by Moira Birss
- Colombia -

The other day I was translating at a meeting between a U.S-based NGO director and a Colombian human rights lawyer. The NGO director remarked how the situation in Colombia reminded him of the story of a frog that, placed in a pot of lukewarm water, doesn’t realize his awful plight as the water is slowly heated to a boil. I translated frog as sapo, which is more accurately the word for toad. Though it didn’t occur to me in the moment, it is also a colloquial term in Colombia for a snitch. “Ah,” said the lawyer, “that’s why Uribe wants sapos!”

by Katharine Daniels
Executive Editor, The WIP

In advance of International Women’s Day, celebrated around the world on March 8, The WIP is reposting this interview from last March with Anne Firth Murray, founder of The Global Fund for Women and transformative figure at the heart of the global women’s movement. –Ed.

by Priyanka Bhardwaj
- India -

Last year’s World Economic Forum study on gender parity gave India a dismal ranking: 114th out of 134 nations. Only 77% of women are literate and just 23% are employed. UNICEF’s 2009 State of the World’s Children report found that not only do 40% of the world’s child marriages occur in India, but of its total contraception, 75% is done through sterilization with India’s women bearing the brunt of the procedure in 95% of cases.

Of equally troubling concern, official statistics point to rape as the fastest growing crime in India, even when compared to murder, robbery and kidnapping. Despite assurances from law enforcement, the federal Home Ministry's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) states that every 30 minutes an Indian woman is raped. Since 1971 when rape cases were first recorded officially, the NCRB has registered a 678% increase in the crime.

by Suad Hamada
- Bahrain -

Fadhila is only allowed to go to the toilet after asking permission from her husband, she also puts up with his frequent demands for sex - even when she’s menstruating – but neither is a valid enough reason to be granted divorce by Bahrain’s Shariah Court. So Fadhila’s only option is to seek Khula, or divorce without reason, from the judge. She may be granted her freedom, but there is always a price. Women who are awarded Khula are required to either financially compensate their husbands or give away their marriage settlements, including custody rights to their children. “There is no way out,” 23-year-old Fadhila tells me. “I have to end this marriage that took five years of my life, even [if it means] paying double the dowry.”

Fadhila’s case against her teen sweetheart was dismissed in court because according to the judge, meeting the sexual demands of her husband is a religious obligation. The judge also wasn’t convinced of his controlling nature. Her husband testified his jealousy kept him from giving Fadhila more freedom. His brothers, he explained, live with them at the family house and he just isn’t comfortable letting Fadhila use the toilet when they are around.

by Nusrat Ara
- Indian-administered Kashmir -

After the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) admitted to a major mistake in its 2007 report, which asserted the Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035, skeptics and opponents alike went on the offensive, using the admission as proof that climate change is a fabrication. Though the 2035 deadline may no longer be valid, global warming is surely having an effect on the ground and activists are now faced with an even tougher challenge.

Climate change has affected nearly every country in the world, irrespective of the role it has played in polluting the environment. Lying in the lap of the great Himalayas, Kashmir is one such place, and we are already feeling its impact.

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

The most emotionally and politically-charged documentary of the year is about a surprisingly original subject: the domestic pets that were lost or left behind in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Mine artfully portrays the class discrimination, utter chaos, and distress that surround one of the worst disasters to occur in the United States in recent history. At the heart of the film are the helpless pets that were forced to fend for themselves and then, after surviving Katrina, were not reunited with their owners.

by Katharine Daniels
Executive Editor & Founder, The WIP

This past weekend I was invited to keynote the Global Women’s Conference at CSU Fullerton. It was a great opportunity for me to reflect on the journey that we’ve been on here at The WIP and a chance to share the incredible hope that I feel.

For the first time in my life, I see a clear pathway to a future that is sustainable, safe, and free from oppression. Today I feel convinced, down to a cellular level, that the solutions and answers to every issue our global society faces – from the grave injustices committed against women and children to the severe effects of climate change and poverty – can be found in the global women’s movement – a movement that is growing, transformative, and one that I predict will take the world by force this decade.

by Emel Baştürk Akca
- Turkey -

Once one of Turkey’s biggest public producers of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, TEKEL has outlets and factories all over the country. But ever since the Turkish giant opted for privatization and terminated about 10,000 employment contracts, its former employees have been fighting for labor rights protection and equitable compensation. Left with nothing but a termination notice, the workers have converged in the Turkish capital of Ankara and launched what has become the greatest protest the country has seen for 30 years. Camped out in tents in front of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Union’s (TURK-IS) headquarters for more than two months now, the number of strikers continues to grow. Despite freezing cold temperatures and snow, the strike continues to gain momentum and support as more protesters join them daily.

by Wazhmah Osman
- Afghanistan/USA -

Today Afghanistan finds itself in a state of collapse and at the center of a powerful network of global terrorism. Kabul is a city filled with anxiety, insecurity, instability, trauma, and uncertainty; lost souls at the mercy of warlords turned government officials and disillusioned by development aid that has only reached and made a small sector of society obscenely rich. Suicide bombs, corruption, military planes, armored vehicles, and convoys of tanks are a regular part of everybody else’s lives.