www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, OCTOBER 2003Women are humanThere are the hundreds of murdered and missing women in Juarez and Chihuahua, Mexico. There’s the “accidental” murder of French actress, Marie Trintignant by her boyfriend. (“A slap is never an accident” was the cry from women protesting her death.) There’s the “cleansing” of women in Kenya where widows and unmarried women are forced to have sex with the “village cleanser” to force out “evil,” or they are forced to give up their land and money. But there is positive work being done by the women affected. Women in Kenya have formed co-ops to stand up to community leaders so that a woman is not alone if she refuses to be “cleansed.” The Court of Women was organized by Asian women’s rights groups to pressure world powers and bring justice to women testifying on forced prostitution--from Afghanistan to India. Some take for granted that women are human. But there are those who believe that women are only to produce children for men or the state. Remember Rev. Jerry Falwell blaming “feminists” for September 11; and the Promise Keepers calling for the man to be head of the home and the woman to obey him. This leads to support of “cultural” values that oppose the education of girls and women; subjecting women to dowry and so-called “honor killings”; and to being considered as property by fathers, brothers, husbands and sons. It is up to us to think about what we can do to help stop the violence against women, children, and yes, men. While it can be a powerful statement when activists raise money at walkathons or meetings, these actions don’t go to the root of the problem. The very mores of society must be confronted and changed. --Sue, NOW member, Chicago |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
