Amnesty International issued a chilling report on sexual violence against Native American and Alaskan women. The lede to this story calls it a “soul-destroying account.” According to Amnesty’s report, “More than one in three Native women will be raped in their lifetimes.” Would we put up with these numbers if it was one in three women of Irish descent? The NPR story was especially difficult to listen to (also available as a podcast–it’s the last story on April 25th).
Another hard story you all need to read/listen to is the NPR exclusive on recent forced abortions in China (podcast format–it’s the first story on April 24th). Here’s a quote from one would-be mother:
My friends who were beside me said the baby’s body was completely black. I felt desolate, so I didn’t look up to see the baby…The nurses dealt with the body like it was rubbish. They wrapped it up in a black plastic bag and threw it in the trash.
These are arguments enough for me to advocate the feminist cause.
I’ll end on a positive note: not only is a socialist woman a serious contender for the powerful French presidency, the partners of the two candidates exhibit a refreshing freedom from convention in an image-conscious political arena that often pays lip service to tradition. From the New York Times (registration required, free):
S?©gol?®ne Royal, the Socialist Party candidate, is not married to the father of her four children, Fran?ßois Hollande. But more than that, they are potential political rivals.
and:
C?©cilia Sarkozy, 49, the wife of the front-runner and conservative candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, has been largely absent from the campaign. Asked how she envisioned her life in 10 years, she replied, ‚ÄúIn the United States, jogging in Central Park.‚Äù
“I don’t see myself as a first lady,” she said in an interview in a popular French TV guide. “That bores me. I am not politically correct.”
1 response so far ↓
1 Miko // Apr 29, 2007 at 10:03 am
I heard the NPR story when it aired. What struck me about it was not the numbers (which are horrendous) but the authorities’ reponse to it, which was basically to pass the buck. One of the interviewees said, “[tribal police] get out there & they’ll say, no this isn’t ours, this is county, this is the sheriff. And then the sheriff will get out there & say, no it’s not ours, this is tribal.” Also interesting: the rapes are committed by non-native men. Subjugation, anyone? Of course, tribal police have no authority over non-natives, so what might they even do if they accepted it?
I heart Royal, by the way. And hadn’t heard that about Sarkozy’s wife, maybe Royal has a chance (the 3rd runner up refuses to back either one and is running on his own instead). What’s interesting is how Sarkozy’s commercials and conservative positions seem to mirror those of Bush. I’m not saying that French politicians cannot hold similar values without being copycats, but the western (in the sense of cowboys & indians, not in the sense of “vs. eastern”) values espoused implicitly in his promotional material are very interesting.
I’ll leave forced abortions to speak for themselves but will say this: forced anything, including motherhood, is a violation of rights.
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