Afghanistan remains an extremely dangerous country for women. Ninety percent of Afghan females have experienced some form of violence, including rape, and the suicide rate among women is climbing because women feel there is no other choice. According to Afghan activist Malalai Joya, “In Taliban time we had one enemy; now we have three: the Taliban, warlords and the occupation forces.”
The war and rebellion in Iraq will continue as long as those holding the key to the massive Iraqi prison understand that human rights must be respected as a precondition to a lasting peace.
Election day in Tegucigalpa kicked off with the feel of a carnival, a rare sensation in a city where the vast majority of residents are faced with grinding poverty, regular gang extortion and a murder rate that is among the world’s highest. But for Marta de Jesus Raudales Varela, who lives in a small house on a steep unpaved street, it was a heart-wrenching day.
After three and a half seasons, HBO’s Treme concluded in December, and last week the entire series became available as a box set. The show started with low ratings that got lower as time went on, never won many awards, and divided critics. But as time passes and more audiences discover the show, it may rise to the position it deserves, as a groundbreaking and important work of art and as a powerful political statement on what happened in New Orleans in the years after Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures.
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019