Kudos for bravery and reconciliation
Kudos to the brave women of Peshawar, Pakistan, who went to the polls in defiance of religious militants who claimed women should not vote, and kudos to the female election workers, who carried ballot boxes despite fears of attack. "These are not religious students," said zoology professor Nasra Zahid, 37. "These are terrorists. Our religion gives completely the right to vote to women."
Benazir Bhutto's book Reconciliation, which she finished just days before her murder, is "part manifesto, part spin job, part selective history and part term-paper analysis," according to Michiko Kakutani in today's New York Times, and it's ranked #91 on Amazon as I type.
"She quotes passages from the Koran in support of her argument that Islam preaches tolerance and pluralism ('You shall have your religion, and I shall have my religion').'" The book sounds fascinating; I remember being inspired by Bhutto when I was in college.
Lastly, a shout-out to champion amateur golfer Elaine Joyce, who has filed suit against a Cape Cod golf course for gender discrimination. Joyce, the veteran of other golf-related legal battles, has seen the no-girls-allowed mentality take pretty vile forms; when she won an earlier case, "some members of the group were appalled and let her know it. One said he would play only if she played naked. Others walked off the course when paired with her. Some refused to speak to her during rounds." Ah, how unpretty the sounds of threatened privilege can be.
Faye said:
I'd like to echo your shout-out to golfer Elaine Joyce. When I was growing up in the 70s in rural upstate New York, girls weren't allowed to play soccer on the high school soccer team. I loved soccer, and was initially told that I could play if I passed a physical fitness test, which they were confident girls couldn't pass. I passed, but they still wouldn't let me play.
It's hard to believe that these kinds of things still happen in 2008. My words for Elaine: You go, woman!
February 20, 2008 5:31 PM