Machismo: The "Hidden Genocide" in Latin America

Whenever women's rights activists compare sexism to something genderless (genocide) they are bound to draw immediate criticism of exaggeration. After all, if it were truly a genocide it would affect more than just one targeted group of people, right?

I do take particular interest in this region, as I work with primarily Latina women who have been victims of gender based violence both here and in their home country. Every woman's story is unique, but the almost unanimous opinion is that the reaction to and criminalization of gender based violence is much stronger and more condemning here than in any of their home countries. (The unanimity might only be disturbed by the few who feel that the police here don't protect them either.)

I would love to hear readers' opinions on this article. Do you think Ms. Ruiz Diaz is exaggerating for shock value? Do you think Latin America's chauvinism and gender based violence are more pronounced/prevalent/ accepted than in other regions in the world?

The Perils of Pregnancy

On April 6, I posted about the mortal dangers facing pregnant women caught in the violent civil war in Sri Lanka.

I was going to post about the Four women elected to Kuwait's parliament, but NY Times OP ed columnist Nicholas Kristof's piece about maternal morality rates in Sierra Leone caught my attention. One in ten pregnant women dies in childbirth there. One in ten.

If you're interested in learning more or taking action, check out the following websites:

White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood

CARE

Averting Maternal Death and Disability

Also read the bill introduced in Congress meant to increase the United States' awareness and financial commitment to solving this problem.

Read the full OP ed piece here.

The Power of the Powerless

There are many different ways to be a dissident. Most think of protests, yelling, confrontation, even violence. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been forced to dissent differently than most, but in doing so has created an opposition harder for the military junta in Myanmar to erase. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for the past 13 years. She has not been able to lead any rallies or march on any capitols, but she cannot be ignored. She was released briefly in 2002 but the overwhelming support, demonstrated by people cheering her on the streets when they saw her, was too disturbing to the junta and thus she was returned to house arrest.

I have spoken with male friends before about the difference between some men and women and their styles of dissent, so this article was particularly intersting to me. How many ways can we fight for change before it finally comes?

Rape as a Weapon of War

There was a wonderful article in the May 11 issue of the Christian Science Monitor exploring how rape has been used as a weapon of war in Colombia. Although this is nothing new to those of us familiar with the disproportionate amount of violence against women and girls, it's still refreshing to see it explicitly addressed in the media.

At the end of the article, there are links to articles addressing rape as a tactical weapon in the Congo and Iraq.

Does anyone know of any other good articles/books on this topic?

Mahila Paksh

This is an exciting post! Mahila Paksh is an Indian newspaper started by a man (they can be feminists too!) after brainstorming with his wife and grown daughter about a better news outlet for women in India.

The article says:

Together the three chalked out a plan for the newspaper that would not only inform women, but motivate them to fight for themselves. They would give women a platform to air their grievances, while also teaching them how to individually and collectively tackle their problems. They decided they didn’t want to represent women - they wanted to make women capable enough to represent themselves.

Yes! This should always be our ultimate goal! Supporting others as they fight their own fight. Read the whole article here.

Roxana Saberi to be freed

Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi is expected to be freed today. She has been jailed in Iran since January, and was originally sentenced to an 8 year prison term. She was first arrested for buying alcohol, but was quickly accused of spying for the US. International pressure from many women's rights groups, as well as political leaders who vocally disaproved of the trumped up charges no doubt helped overturn the original 8 year sentence.

Stay tuned for more news! And read the full story here.

Happy Mother's Day

I couldn't let the day pass without wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there.

Thank you for giving us examples of how to be strong women.
Thank you for showing us that women can and do deserve to be mothers and have a career.
Thank you for "staying home" and caring for us even though the work of raising children is not valued as it should be.
Thank you for navigating adoption agencies and foster care systems to find us.
Thank you for bravely living life as a same sex couple, even with all the disapproval you faced.
Thank you for living life honestly as a mom, even though you may have been born with male body parts.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Courage

Please read this article to be inspired by the courage of Afghan women. (Also see the post from April 5 for a further explanation of the law they were protesting).

Feminism in Sri Lanka

As you may know, violent warfare between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is all but destroying the small country. As to be expected, this violence has disproportionately affected women. As they do not participate in the fighting as frequently as their male relatives, they are often left defenseless in areas that are still susceptible to violence. It's hard to report on exactly what's happening due to the extreme censorship, but it is known that violence is tearing apart the population of approximately 20 million.

Among the many medical crises facing the approximately 70,000 people trapped in the main conflict zone (non-government controlled areas), thousands of women are pregnant and cannot access pre or postnatal care or medical assistance during labor. I must admit even I don't frequently think of pregnant women when I think of conflict zones, but this highly vulnerable population is left with much higher risk of death during childbirth when they have zero access to childcare. Although a huge percentage of the female world population never sees a doctor before, during, or after childbirth, this is still an unnecessary risk, and specifically female risk in conflict zones.

Afghani law explicitly discriminates against women

In a sad follow up to the March 3 post about domestic violence shelters increasing in Afghanistan, the NY Times ran a story today about President Hamid Karzai's disgusting support of a law that clearly limit the rights of Shiite women. The law, among other glaring problems, limits a woman's ability to leave the house, and obliges her to have sex with her husband at all times (unless "ill").

President Karzai's objection, a frequent one with non-western leaders, is that the western media has misconstrued the reality of the law. I call bogus. I cannot stand when discrimination against women is called a "cultural difference". I think when we started this blog, we hoped for a place where non-western and western feminists could convene and share thoughts, ideas and frustrations. Afghani, specifically Shiite women's voices are missing from this debate. If anyone reading this has any thoughts/feelings/connections with this debate, and feels like they lack the platform in which to express them, please do so.

For the full story, click here