http://www.umojawomen.or.ke/ Umoja is a village in Kenya, I had seen a video on Facebook and decided to do a little more digging into this village. The name of the village in Swahili means “unity”. This village has banned men from itself, it was founded in 1990 by female survivors of rape and sexual violence, but … Read more
In Niger, more than one woman dies every two hours in childbirth, and many more become disabled. With high levels of gender inequality and maternal deaths, the United Nations Population Fund began offering “Husbands’ School” to educate married men about maternal health and related matters. This program brings together cultural and religious leaders, NGO’s and … Read more
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50015&Kw1=Genital+Mutilation&Kw2=Women&Kw3=#.VfDCr_lViko February 6 of each year is “The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.” This article highlights efforts of the UN in educating communities about the myths and negative outcomes of this procedure still common in several African and Middle Easter countries in both Muslim and Christian communities. FGM has many serious … Read more
Menstruation is an often overlooked factor in understanding poor educational outcomes for girls in parts of Africa and other developing areas. Without access to sanitary products, many girls (and women) are often forced to use items like unsanitary rags, leaves or old newspapers to cope with their periods. Due to the lack of sufficient sanitation … Read more
As students — many of whom will be scouring the job market for opportunities in the near future — we are often preoccupied with the written and spoken language that we use; not solely for the numerous research papers, essays and presentations we are responsible for producing over the course of our educational careers, but … Read more
Last week, Lauren Wolfe of Women Under Siege wrote about the rape and violence of everyday life in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This violence is tearing families apart. Men, women, and children are caught in the horrors of war and the men are fighting for a sense of control. Husbands of women who have … Read more
In this article, a sociology student (!) in Liberia is organizing to stop a common practices: young women pressured to exchange sex for grades. Yes, this happens in the United States as well, as we discussed in class this week. It appears that it has not been publicized as a problem in sub-Saharan Africa until … Read more
This article is very depressing and reflective of many of the issues we have been discussing regarding the book, Half the Sky. When I read this article I experienced a variety of emotions ranging from disgust, anger, sadness, and astonishment. The references to elderly women being raped in their late 80’s and 90’s was almost … Read more
Here is an article that appeared in Foreign Policy, which sent Twitter, FB, and all forms of social media buzzing: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/04/23/why_do_they_hate_us?page=0,0 discussing “the real war on women.” For an example of a response, see http://neocolonialthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/a-response-to-mona-el-tahawy/
In an interview with al-Jazeera, a Qatari author discusses the (non)impact the Arab Spring on women: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2012/04/201242111373249723.html .