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Cream suit, a salient detail in the war crimes trial

The media was all atwitter this past week because THE miss Naomi Campbell, scary but gorgeous icon that she is, took the stand at the Hague in the war crimes trial against Charles Taylor.  Never the willing accomplice, Campbell was subpoenaed to testify after it became clear she was the recipient of questionable diamonds at the home of ex President Taylor back in ’97.

Although Campbell’s mind-numbing ignorance – she claimed to have never heard of Mr. Taylor before the night she’d met him (OK, fine), had never heard the term “blood diamonds” (alright…), and had never heard of the country Liberia (wow) – was a sad testimony to just how far so many in the upper echelon of the developed world are from the reality of others, the “demure cream suit” that she wore was an unlikely boon for the fight against war crimes writ large.

Why?  Ironically, much more of the world sat up and noticed.  In fact, the trial is now being “widely followed” thanks to Campbell.  Although infuriating for many reasons, if Campbell’s cream suit made just one person go back to the Wikipedia page to read up again (or for the first time) on the Sierra Leone civil war, or the long, curious reign of Charles Taylor, well then alright.

Not that the UN or the Hague are known for timeliness in trying war crimes (oh good, the first Khmer Rouge commander was just convicted and sentenced to 19 years for the mass killing of 14,000 people back in the 70’s?), but the issues at hand are ones of ultimate and essential importance to everyone, especially women.  The aftermath of genocides and wars become far and distant memories to the public while the people most affected continue to live through the painful and slow recovery.

Taylor, a famously wicked and powerful rebel then elected to presidency in Liberia, is accused of dirty handiwork in Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war that killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.  I thought it strange that Campbell would be so ten-foot-pole away from it all, given that she’s actually a global ambassador for the White Ribbon Alliance, a global network of celebrity advocates on issues of maternal mortality. Read the rest of this entry →

Global Feminism in the News is a monthly column discussing recurring themes in international news stories concerning women. This month we will focus on women’s progress and victories.

This week’s post is inspired by Phyllis Schlafly. Yep, you read correctly. Many of you probably read/heard/talked about this study that “determined” that women are less happy now than they were in the seventies. (If not, read some responses here, here and here.) Some immediate responses to the study blamed feminism for the unhappiness. If us pesky feminists just left well enough alone the world would have continued on as it was forty years ago and women would be happier.  Ms. Schlafly weighed in, of course, with this gem of a quote:

“[T]he feminist movement taught women to see themselves as victims of an oppressive patriarchy in which their true worth will never be recognized and any success is beyond their reach … [V]ictimhood is not a recipe for happiness.”

Why, I agree with you Phyllis! Well, I agree with part of that statement. I don’t think most women need a movement to show them that they are victims of an oppressive patriarchy. When you are disproportionately affected by poverty, HIV/AIDS, sexual violence, unemployment, lower wages and discrimination, solely because of your gender, you get the message quite clearly on your own. But you’re right about victimhood and happiness. It’s hard to be happy as a victim, which is why so many women decide to see themselves as survivors, or equals, or otherwise strong and competent people despite societal barriers and limits. And for me personally, “the feminist movement” (as grand and far reaching as that term is) has taught me that we as women usually have to reach farther for our success, but we can reach it if we try.

So while many women are victims, they are also survivors, leaders, and heroes. This month’s post is about those women and the amazing progress they have made despite adversity. Does the feminist movement get credit for this too, Phyllis?

Read the rest of this entry →

Via BBC News, four boys ages nine to fourteen were have been charged with rape of an eight-year-old Liberian girl in Phoenix, Arizona. All perpetrators are also Liberian. BBC News said the girl was lured into a shed on July 16th with promises of chewing gum by the four young boys. There, they held her down and took turns assaulting her for 10 to 15 minutes, before her screams alerted officers nearby.

The oldest suspect, a 14-year-old boy, will be tried as an adult. The other three boys: 9, 10, and 13 will be charged as a juvenile for kidnapping and sexual assault.

If that didn’t traumatize the girl enough, her family, immigrants from Liberia, is blaming the girl for the rape and has decided to disown her because she has brought “shame to the family.” The child is now under the care of Arizona Child Protective Services.

Many people have outspoken about this incident, Read the rest of this entry →