Do Muslim Women Need Saving?  By Lila Abu-Lughod

I have compiled below some bits on the book. There are so many recent events tied closely or broadly to the subject of the book. I have kept the focus fairly tightly on the book in the links here, except for the last one, which makes some connections, and we can make more of these in our discussion. I hope the pieces are helpful, and I look forward to the session!

Summary of the book (adapted from the jacket blurb):  Frequent reports of honor killings, disfigurement, and sensational abuse have given rise to a consensus in the West, a message propagated by human rights groups and the media: Muslim women need to be rescued. Lila Abu-Lughod boldly challenges this conclusion. In recent years Abu-Lughod has struggled to reconcile the popular image of women victimized by Islam with the complex women she has known through her research in various communities in the Muslim world. She renders that divide vivid by presenting detailed vignettes of the lives of ordinary Muslim women, and showing that the problem of gender inequality cannot be laid at the feet of religion alone. Poverty and authoritarianism—conditions not unique to the Islamic world, and produced out of global interconnections that implicate the West—are often more decisive. The standard Western vocabulary of oppression, choice, and freedom is too blunt to describe these women’s lives. Do Muslim Women Need Saving? is an indictment of a mindset that has justified all manner of foreign interference, including military invasion, in the name of rescuing women from Islam—as well as a moving portrait of women’s actual experiences, and of the contingencies with which they live.

Abu-Lughod videos and article:  Two very short but informative videos of Abu-Lughod talking about the book, from the Harvard University Press and New York Times sites, and a brief article by Abu-Lughod in Time online.

Review of the book:  An excellent and easy to read review of Abu-Lughod's book by Elif Shafak, a prominent Turkish woman author who is published widely in English.

Blog post with two key images discussed in the book:  A post on a blog called Sociological Images that briefly covers the two images that Abu-Lughod discusses in depth in the book: the image used by a German human rights group, purporting to be in support of women's rights, that equates women in burqas with garbage bags; and the controversial image from a 2010 Time magazine cover of Afghan woman Bibi Aysha.

Interview with a Muslim-American civil rights activist:  In this excellent interview, Linda Sarsour, executive director of the Arab American Association of NYC, talks about the increase in Islamophobia and linkages between the movement against this and the current racial justice movement that grew out of Ferguson.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness  By Michelle Alexander

“The New Jim Crow" is now part of the lexicon of racial inequality analysis and racial justice advocacy due to Michelle Alexander’s book.  A civil rights lawyer, legal scholar and activist, she looks at the racial dimensions of policing and imprisonment in the US and argues that the criminal justice system enforces a racial caste system.  While the book is a carefully researched legal and social analysis, it is far from cold or clinical; Alexander also makes an impassioned plea for greater compassion - for all of us to care more about the people our criminal justice systems nets through discriminatory policing and campaigns, like the War on Drugs, the people it locks into cages in the millions, the people whose rights and chances it curtails or eliminates even after they are technically "freed" from imprisonment.  

Compiled below are some links to articles, sites and more, on topics and recent events related to what is covered in the book.  Reading these articles is not required; they are for our reference and to help us make connections. If you have not had time to read the book, checking out a few of the links may be useful, perhaps starting with the New Jim Crow website, which summarizes the book's argument.

Update [11/15/14]: If you read one thing along with or instead of the book, read this Huffington Post article, which pulls together everything: Ferguson, the New Jim Crow, systemic, institutionalized racism.

Stats on incarceration and felon disenfranchisement:

The website of the Sentencing Project, headed by Mark Mauer, whose reports are cited throughout The New Jim Crow, is an excellent resource, with the latest stats on people in prison (2.2 million) and those out of prison but disenfranchised. It has a good, brief review of Prop 47, the sentencing reform measure we passed in California in this month's election.

Sentencing and imprisonment of women:

Women of color are victims of discriminatory policing and sentencing, along with men; the case of Marissa Alexander in Florida is a recent, prominent example.  Women inmates were sterilized without their consent in California prisons, and due to pressure from activist groups like Justice NOW, the state recently instituted restrictions on sterilization; but women incarcerated during their reproductive years are effectively barred from parenting.  Women who have police records may be especially vulnerable to police abuse, as suggested by the recent case of the Oklahoma City cop who serially sexually assaulted African American women with records.

Militarization of police and overpolicing:

Ahead of the grand jury decision on the killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson, St Louis (STL) police are spending big money on riot gear, including tear gas grenades and rubber bullets, which they used along with drones and armored carriers during the Ferguson protests in August.  Stockpiling of military gear by police departments around the US has been going on for some time, and Rodney Balko has traced the history of this in a major book.  HRW had researchers on the ground during the height of the Ferguson protests; it issued reports on police intimidation of protesters and a letter calling on Missouri's governor to review the law enforcement responses.

Criminalization of communities of color and men of color:

The Ferguson protests, ongoing, are a response not only to Mike Brown's killing but also to general, daily mistreatment of the community by the police, which the Department of Justice is investigating. This report reveals how some STL municipalities fund themselves by serially fining low-income people, mainly African Americans, effectively criminalizing poverty.  Khalil Gibran Muhammad wrote an important book on the criminalization of black communities. On the fear of black men, Jamelle Bouie's article is brief and excellent; and on the worth of black men, Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts’ piece is powerful and eloquent.

  

Implicit bias:

Bouie's article references implicit bias, as does Alexander's book.  Studies reveal that while people may not consciously think they have racial bias, it may operate on an unconscious level.  The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University is leading research on implicit bias, which impacts policing, school discipline, employment and even health care. Implicit bias has been shown to figure into doctors' perceptions of black patients' pain, and in how much pain medication doctors prescribe to children.

Myth of colorblindness:

Implicit bias studies also help to debunk the myth of colorblindess.  Race remains a real determinant in the contexts named above and more, so claiming not to see it or refusing to see it denies individual and collective experiences of discrimination based on race—and our nation’s history. And talking about or considering race is not in itself discriminatory (or racist): Justice Sonia Sotomayor had to explain this to Chief Justice John Roberts. In Ebony, Jamilah Lemieux gave a woman of color's view on "colorlessness" and the imaginary “post-racial.”

School-to-prison pipeline and juvenile justice:

LA Unified School District has recently taken measures to reduce criminalized school discipline, the source of the school-to-prison pipeline.  Elizabeth Calvin, Senior Children's Rights Advocate based at HRW's LA office, is a leader in the fight for reforms in the California juvenile justice system.  Chicago-based anti-incarceration activist Miriame Kaba's Project NIA site and US Prison Culture blog are invaluable resources on criminalization and incarceration of youth, and on youth activism in response.

Alternatives to punitive justice:

Project NIA also advocates for the abolition of prisons.  Prison abolitionists, many of them feminists, argue that prisons themselves are a form of violence and that we can find an alternative to our current punitive model in a community-based, transformative approach. Restorative justice is another model aimed at reducing or preventing incarceration, especially of youth.

Malala: Who is Malala?

In April, we will read the book I Am Malala: The Girl who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, co-written with Malala Yousafzai by British journalist Christina Lamb. At first glance, you may think that you have read this story (just with a minor shift in specific details) before. If you are not familiar with this particular story, there are several in-depth articles you can read: Vanity Fair, the Guardian, the New York Times and more. The topic certainly has been covered from many angles.

This book should, however, inspire some important and timely discussions. As the political and military gaze of the USA and other leaders shifts toward Ukraine, Venzuela, and continues to try to avoid Syria, people in Pakistan and the greater region are still struggling with the questions (women's rights, freedom of expression, fundamentalist terror groups, corrupt governments) that covered the headlines and often justified intervention.

In the past, we read Three Cups of Tea (since then, Greg Mortenson and hist NGO have been discredited). The larger point at issue is that education, and education of girls as well as boys, is one of the most important things that any society can do to improve security and well-being into the future. There are plenty of other groups successfully leading the way in this area: the Agha Khan Development Network, Room to Read, and others. This issue and related challenges are long standing, and will remain important for the long term.

Malala's story is also an interesting prism through which we might explore two related questions: the first has to do with the way that Malala's authenticity, intelligence, and honor is questioned because of the help she has taken from supporters in the West. Post-colonial third world feminist has confronted these issues over and over again, but they are important and they shape real lives. We can see this in Malala's story. Some argue that Malala is inauthentic and even a stooge of western interests (she won the Sakharov Award, the UN Human Rights Prize, was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and won many more) . Malala's story inspired videos and activism all over the world. Claims that 'we are all Malala' can be read either positively as empathetic solidarity or negatively as another example of silencing and usurping of a their world woman's (or girl's) voice. There were two additional girls who were shot on the same bus as Malala, and we rarely hear their stories -- but they are speaking out as well. At the same time, Malala is very eloquent (she had her own blog already, and now she has a website, a book, and the Malala Fund) and has found opportunities to speak: at the Aspen Ideas Festival; on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart; she spoke at the United Nations, and to US President Obama.

The second question is one of representation and voice here in our own backyard: we don't seem to be improving literacy in the USA, and while literacy and gender equity issues are different in the USA, they are extremely important for gender equity. Which leads us to the next issue. While many leaders in the United States are very excited to host a guest lecture from Malala, the United States still lags behind in an appalling way when it comes to voting for and listening to women in government. This gap extends to local politics: representation in Los Angeles city hall for example is appallingly low, and has sparked public debate. If we are (and we should be) so excited about encouraging Pakistan to fight to educate their girls and to listen to their girls, then why aren't we fighting the same fights at home?

Long Walk to Freedom: Mandela's Memoir

Mandela's memoir, stretches from his childhood and early days as a lawyer through his development as a political organizer and freedom fighter, prisoner and world leader.

The Guardian has a beautiful interactive timeline of his life. The Nelson Mandela Foundation is also a great resource for learning more about Mandela.









Key points in his historic life include:
born, July 18, 1918
ran away to Johannesburg, 1941
joined the ANC, 1944
married to Evelyn Mase, 1944 - 1958
Defiance Campaign, 1952
Mandela and Tambo (first black law firm) established, 1952
government bans, arrests, and Treason Trials, 1952 - 1961
married to Winnie Madikizela, 1958 - 1996
Workers Strike, 1961
sentenced to life imprisonment, 1963
President de Klerk released Mandela, 1990
Nobel Peace Prize, 1993
elected first black President, 1994
signed into law a new constitution based on majority rule, 1996
married Graca Machel, 1998
retired, 2004
convened "The Elders", 2007

There's a movie now, too...

National Level
Mandela is widely known as an advocate of women's rights: in 1993, just before Mandela was elected President, South Africa signed the UN Convention to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and in 1995, South Africa ratified the convention under President Mandela. Explicitly noting the key role women had in the past and future of the nation, President Mandela established a National Women's Day in his first years in office.

The new constitution included equality rights and he introduced basic health care access for women at the same time that it established racial equality. South Africa now has many women in leadership positions and scores among the elite countries of the world on gender gap measurements.

At the same time, women still dominate low-wage sectors of the economy, are more likely to be unemployed and poor, and are commonly exposed to violence -- particularly sexual violence and murder. Human Rights Watch has recently reported on violence against LGBT people, and the maternal health care problems faced by many women in the Eastern Cape.

The disparities are shocking. The possibilities for women in South Africa are at polar extremes, from the best (in political participation and careers) to the worst (in economic and personal freedom).

There are activists who argue that this level of violence is a kind of society-wide expression of post-apartheid post-traumatic stress. This might be a concept that is difficult to really accept, until you start considering the context of dominant gender roles for men and women in violent, oppressive states, and the continued economic and social equality struggles that many South Africans face.

Professional Level
Mandela has recognized the participation of women in the anti-apartheid struggle.In his book, he notes the 1956 march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria, in which 20,000 women protested travel controls on black women.

There is not very much in the early part of the book, however, that is consciously critical of the role of women in his professional life. While many women were part of the struggle, his story of struggle is often very specifically focused on the challenges that he faced (often alone or with other leading men) logistically, strategically, and philosophically.

This clearly changes when he meets Winne.

Personal Level
(work in progress)

Warrior Princess: A Transgender Navy SEAL's Journey

There are many stories now about brave transgender people. This story, though, confronts so many challenging and interesting issues that it is worth a close examination.

At a time in which Chelsea Manning's coming out prompted discussions of whether she has the right to corrective medical treatment while incarcerated, there are broader issues with human rights violations of LGBT prisoners, the criminalization and incarceration of LGBT people, and even broader issues with the general concept of human rights being afforded to all human beings (even those accused of or guilty of a crime). If you are not sure what we mean when we suggest that human rights are not applying to people who are considered criminals, listen to some of the After Innocence stories, and think about the debates over the use of torture in the war on terror, or take a look at HRW's prisons work.
So, the Warrior Princess story is timely and brings out all these interesting questions about patriotism, human rights, soldiers and their personal rights/personal identities.... as well as the broader questions about LGBT people and human rights..... and also broader questions about human rights and freedom of expression, dissent, incarceration, imprisonment, assumptions of guilt/innocence.

On top of that, this topic can help us confront in depth issues of gender, power, authenticity, masculinity, and more. For an introduction to basic terms and concepts that will help, check out Trans101. And read up on Fausto-Sterling.

Not About One Thing: Americanah

Americanah is the new novel written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This award winning author wrote Half of a Yellow Sun. Our book club read that book way back in 2007.

While "Yellow Sun" was situated in Nigeria, this book brings us from Nigeria to the United States, and to the United Kingdom, and back. Through the complicated, interwoven lives we follow in this novel, we encounter multiple, interwoven themes. If they are presented well, human rights issues are complicated, and so are good novels! Just like issues of human rights and women's rights, Americanah is not about "one thing": as Laura Pearson noted in her review, the main character (Ifemelu) in the novel points this out for us in a specific scene in the book. While she is in a beauty salon getting her hair done, Ifemelu is irritated by an attempt at conversation: someone asks her what the novel she was reading was about (groan, it's a novel... it's about a lot of things, how can I possible summarize it for you... is the feeling). Americanah, Pearson notes, is too complicated to summarize, just like Ifemelu's novel: it "covers race, identity, relationships, community, politics, privilege, language, hair, ethnocentrism, migration, intimacy, estrangement, blogging, books and Barack Obama". But it is exciting and challenging to read (a good thing, really!).

So if women's rights are about many things (as well as complicated and interwoven), where are they in this book? Here are a few:

• The novel alludes to the military dictatorships in Nigeria's past, and we encounter the ripple effects of those politics in Ifemelu's Auntie Uju, and her relationship with 'the General'. Auntie Uju's story uncovers the multiple levels of women's participation in politics, and the ways that coups and political unrest can upend everyday women's lives, partly because (all over the world) women's access to legal and civil protection is lacking. When it comes to marriage, common-law relationships, divorce, inheritance, property rights, vulnerability to violence, standards for sexual behavior, this short story illustrates many complications that women must often negotiate from a place of insecurity. Laws are constantly changing, but protections for women lag behind in general and even when it comes to basic human rights such as freedom from violence, when it comes to mistresses, their applicability are still subject to debate.

• In England, Ifemelu's boyfriend from college in Nigeria confronts the dangers of looking for work as an illegal immigrant, including extortion. Ifemelu has her own dangers to confront in that arena in the United States, where her experience is framed by a moment of sexual exploitation: a familiar and disturbing effect of the insecurity inherent in immigrant populations all over the world (especially but not only for women migrants).

• The divisions of race and class that are so strange to Ifemelu, because she is an outsider (to read or listen to an NPR interview with Adichie in the topic of 'learning to be black in the US'), are brought into relief, and presented with ironic and comedic effect in the fictional blog titles of articles that Ifemelu wrote: "Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black."; "Not All Dreadlocked White Guys Are Down."; "Badly Dressed White Middle Managers from Ohio Are Not Always What You Think.";"Understanding America for the Non-American Black: What Do WASPs Aspire To?"; "What Academics Mean by White Privilege, or Yes It Sucks to Be Poor and White but Try Being Poor and Non-White." Although it is not explicit, these observations and the experiences that inspire these observations, are also deeply informed by gender, and specifically by the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, and class. 

There are more threads in this book that we can pull on to explore questions of women's rights, and hopefully we will in our discussion. For a quick introduction to Adichie and Americanah, listen to Adichie in a public discussion about her book at Aloud at the LA Public Library.

However Long the Night... the Dawn will Break

This is a story of one woman's sense of homecoming in a country and culture that is a world away from the one she was born in.

It is a story of the power of patience, compassion, respect, and determination.

It is a story about the will of people everywhere to achieve dignity and happiness for themselves and their community.

It is a story of how to teach, and how to learn, and how effective (yet how difficult) it is to do both.

It is evidence of how we are all embedded in powerful networks that shape our lives, and of how we are all capable of (indeed, responsible for) improving the world we live in.

"I have always believed that if you feel you are on a path that can lead to the well-being of people, the methods  you use to achieve that goal should be respectful, peaceful, and positive... "

The book we are reading for the summer is an uplifting nonfiction book written by Aimee Molloy about Molly Melching, the founder of Tostan. Tostan is a groundbreaking NGO which has shaped education strategies, and development work in Senegal in remarkable ways.Tostan has been identified as an example of "social entrepreneurship", which is a new catch-word in the philanthropic world (although of course the practice of social entrepreneurship is age-old).

Tostan's work started with Molly Melching's interest in Africa, and specifically in Senegal; and with African language, specifically Wolof, the language that approximately eighty percent of people in Senegal speak.

Molly's work in Senegal began with literacy (still a big problem) and children's education. When she started her work in Senegal, there were no children's books in native languages, only in French. These books were written for French children, not for Senegalese children -- so not only were children being asked to learn to read in their second language instead of their first, these kids were also presented with stories that had nothing to do with their actual lives... but rather, about the Paris metro for example! Not much motivation there!

While working on literacy issues, Molly was confronted with the challenges that Senegalese children faced in even being healthy enough to get a basic education. Many children do not make it past five years of age in Senegal, and for many that do, malnutrition and related conditions along with challenges of rural communities with limited access to services and reliable infrastructure make education an uphill battle. From literacy, Molly expanded her focus to literacy and health education in local languages. (If you are interested in this, check out the work of NGO Room to Read, headquartered in San Francisco but active all over the world in children's literacy, girls' education, libraries and book publishing).

She initially thought she would educate women about early childhood health and development: how to take care of their babies and young children. But she discovered (by asking the women themselves) that women really wanted to learn about their own health, because they felt that they did not know enough to keep themselves healthy and were therefore struggling to care for their children and extended families. This shift to women's health education then moved Molly toward human rights education and leadership skill development as well as project management training.Then, women started learning and sharing these really cool lessons and skills, and the entire community wanted in!

Tostan is known for having a local, community defined, community driven approach.

If you are not sure that you would like to buy the book, you can get a good feel for the book by reading this exerpt. You can also watch Molly tell the story of Tostan as a facilitator of "positive disruption" in video:



The book has received some great publicity, as in a PBS NewsHour interview,  Melinda Gates reviewed the book; just this year, Molly Melching was named on of the 150 "Women who Shake the World" by Newsweek and the Daily Beast. She was on KPCC's Crawford Family Forum, recently as well.

The New York Times has a great compilation page on the practice of cutting.

So to complete this post, we will explore some basic terms, concepts and approaches that are key to understanding Tostan's approach and provide some social and cultural background.

Why FGC, not FGM?

FGM (female genital mutilation) is an older--but also common--term used to describe the practice of removing some part of a girl's external genitals. The preferred term is female genital cutting (FGC). the term FGC is more neutral, and descriptive. Depending on the community, the practice is called many things: the 'tradition', or circumcision for example. Most women who practice FGC are not participating in the practice with the intent of mutilation, and many do not experience it that way. Rather, it is done out of love with the intention of making a girl socially acceptable, and even more beautiful. Many women all over the world are willing to undergo dangerous and painful practices for these very goals. Molly describes in the book how powerful the social pull of these practices can be, when she finds out her own daughter felt betrayed by her mother for not cutting her. The Orchid Project has a great FAQ page if you would like to read more.

FGC and Islam

While FGC is often thought to be (and even enforced in the name of) religion, the practice is not mandated by Islamic law, and it is not an Islamic practice. In fact, one of the most successful strategies in helping to change this practice is to find religious leaders who are trusted by their communities and can spread the word that FGC is not mandated by Islam. Human Rights Watch's work in Iraqi Kurdistan is a good example of this, and parallels the work of Tostan in Senegal in this regard. There is some resistance here, however:

Knowledge is not Enough

Many women know that FGC is dangerous. The pain that it can cause to mothers (and fathers) as well as daughters is wrenching. Many attempt to circumvent the practice in order to protect their daughters; they put it off, they lie and say that they have already had it done. Molly Melching illustrates very well in her book, though, that better knowledge about how and why FGC is harmful is not enough. As with any social practice, dialogue and the mobilization of men and women together in the pursuit of their shared interest in human rights and well-being is the best and most hopeful way to change harmful social practices.

Harmful Practices are not evidence of Maliciousness 



FGC is practiced everywhere, including in the USA

FGC is a practice that is practiced by many people all across the world. This includes the United States, where there are various advocacy approaches and Europe. More than this, FGC is only one practice in a matrix of harmful and/or body altering social practices based on gender inequality that many cultures maintain. For more scholarly reading on this topic, try Transcultural Bodies, Pretty Modern.

A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution

From peaceful protests to civil war, the conflict in Syria has been in the news and on the agendas of diplomats since the protests began in March of 2011.

In the recent past, Syria was a stable authoritarian state, with a long history of quiet repression of citizens and incredibly rich heritage, but not a country familiar with violence or chaos in the streets.

At this point in the conflict, Syria is turning into a world-class humanitarian crisis, with refugees crossing the borders into neighboring countries- particularly Turkey and Lebanon.

For a quick overview of the main actors and issues, see this summary by the CBC.It covers Bashar al-Assad and the Assad family, the opposition and FSA, key governments such as the USA, Russia, Iraq and Turkey, and key international organizations such as the United Nations.

The book we are reading is from time in the conflict when it turned increasingly violent. Yazbek, a well known novelist in Syria, and a member of the Alawite minority in Syria, was already something of a rebellious woman at the time of the uprisings. She was divorced, and a professional woman who had made a life for herself and her daughter. While she bravely resisted the regime's atempts to control and then silence her voice, and she finally escaped Syria with her life, she did not escape unscathed, and her experience of the rising tide of repression, rebellion, and violence is shaped by the fact that she is a woman, a mother, a daughter. It is not a pretty story and it is not in a gentle voice that we hear her story, but it is a perspective and a voice that we need to hear in order to really understand the images we see in the news, the numbers we see reported, the political wrangling we hear.

Mali, Peace Corps, Friendship

Mali is a landlocked country, with very low human development (see graph) and gender equity indicators (bottom twenty). If you want a tangible illustration, look at literacy rates (Male: 27%; Female: 12%, report from the NYT)

But as important as these indicators are, they do not tell the whole story.

The history of Mali extends far into the rich inheritances of ancient empires, the modern history of Mali is shaped by French colonialism (until 1960), rebellions and military dictatorships, and transition to democracy but in the context of domestic insurgency and repression (the Tuareg).

Known for their music, the Tuareg are a key element of the politics of Mali and the region. The most recent military coup was fed by arms that came into the country from the 2011 Libyan civil war (something that Human Rights Watch warned about), and in support of separatist Tuareg groups. Saharan al-Qaeda factions took this opportunity to take over the Tuareg area of Mali, however (and there seems to have been some level of cooperation between some Tuareg and some Islamic al-Qaeda style groups). At the same time, in a kind of cultural diplomacy, the rock band Tinariwen has been on a world tour, winning a Grammy and notice from global media. The band directly confronts the tensions and costs of both violent and non-violent rebellion: a few members of the band have been stuck in refugee camps, unable to join in the band's most recent tour. Women as symbol of a people and as active participants in their struggles are clear in some of the band's songs.

In the news recently, Mali has been at center of the now familiar global concern with Islamic militants and terrorism. There is a great interactive backgrounder by the Guardian. The French have stepped in, but want to hand off the responsibility of the intervention to a UN entity soon. In this high-politics context, the issues of women's health and everyday life are often submerged. The closest we may get is perhaps the argument that political stability, governmental accountability and economic development are the only core issues that could resolve conflicts like the one in Mali. Feminist scholars have long argued that this is a mistake.

This is why we decided to read this book- perhaps on the surface an odd choice for a group that wants to get some background on a country that is in the middle of an international intervention and coup. But this story is a story of another version of interaction (also with problems and challenges). It is the story of the friendship between a young Peace Corps volunteer and a local woman who is the midwife as well as the only trained source of infant medical care for the town. Monique and the Mango Rains is a story of the strength and resourcefulness of one Malian woman, and the story of the work that she did with very little support. Many Malian women are actively working for change, and it seems important to keep this in mind in the midst of the talk of insurgencies, military force, and negotiations: women can and do have a stake in these issues at all levels.

Another woman who has spoken out in Mali is the artist Moussoulou; I leave you with a sampling of her music (thanks to Patricia, for curating all of the Malian music in this post).

On the Ojibwe Reservation, Violence and a search for Justice

Louise Erdrich's new novel, The Round House, is a NYT bestseller and a National Book Award Winner.

The book is narrated by a man, and is in some ways his own coming of age story -- so perhaps an odd choice for a book club focused on women's human rights.

But the core of the book is a violent attack on the young man's mother, an attack in which the attacker remains out of reach and the woman and her family confront the personal cost of violence against women. As we have read elsewhere, rape is not a "women's issue" (it's a human issue) and it is not a "third-world issue": it is a global issue that has long-reaching cost to men and women, to communities and economies, and to governments.

In case readers would like to consider how widespread or current this issue is, HRW just released preliminary information on a report they have been working on in Canada. Violence against native women there, as is also often the case in the USA, has not been taken seriously. We may have a better idea of why after having read the book, but from the HRW article, we know that there are disproportionately high numbers of indigenous missing and murdered women and girls in Canada, and that their numbers are not even being tracked now due to budget cuts.

We should have the opportunity to confront some really challenging questions about the intersections of race, gender, culture and violence in the US through this book, following up on our readings about juvenile justice, integration in the southern US, and modern underage prostitution.

The Unfinished Revolution

The Unfinished Revolution is an HRW book, through-and-through.

Editor Minky Worden is HRW Director of Global Initiatives; it is impeccably researched and founded in historical and global perspectives; some of the chapters are written by amazing HRW researchers and we have seen the results of their work in the form of HRW briefings, reports, and press releases; there is an incredible collection of HRW photographs; and the book is a collection of some of the most influential voices speaking on the cutting-edge issues in the area of women's human rights.

We will be reading this book in two sections in November and December.

In the 1980s, the Guerrilla Girls (an anonymous feminist punk protest group) put posters with statements like "Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?" on the sides public busses; they have used shocking and humorous imagry to challenge and unsettle. They protest sexism, racism and corruption--particularly in the art world and in visual culture, but also more broadly. They are still active.

The Pussy Riot group, founded in 2011, consisted of about 12 members, who protected their identity by wearing brightly colored clothing and balaclavas during public performances; they modeled some of their protest strategy and their identification with superheroes after the Guerilla Girls. The superhero theme comfortably travels accross cultural borders, and supporters held "superhero flash mobs", performances and protests organized on facebook and elsewhere, after members of the band were arrested by Russian authorities. Their superhero identity has clearly been adopted as girl-empowering in the US and western Europe; big-name musicians, local artists, and even politicians have joined the global outcry. A German town even nominated the band for the Luther Prize, in honor of the Martin Luther, the man who protested the linkages between Catholic Church and state, leading to the Protestant Revolution.

Reactions inside Russia are far more mixed. In fact, there is strong resistance to the idea that western style feminism is even needed in Russia; the group's song was more than a song about girl-power: it took on the Russian Orthodox Church, social conservatism, and the growing linkages between church and state. Everything about the band is confrontational, squarely in the punk-protest tradition.

These kinds of protests bring up questions about how to approach problems in society, how to advocate for change. People disagree about the distance between aspirations and what "really" can be attained; they disagree about how to fight for that change. The choice of confrontational protest like that of Pussy Riot illustrated this tension for our group: there is an ongoing challenge for feminists and for human rights advocates who must dance the line between integrating into the system (in order to advocate change) and being ghettoized (and therefore shut out of mainstream political discourse). To integrate into the system, groups have to be in for the long-haul; they must be able to stay on-message; they must find ways to re-define the terms of the game. Protest movements like Pussy Riot are not taking this kind of strategy, but they might help jump-start certain issues from the outside. And they might just end up being absorbed or ghettoized.

Human Rights Watch was there for the verdict that sent two members of the band to prison and released on on probation. Particularly disturbing and important for those concerned with the future of feminist thought and political action are the conclusions of the Russian courts in this case:

"The judge also argued that feminism, ultimately, was at the core of the “religious hatred” charge. “Feminism is not a violation of the law and is not a crime,” the verdict stated. “Although feminism is not a religious precept, its proponents cross the line into the spheres of decency, morals, family relations.”(HRW October 2012)

In other words, instead of ignoring Pussy Riot's feminist claims, the court decided to redefine feminism as a hate-based, anti-religion ideology. This allowed the court to redefine the Pussy Riot protest as hate crime, and not political protest, which would be protected under free speech laws. In doing so, the judge put feminist thought ("ideology") in the same category as hate groups that attack people on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, language. This is a dangerous and troubling redefinition of hate crime, and in spite of the obvious theoretical and practical idiocy of the claim, the strategy is potentially devastating.

Russian Feminist Punks, the Russian Orthodox Church, and Democracy in Russia

 Feminism, Rule of Law and Democracy in Russia 

 

We are reading a collection of short works about Pussy Riot and their recent trial:

Basing their feminist punk style of protest on the Guerrilla Girls, the punk band/artist collective Pussy Riot and their ongoing trial for their 'punk prayer' protesting Putin has illuminated  the state of Russian legal system. The dark comedy of trial, the pre-conviction incarceration the three women have endured, and some anger they face all illustrate what so many Russian activists risk if they are singled out. This shows how important it is to seriously consider the state of Russian civil society more broadly. The trial has also brought to the foreground some challenging questions about art as protest, and the commodification of artistic protest. Solidarity from artists and activists all over the world means that the trial is forcing a conversation about politics, power, and feminism at a global level: and dialogue was the original goal of the group's action. But activists like Pussy Riot face an uphill battle. Many in Russia believe Russian women are already powerful enough in their femininity, and that they are past any need for feminism. But there are serious problems in Russian society that suggest otherwise, not least a problematic disinterest in violence against women.

Those of you interested in the historical context of this trial may want to look into the 1964 trial of Joseph Brodsky, a Jewish Russian poet who was targeted as anti-Soviet. This trial was also full of dark comedy, and apparently the PR defendants themselves have pointed out similarities (thanks to Rachel, HRW's deputy director of Europe and Central Asia for this information).

For even more background, check out the HRW page for latest news on human rights in Russia.

Life in a Mumbai slum: in Detail

For June, we ware reading Katherine Boo's book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers. It has been very well-reviewed.

This is a detailed account of life in Annawadi, a half-acre slum of 3,000 people in Mumbai, India. She chose this place because it was "fraught with possibilities". Boo spent years in this slum near the airport and her book is a detailed description of the lives of some of the people who live there, including Asha, a woman who creates problems and then gets people to pay her to solve them; Fatima, who sets herself on fire over a dispute with a neighbor; and Abdul who makes a living selling trash and gets caught up in a murder charge.

From HRW reporting, we know that caste discrimination, accountability of the criminal justice system concerning gender-based violence and political participation, and issues of maternal health care are three key issues. Particularly appropriate for our focus this month, HRW is focusing on the responsibility of the Indian government to protect vulnerable communities--and usually among the most vulnerable in these communities are women. Keep an eye on the HRW India page for press releases and updates.

For a very detailed description of the work Katherine Boo did to write this book, and to read about her background and earlier work (which is impressive) see the New York Times.

In fact, the NYT article also contains a very interesting example of global media streams. In the article, we read an account of how her New Yorker article of 2009 (which she wrote in reaction to the Slumdog Millionaire movie) was translated and read by people in Mumbai: and as she was still doing research for this book, the people in Annawadi heard about it and her approach actually improved her reputation in the slum. Even after the publication of the book, the residents of the slum apparently not only read the book but support and appreciate Katherine Boo's work--despite the fact that her writing exposes some of the most intimate, difficult and painful things in their lives.

Afghanistan: Women Entrepreners

Entrepreneurial spirit is the motivating force behind Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's book about Kamila, a young woman who puts her career goals of being a professor on hold when the Taliban take hold of Kabul. Because of the new rules forbidding women from working outside the home and the ongoing civil war, Kamila's family is split apart and their hope for survival depends on the bravery, inventiveness and skill of Kamila and her young siblings. She starts a dressmaking business in their family home, and turns it into a community hub, training center, and career. She continues her work now, helping to build more businesses run by women.

One of the powerful and inspirational lessons of this story is that Kamila and her family manage this in Kabul, under the Taliban, with no outside help. Not only does the dressmaking business help Kamila's own family, she ends up employing about 100 other neighborhood women and girls. This is for Kamila a conscious decision, based on a sense of responsibility for her community and country as well as for family.

There are a few ways this book builds on insights from previous book club discussions. Kamila's story illustrates the thesis of Half the Sky: that the effect of investing in girls' education and entrepreneurship can be a powerful force, and can help lift entire communities out of poverty. Her story also illustrates how important it is (and how common it is) for women in these restrictive societies to have the support of their husbands, fathers and brothers. We discussed this in the case of Iran most recently. In Kamila's case, her father was a staunch advocate for his daughters, and he insisted that they all complete their education. Her brother worked hard and at personal risk to support her business by working as her escort, helping with the purchase of supplies and with the embroidery work. A male neighbor who worked for the Taliban warned Kamila she needed to be extra careful about Taliban searches in the neighborhood.

We decided to read this book in part because of the HRW report that was just released, "I Had to Run Away", documenting the continued discrimination against women in Afghanistan under laws against "moral crimes". Women who have escaped abusive marriages or who have been raped or forced into prostitution are imprisoned under these laws, instead of being protected from their abusers. This is a particularly useful juxtaposition, I hope. In Kamila's words:

Money is power for women. If women have their own income to bring to the family, they can contribute and make decisions. Their brothers, their husbands, and their entire families will have respect for them... if we can train a woman who never had the chance to study, and she can start her own business, it will be good for the whole family as well as for the community. Her work will create jobs for other people and pay for both her boys and her girls to be educated.

A  few other very notable things in this story:

• the path-breaking work of Samantha Reynolds and the UN Habitat strategy of empowering local women to rebuild their communities
• the business consulting work that is Kamila's new project: Kaweyan
• the international organizations that support entrepreneurs like Kamila: business professionals supporting entrepreneurs in conflict-affected areas such as BPeace; humanitarian organizations that support training for local businesswomen such as Mercy Corps 
• of course, the rigorous reporting and focused advocacy work of HRW 

Women in Saudi Arabia: Change from Within

Our discussion this month (as is often the case) took us to some unexpected places, and expanded our knowledge of women's rights issues.

A key theme this time was complexity.

Women's issues in Saudi Arabia are nothing if not complex.

In the middle of this complexity is the undeniable fact: male guardianship laws and sex segregation in Saudi Arabia are so extreme that women face massive insecurity, lack personal autonomy and experience violations of even the most basic human rights. They are Perpetual Minors in the eyes of the law.

Qanta Ahmed, the author of In the Land of Invisible Women (a moderate Muslim and a British-born, American-trained doctor of Pakistani descent) was a particularly helpful guide through some of this complexity. This is because she was well-positioned to confront a lot of this complexity in a very personal way-she was both an outsider (a foreigner, with no real knowledge of Wahhabism) and an insider (a Muslim, highly educated, a doctor) in the relatively elite social context of the military hospital ICU where she worked.

Imprisonment and Empowerment
One of the most contested and complex issues is obviously the (often violently enforced) extensive covering of women in public. Even before the author, Qanta, lands in Saudi Arabia, she is worried about the appropriateness of her clothing. The first thing that she does after settling in her apartment is to go shopping for an abbaya with her secretary. Qanta passionately declares:
"... polyester imprisonment by compulsion is ungodly and (like the fiber) distinctly man-made."

But as soon as she puts the abbaya on, Qanta also recognizes the safety and empowerment that it lends her as a woman who must navigate exceptionally predatory and aggressive male-dominated public space. For a beautifully crafted personal statement by one woman about choosing to cover herself in public, watch the video-poem "The Shield". And still, there is the opposite experience of emotional and physical illness about being compelled to cover.

At the same time, men are not as free as they may initially appear: Qanta notes the emotional imprisonment of many privileged and relatively empowered young Saudi men, who seem to be caught in an impossible struggle for a sense of purpose. Many of these young men from privileged backgrounds have unlimited access to cars and material things, but are faced with a weak sense of social belonging and too much freedom. She called them "lost boys" and treated them in the hospital when their drug-taking, alcohol consuming 120mph recklessness landed them in the emergency room.

Identity and Belonging
One of the main threads in this story is the question of the shifting personal identity of the author: she is challenged to confront her identity at multiple levels throughout her time in Saudi Arabia. This may be familiar to those in the book club who read Lipstick Jihad, several years ago, and is familiar to anyone who has struggled with hybrid or multiple identities based on religion, heritage, ethnicity, citizenship or language. Qanta gives us a lot of clues about the divisions of class and race in Saudi Arabia, and how qualified the sense of belonging can be in the face of so much pressure for conformity and homogeneity in public spaces.

Social Change  
One of the most challenging and hopeful elements of our discussion recognized the very sensitive issues of human rights critique and enforcement that comes from "outsiders"and acknowledged the importance of change happening from inside Saudi Arabia itself.

In reading about many human rights abuses all over the world (including in the US) we can often see education as the key to ending violence and suffering. But the people Qanta describes are highly educated. In many cases, the lack of basic economic security appears to be a related issue: with better access to shelter, food and health care, human rights will improve in many situations: but in spite of class disparity and some economic vulnerability, basic needs are not the main issue in the Saudi case. The end of civil war, violent rebellion, or occupation is another common solution to human rights abuse in many countries, but not in Saudi Arabia where the country is at "peace" and the violence that is most rampant is domestic violence.

In Qanta's description of Saudi Arabia, we see a wholehearted embrace of consumer culture, a country that has mastered modernity and is also highly resistant to external pressure to adopt liberal democratic concepts such as multiculturalism, religious tolerance, universal suffrage. The power of the traditionalists' arguments for cultural/religious 'exceptionalism' rests on a foundation of resistance to the erasure of difference and a defense of identity. Outsiders trying to criticize and change things are not going to be very helpful here. But there is a lot of hope for improved women's rights in Saudi Arabia, and it is coming from inside the country:

• There are many men in Saudi Arabia who support women who strive for more autonomy by owning businesses and professionals, and are their supporters and allies. Samar Badawi's lawyer and husband Waleed Abu Alkhair helped her challenge Saudi guardianship laws that allowed her father to continue abusing her: she recently won a 2012 Woman of Courage award.
• There are organized movements of women in Saudi Arabia who are pushing for change, and who have made progress. The movement to allow women to legally drive, for example.
• Saudis understand the dynamics of "religious conservatives... (who) emotionally blackmail Saudis by preying on their weaknesses to always be good Muslims" (Sabria Jawar), and have found ways to resist this, with impressive results. The focus seems to be on incremental change, although impatience is mounting.

March: In the Land of Invisible Women

This month, we will read a book about Saudi Arabia. The author, Qanta Ahmed, is a Muslim woman, a Pakistani who was born in Britain and trained as a doctor in the United States. Her book, In the Land of Invisible Women, she describes her choice to go to work in a hospital on a military base in Saudi Arabia.

The main reason we are reading this book right now is because of the recent campaign that Human Rights Watch launched in Los Angeles: Let Them Play. The February 2012 press release that launched the campaign was on the report, Steps of the Devil, which documents the broad discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia- from girls in public school not getting any physical education to no official sporting events for women athletes anywhere in the country to no Saudi sportswomen supported by the government to compete abroad in any competition- and links this discrimination to the International Olympic Committee's responsibility to hold member countries to account when they fail to live up to the values and rules of the Olympic Movement. Along with Qatar and Brunei, Saudi Arabia is the only other country that has never nominated a women to compete in the Olympic Games.

The fantastic news is that this campaign has made some waves!  Now, a Saudi Arabian female sports commentator will run with the Olympic torch in London. Not only that, the IOC is actively encouraging the government of Saudi Arabia to send women to the Games; Qatar is sending at least two women, and Saudi Arabia has apparently submitted a list of four women, and Brunei has submitted a list of female athletes to the IOC to compete in London as well.

We chose the book by Qanta Ahmed so we could get some more perspective on the country of Saudi Arabia. Some of the interesting things to look for in this book are:

•  the oppressive and liberating aspects of the hijab and abaya (this may contain some links to our discussion of Orhan Pamuk's book).
• the complexity of belonging- the author assumed that she would fit in and understand a lot more in Saudi Arabia because she was Muslim, but she discovered that it was not that simple. At the same time, when she was in Saudi Arabia, she went on the hajj to Mecca and found a deeper connection to her religion.
• the complexity of oppression and rebellion in a highly controlled and traditionalist society; the racism and other complex divisions in a society that from the outside is usually seen as monolithic; also the dramatic complexity of consumer culture and conservative social norms.