By Rev. Dr. E. Faye Williams, Chair of the National Congress of Black Women If you have ever been beaten, kicked, punched, slapped by a partner who claims to love you, it is not difficult for you to understand why it’s mandatory to have the Violence Against Women Act. If you’ve ever had a daughter, […]
Tragedy in Springfield, Mass.: When VAWA and Local Domestic Violence Intersect
by Mary Reardon Johnson, Executive Director, YWCA of Western Massachusetts Officer down! Around the city of Springfield, Mass., sirens blare, lights flash, emergency vehicles screech and news media are dispatched. Yellow tape goes up and the first accounts are sent out over the air and internet. The veteran police officer responded to a call requesting […]
1971 Rapes: Bangladesh Cannot Hide History
The post- Liberation War generation of Bangladesh know stories from 1971 all too well. Our families are framed and bound by the history of this war. What Bangladeshi family has not been touched by the passion, famine, murders and blood that gave birth to a new nation as it seceded from Pakistan? Bangladesh was one […]
Virginity Tests: Time to Let Gender Out of Revolution’s Closet
There is no doubt that the recent revolution in Egypt got the wheels of the Arab Spring rolling. But just as quickly as women flooded the corners of Tahrir Square and the streets of Cairo in the hopes of a democratic Egypt, their voices were sidelined. This is not uncommon. Even in conservative countries, we […]