Pashtun poetry has long been a form of rebellion for Afghan women, belying the notion that they are submissive or defeated. Landai means “short, poisonous snake” in Pashto, a language spoken on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The word also refers to two-line folk poems that can be just as lethal. Funny, sexy, raging, tragic, landai…
“I Had to Run Away” is an important and much-needed report by Human Rights Watch on the issue of imprisonment of women for so-called ‘moral crimes’ in Afghanistan. The report, which is quite heartbreaking, provides necessary statistics, data, and information on the lives of Afghan women who attempt to run away from home (usually, due…
Did you know that April is national poetry month? Poetry has always been a big part of my life; growing up, I shuttled back to Hyderabad for summers to spend time with my grandparents, and one on summer, my grandfather handed me the biography of Rabindranath Tagore (amongst many other books about India’s freedom fighters…
Throughout my work with domestic violence survivors, as well as the trainings I’ve participated in on domestic violence issues, one thread weaves through our constant efforts: empowerment. And the truth is that the language we use – subtle as it may be – makes a huge impact. I am of a firm belief that we…
Women put in the most work and reap the least benefits in agriculture. Women grow the largest share of the world’s food, but very few women (1% in Africa) own the land they farm on. Sadly, rural women who grow food are actually the most likely to be hungry, and their families have higher rates…
Today, feminism has practically become a dirty word. So many young women I’ve talked to have told me: I am an advocate for women’s rights and gender equity, of course! But I am most certainly not going to call myself a feminist. There is increasingly a perception that feminists are man haters, bra burners, or…
Women Under Siege is a fascinating new initiative of the Women’s Media Center that focuses on rape and sexual violence used as tools of control in instances of war, conflict, and genocide throughout the world. The project is spearheaded by Gloria Steinem and hopes to increase our understanding of the causes of mass sexual assaults…
I absolutely love this TED Talk by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon on women entrepreneurs. She writes about all the entrepreneurs she’s met in her travels to Afghanistan and Rwanda – women who are seeking real investment, not microfinance. Who want to open factories, export their products, and hire hundreds of people. Who want $500,000 investments, not…
Recently, I ran across this New York Times article by Graham Bowley, who writes about his quest to speak with Sahar Gul, a young 15-year old girl who had been subject to countless abuses at the hands of her husband’s family, who tortured her and kept her in a basement bathroom for five months after…
There are estimated to be around 5,000-8,000 young people in the UK being forced into marriage. David Cameron has announced he wants forced marriage to be made a criminal offence. However, not everyone agrees that this will help the victims. The government feels that the signal they send out to not criminalise it is a…
