We cannot let the Syria scenario continue in Ukraine. Given the direct connection which Putin himself has drawn between his invasion of Ukraine and his support of rape and misogyny, it is incumbent upon global feminist activists who are opposed to gender violence to stand up and speak out against this invasion.
Continue reading Putin’s War on Ukraine, Syria & the #Me Too Movement
In this article I take up the ways in which feminists of various political orientations have responded to the plight of women in Afghanistan. I argue that it is critically important not to separate opposition to U.S. imperialism from opposition to the Taliban and solidarity with Afghan women, oppressed minorities, and refugees. Any talk of legitimizing the Taliban as the so-called “will of the Afghan people” should be rejected. If we allow for the legitimization of the Taliban government, we have betrayed Afghan women and we have emboldened the extreme-right racists and misogynists around the world, like those taking away voting rights and abortion rights in the United States. Instead we need to give voice to Afghan women who oppose the Taliban. We also need to develop principled socialist feminist solidarity.
This article will appear in the Winter 2022 issue of New Politics. https://newpol.org/afghanistan-and-its-challenge-to-feminism/
Given this horrible situation, what can independent socialists, feminists and anti-war activists do?
Continue reading Solidarity with Afghan People Begins with Not Legitimizing Taliban
Iran is experiencing another wave of mass protests and strikes as economic, social, political, environmental and health problems make it impossible for the large majority of the population to have the bare minimums needed to live.
Continue reading Iran: A New Wave of Mass Protests and Strikes
On June 6, 2021, I spoke with two amazing women about uprisings against police brutality/mass incarceration in Myanmar/Burma, U.S., Iran & pathways to solidarity. Romarilyn Ralston is a prison abolitionist scholar and activist in the U.S. Debbie Stothard is a Burmese human rights activist.
This one-hour dialogue delves into the similarities and differences between our struggles, and ways to create collaboration among activists from these countries. If there were any doubts about the urgency of addressing these connections, the latest statement of Michael Flynn, a Trump advisor about the need for a Myanmar style military coup in the U.S., shows that the Republicans are drawing connections between Myanmar and the U.S. for their own fascistic purposes. Continue reading Video of Dialogue Between Myanmar, U.S., Iranian Women on Uprisings Against Police Brutality/Mass Incarceration & Pathways to Solidarity
