I want to focus this week on brave women, women of valor.
For many women, along with many men, demonstrations of courage grow out of pain; their greatness is thrust upon them by the necessities of tragedy and war. This week we will look at a war hero, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, mothers who have lost children to police violence, as well as women who speak up when it is most difficult, in this instance about their own abortions, or about being raped.
Sheroes
First, here is another story from A Mighty Girl about a woman who was a hero in World War II. Phyllis Latour Doyle, a young Englishwoman, sent 135 coded messages in 1944 from behind enemy lines, detailing German positions. Her work helped those who were planning for D-Day. A Mighty Girl publishes stories about women of valor for children and teens, and is worth a look if you are shopping for girls this holiday season.
Malala Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize this week, sharing it with Kailash Satyarthi. In her address, Malala said
... the award was not just for her: "It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.
"I am here to stand up for their rights, raise their voice. It is not time to pity them. It is time to take action so it becomes the last time that we see a child deprived of education."
In the News: Police Violence
So much of the news over the past several weeks has been about police violence against black men and boys especially (though this week's Black Kos Week in Review pointed out that black women are also targets).
Today, the mothers of Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner's wife took part in the protest at Freedom Plaza, speaking to the crowds gathered there.
The movie, Every Mother's Son tells the story of three women who have become fighters against police brutality after their sons were killed by police. If you've ever thought police violence can't affect you, this will enlighten you. These women are from widely different backgrounds and came together because of their unjust and tragic losses.
Speaking Out: Abortion and Rape
Last month saw the first online abortion speakout - more than a hundred women of many races, ages and classes told their personal stories of having an abortion. Michelle Kinsey Bruns, one of the organizers, found herself one day telling her own abortion story to a group of Catholic school girls on a train. If one in three women has had an abortion at some point in her life, why do so many people believe they don't know anyone who has?
Bruns said of her experiences:
"It's a blend of just pure adrenaline, of standing up and speaking the truth," she said. "It feels terrifying and like a triumph all at the same time."
One of the biggest stories this week has been the
Rolling Stone story on rape at the University of Virginia, and its response to complaints from the school and fraternity named in the article's central story of a brutal gang rape at a UVA fraternity. Their first response was to blame the victim, thereby victimizing her again. Later acknowledgement of shoddy journalism was much less publicized, and came after other venues
interviewed other students who know "Jackie," the name used in the article.
The conversation became about one witness who has not been proven false rather than about the serious issue of rape at UVA and how it is handled by the administration. Jackie's was not the only story in the article; other women have had similar experiences being discouraged from taking the case to administrative or criminal proceedings, or having the alleged rapist - or even those found to be guilty - avoid serious consequences. Not once did Rolling Stone stand up for the thesis of the article, even while apologizing for their journalistic mistake. The baby was thrown out with the bathwater, and rape victims who speak out were hit with all the old (and not so old) disbelief.
Jackie was victimized again (and if the writer did indeed publish the story after Jackie asked her not to, even more so) and demonstrates why it is so hard for rape victims to tell their stories and seek justice. All the women in the original article and the women around the country who are telling their stories and working to change this intractable part of rape culture show great courage. Sometimes simply telling the truth is the bravest act of all.
Action Items
A petition regarding sexual abuse in the military.
Students at Michigan State University are asking the administration to withdraw an invitation to George Will, rape denier extraordinaire, to receive an honorary degree and speak at commencement. You can sign this to show support.