Nirbhaya: Three Years Later

December 16 is the 3rd anniversary of the horrific attack and rape of Jyoti Singh, later called Nirbhaya, in a neighborhood not far from where were living in Delhi. She died of her wounds shortly after, galvanizing a movement in India to speak up about the prevalence of violence against women. The outcry garnered international attention, a critically acclaimed play ("Nirbhaya") and a fine film, banned in India, ("India's Daughter".)  The event was very much the backdrop for SPOILED, the play I created last year. Today, however, three years on, it is clear that meaningful change will be slow at…

Continue ReadingNirbhaya: Three Years Later

Cities for CEDAW Sarasota: FAQs

CEDAW Sarasota  Promoting Women’s Equality in Our Community What is CEDAW? CEDAW is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. It is an international convention establishing principles of women’s equality. The Cities for CEDAW program works to implement these same principles in cities across the USA.  Who is behind Cities for CEDAW here in Sarasota? More than 200 civic and religious organizations have endorsed CEDAW nationwide. In each city, one or more non-partisan civic groups take the lead in advocating for its local adoption. In Sarasota, the Gulf Coast Chapter of UN Women/USNC is the…

Continue ReadingCities for CEDAW Sarasota: FAQs

Better Late Than Never

To file under the "ya think?" category, this from our friends at the New York Times: A Growing Disenchantment with October Pinkification. During this month's pinkification of every-single-thing, I bit my tongue. Last October was my first fall in the USA in a while, and the pink-washing hit me full force. Then I spouted off enough to alienate numerous friends and colleagues. If you missed it, read my post on that here. So this year I was mum. Well, almost. But now the mainstream media has decided it's time to ratchet back the glowing pink-licity, so perhaps the tide has turned. As…

  • Post category:HealthMusingsWomen
  • Reading time:2 mins read
Continue ReadingBetter Late Than Never

Cities for CEDAW: Sarasota

Cities for CEDAW Officially Launched in Sarasota! Quick quiz: - do you think men and women should have equal rights in America? - do you think women should have equal access to job opportunities? - do you think men and women should earn the same salary for doing the same job? If you answered yes to any of these questions, sounds like you support CEDAW! Which means you too can help make Sarasota - or New York, or your city - a CEDAW city! CEDAW is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. It's been…

Continue ReadingCities for CEDAW: Sarasota

Mary Catherine Bateson

For those of you who are already fans of the writer and cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson, you'll be interested in her October 1st interview with Krista Tippett on the radio program "On Being." And if you have never discovered her thoughtful wisdom, then start by listening to this. (Download the program here.) Among other things, Bateson sees some hope for climate change, discusses why humans are actually more biologically and evolutionarily hard-wired for cooperation than competition, and reflects on how 'juggling' is such an anxiety-producing metaphor for the artistry, the composition, that is our lives. The daughter of celebrated…

  • Post category:MusingsWomenWorld
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingMary Catherine Bateson

CEDAW* Makes National News

Thanks to the attention of so many world leaders here in New York for the UN General Assembly, CEDAW – the *Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women - is back in feature articles of major newspapers. (See my earlier post on CEDAW here.) On Saturday, September 26, President Xi Jinping of China hosted a meeting to recognize a landmark women’s rights conference in Beijing 20 years ago. Presidents and Prime Ministers from all over attended the meeting. And, while China was criticized for jailing prominent female activists, the US was taken to task for failing…

  • Post category:CEDAWMusingsWomen
  • Reading time:2 mins read
Continue ReadingCEDAW* Makes National News

MAVA Mumbai

  Who? Based in Mumbai, Men Against Violence and Abuse - MAVA - is a group I discovered while doing research for my play SPOILED. One day I cold-called Harish Sadani, MAVA's founder and 'chief functionary', from Delhi, seeking information about how boys and young men in India develop attitudes toward women and what some typical experiences were. Harish was gracious and helpful, sending me links and information. When I traveled to Mumbai last year, we had a long lunch together. He fielded all the questions I could think of and supplied both hard data and an authentic, local perspective. You…

Continue ReadingMAVA Mumbai

All Is Good Here: Quick News Flash

What's not to like? It's hard to find anything wrong with this news item - there's just too much that's right. As per today's New York Times: New York City Prosecutor Using Millions Taken From Banks for Rape-Kit Testing The crib sheet on this one: Apparently Cyrus R. Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, is sitting on millions of dollars available for, well, worthy stuff. About $800 million. The money came from settlements with large banks when they violated US laws. Think HSBC, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas. The cases are brought in NY, but they're banks with national and international reach.…

  • Post category:MusingsWomen
  • Reading time:4 mins read
Continue ReadingAll Is Good Here: Quick News Flash

Alpha Montessori Update

It was a total delight to visit Alpha Montessori this past April. The first class of nine students just graduated in an emotional and inspiring ceremony. (See photos below or watch the ceremony here.) Many of these children started in the very early days of the school when Alpha Montessori was not much more than a concept, a vision of what education could bring. Yet all have now been accepted into English medium upper schools, a fantastic accomplishment. They are stunning examples of how confident, competent, self-directed, and articulate Montessori children can become, regardless of background. The students presented individually chosen and…

Continue ReadingAlpha Montessori Update