem. “The fact that the largest organized gathering of Arab women in Egypt occurred on the occasion of the defense of Palestine from the British mandate and the Zionist incursion exemplifies the inherent connection between the development of Arab feminism, as a movement, and anti-colonial struggle,” wrote Mariam Karim for Nasawiyyah: Arab Media History in 2025. “Non-Palestinian Arab women considered the struggles within their own countries as ‘indivisible’ from the struggle for Palestine’s liberation, an absolute and guiding principle on which Arab feminism, as a project and movement, is crystalized.”

This conference, where Zulaykha spent days conversing with like-minded and equally passionate women, invigorated her. From the Arab Women’s Society she formed the Palestinian Arab Women’s Union in Jerusalem, a name which spoke of a belief there would be a widespread Arab feminist movement with branches all across the Middle East. Now a deputy of the Palestinian delegation, she led another visit to the British high commissioner at the Government House, threatening widespread demonstrations if they went unheard and unheeded.

To read this entire article go HERE.

Kathryn Gardiner

The Arab Women’s Union often met at Zulaykha’s home, as pictured here from an event in 1944. Zulaykha is seated on the floor on the right, wearing black and white. Photo courtesy British Mandates Jerusalemites Photo Library, Facebook page.

Linda Hanson, LWVIN President

Pam Locker, Editor

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