Tag Archive for "War"

Posts Tagged War

Thank You Thursdays: Ruthie Ackerman

Ruthie Ackerman has written a lot of amazing work about Liberia–both past and present–as well as Liberian immigrants in the U.S. I had the good fortune of having coffee with her a month or two ago and was so struck by what a committed, courageous journalist she is, but even more, a truly incredible person. In her bio she explains:

It was following my second trip to Africa that I decided I had to do something. I could no longer just write and photograph people in communities far away from my own and then slip back into my comfortable life as if nothing ever happened. There had to be a way to show the world what I had seen, ...

By Ann • 14 years ago

Afghan election: Legitimate for whom?

A group of women gather at the National Stadium, where Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke at a rally in Kabul. Photo by Nikki Kahn – The Washington Post

Tomorrow, Afghanistan goes to the polls — and many people are questioning whether it’s even possible to hold a “legitimate” election given the potential for low turnout due to recent threats of violence by the Taliban.

But, as Jeanne Brooks reminds us at Women’s eNews, it’s not just violence that threatens democracy in Afghanistan — it’s the disenfranchisement of women. President Hamid Karzai recently signed a law that severely restricts women’s rights. Among many other appalling provisions, it prevents Shia women from casting a vote without their ...

A group of women gather at the National Stadium, where Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke at a rally in Kabul. Photo by Nikki Kahn – The Washington Post

Tomorrow, Afghanistan goes to the polls — and ...

By ariel • 14 years ago

Fight Like a Girl (in Iraq and Afghanistan)

The recession is driving up recruitment rates for the U.S. Armed Forces. When men and women are laid off, they frequently turn to the one agency that is always hiring: the Army. But women, increasingly seeking out the Army for employment, are being turned away because of the struggles of the Army to accommodate their mentally and physically wounded. One woman I know who enlisted in January had her basic training canceled, while 2009 ROTC graduates in America’s colleges have to wait until well into 2010 to take Officer Basic Courses, their first step towards deployment after graduation. This is not unique to women who attempt to enlist, but disproportionately affects women because ...

The recession is driving up recruitment rates for the U.S. Armed Forces. When men and women are laid off, they frequently turn to the one agency that is always hiring: the Army. ...

By Vanessa • 14 years ago

Sexual Assault at Abu Ghraib and Privacy Rights

Recent updates about the photos taken at Abu Ghraib (and being withheld by President Obama) including sexual assault of the detainees is incredibly upsetting, infuriating and fills me with deep shame for being a citizen of a nation whose (previous) administration sanctioned this kind of inhumanity and violence. And these truths are ones that I along with so many others feel must be exposed. Author Tara McKelvey, whose book has accounts from female prisoners of Abu Ghraib, takes on the issue at TAPPED, saying that without the photos it’s almost as if the crimes didn’t exist:

While reporting my book, Monstering, I heard about an interpreter who had worked at the prison and allegedly raped a 14-year-old ...

By Courtney • 14 years ago

Intended Consequences

Check out Jonathan Torgovnik’s amazing collection of photographs of the children of rape victims in the Congo. I became aware of his work because of a devastating photo essay in this month’s Mother Jones Magazine, which you should all check out if you get a chance (it’s not available online).

By Courtney • 14 years ago

Alternatives to Military Escalation in Afghanistan

A bunch o’ peace organizations have created a coalition to push a nationwide day of reflection on and renunciation of military escalation in Afghanistan. I’m totally sympathetic to their cause, and always a fan of stepping back and considering non-military solutions, but also feel confused on this issue. As I’ve written previously in this space, I’m most concerned with what the nonviolent citizens of Afghanistan, especially women, want the U.S. to do.
Contrary to the tired old rhetoric about the U.S. soldiers swooping in and and “saving” poor, repressed Afghan women, there is a vital movement of Afghan women working to change their own communities and cultures. It is these women that I want to hear from, these ...

By Courtney • 14 years ago

The New Generation of Women Veteran Activists

I had the total honor of attending a Congressional meeting yesterday called “The Growing Needs of Women Veterans: Is the VA Ready?” It was hosted by the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and widely attended by a variety of women veterans’ groups who each had a chance to testify about what they see as the growing and unique needs for women veterans (who are currently about 15% of our military).
I plan on writing extensively about some of the issues that were brought up (including childcare, VA climate, cultural shifts, and of course, sexual assault), but what I really wanted to emphasize here at feministing was how inspired I was by the presence of young, fearless women activists yesterday. The ...

By Courtney • 14 years ago

I Will Not Raise My Child to Kill Another Mother’s Child

Whatever you might think about Code Pink or direct action, you can’t argue with how incredible this quilt is. Thousands of women from over 11 countries sent in these little cozies to be stitched together–the resulting quilt reads “I will not raise my child to kill another mother’s child.” It’s an enormous, gorgeous spectacle if there ever was one. I’m just wondering which museum is going to snap it up.