Iran - Solidarity and Witnessing

Thinking about what's going on in Iran right now is also giving me flashbacks to my fieldwork in Nigeria in the fall of 2007. Flawed elections earlier that year didn't erupt in widespread violence like the same subversion of democracy would in December in Kenya , but the structural violence of disenfranchisement and stolen elections is every bit as violent to the body, spirit and aspirations of a people. Still, acts of physical violence by a government against its own people ends their legitimacy, much more so when they kill children.


While there has been a lot of politicking in the US about what President Obama should or should not say, but he never fails to deliver words that stir the soul and he did on June 20, when he put the ruling regime in Iran on notice that the world is bearing witness.

Freedom is at the heart of good governance.

Tutorial on Women and Water

I was recently sent this very useful pdf document on women and water that many will find useful: Why Gender Matters: A Tutorial for Water Managers.

The tutorial covers four major areas - water supply, sanitation, agriculture, and environment--providing data on why a focus on gender is important, and touches on integrated water resources management as well as the economic and social benefits from a gendered approach to water supply and management.

Safe Water as the Global Glass Ceiling

article about women and water on Huffington Post.

Here is the intro:

"There is a photograph that travelers inevitably take when they go to a developing country -- a picture of a woman carrying a large container of water on her head. The woman's posture is ramrod straight, the envy of runway models everywhere, and her face rarely betrays the amount of effort and strength this task involves. Most times this photo is taken because it is a stunning and moving image of a woman's strength and beauty.

Alluring as this image may be, what it truly portrays is the economic, physical and health burden that women and girls must endure everyday of their lives to provide water for their families - this is the forgotten glass ceiling."

For the full article, go here.