One of the reasons to invade Afghanistan was to liberate the population from the medieval rule of the Taliban. In most senses that has happened, as the Taliban is only strong in pockets and has recently been facing a military surge.
All of that being said, there has been rising discomfort that the new...
Read more »
Women's Rights
The Fairer Sex?
Half the Sky
Today I sat in on a panel discussion that took place at the United Nations headquarters where two prominent journalists discussed a new book that they authored: Half the Sky – Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. One of the journalists is the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof...
Read more »
Bride-Napping in Kyrgyzstan
That a young man or woman might not choose whom they marry is contrary to modern, western thinking. We typically marry whom we would, rarely with restriction. Ours is a fiercely personal concept of marriage that way. It might surprise some, then, that in many countries matrimony is not experienced...
Read more »
Obama reverses the “global gag rule”
Just days after his inauguration, President Obama overturned a policy prohibiting the use of U.S. funds for overseas non-governmental organizations providing abortion services, a ban known as the “global gag rule.” The move took place just one day after the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Formerly, the global gag rule refused funding for overseas...
Read more »
Japan’s Former Comfort Women Denied
During the 15 Years War, known in Japan as the period from 1931-1945, nearly 200,000 women from throughout the Japanese Empire fell victim to Japan’s state-sponsored brothel system. Mostly Asian virgins, with the exception of the Dutch women in Indonesia, these women were often forced or tricked into becoming the...
Read more »


