[fpn_atrocities] Continuing IWD Coverage and Much More on the FPN Blog Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:24:52 -0500 (CDT) As we observe the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq, the posts below make it all too clear that the war against women continues unabated and much more invisibly. I was pleased to have a chance to speak about the impact of the war in Iraq on women at our local observance.The following are some of the points I made, addressing issues that the mainstream press for the most part ignores: 1. We know that the human rights of women have been blasted back into the dark ages since the U.S. invasion. 2. We know that 70,000 women had been widowed in the past 4-5 years and at least 300 women and girls were victims of "honor crimes" last year alone. We know that tens of thousands of women have been forced to turn to prostitution in order to feed their families. 3. We know that 70 percent of girls are no longer able to attend school or college. 4. We know that childhood malnutrition in Iraq has increased 9 percent since 2003, with at least two million Iraqi children lacking adequate nutrition. 5. We know that Iraq continues to have the highest mortality rate for children under five in the entire world. Since the first Gulf War, that number has increased 150 percent. Today, one in eight children in Iraq dies before the fifth birthday. 6. And we know that only 40 percent of children nationwide have access to safe drinking water, and only 20 percent of people outside Baghdad have working sewers. 7. Finally, we know that about 75,000 children are among families living in temporary shelters. I was reminded as I spoke how good it feels to stand up and speak out, and how very necessary it is that we do so. Our local newspaper picked up my remarks both in their article and on the video they posted, http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080320/NEWS01/803 200470/1008/NEWS01. Otherwise, none of their coverage addressed these points, so this was a rare opportunity to get media coverage of these issues. Below we have some amazing continuing coverage of IWD--from Cambodian prisons to the thousands who marched in London as well has the Bush admin's latest assault on women, how solar cookers are reducing rape in Darfur and the role of women in the struggle for human rights in Tibet and MUCH more. --Lucinda Action Alert: Columbia- Ruta Pacifica de las Mujeres Rejects Threats Of Paramilitary Group http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/20/action-alert-columbia-ruta-pac ifica-de-las-mujeres-rejects-threats-of-paramilitary-group/ ---------- IWD in Zimbabwe: 1000 March, Protesters Beaten http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/20/iwd-in-zimbabwe-1000-march-pro testors-beaten/ International Women's Day Celebrated By Women In Cambodian Prisons http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/21/international-womens-day-celeb rated-by-women-in-cambodian-prisons/ Million Women Rise IWD Event in London http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/20/million-women-rise-iwd-event-i n-london/ IWD: Women Close Down LA Street, Brave NYC Storm http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/18/iwd-women-close-down-la-street -brave-nyc-storm/ IWD in Brazil: Acts of Abuse and Violence Against Women Denounced http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/19/iwd-in-brazil-acts-of-abuse-an d-violence-against-women-denounced/ IWD: Iranian Women, The Force For Change By Maryam Rajavi http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/18/iwd-iranian-women-the-force-fo r-change-by-maryam-rajavi/ IWD in Saudi Arabia (Not) http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/21/iwd-in-saudi-arabia-not/ Rabble IWD Headline Totally Gets It http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/20/rabble-iwd-headline-totally-ge ts-it/ Continuing IWD Coverage-News You Definitely Won't Find In The Mainstream Media http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/17/continuing-iwd-coverage-news-y ou-definitely-wont-find-in-the-mainstream-media/ ------------ HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt Takes Pot Shots At Women's Access To Medical Care http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/21/hhs-secretary-mike-leavitt-tak es-pot-shots-at-womens-access-to-medical-care/ Jailed Tibetan Women Go On Hunger Strike-The Crucial Role Of Women In The Tibetan Struggle For Human Rights http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/18/jailed-tibetan-women-go-on-hun ger-strike-the-crucial-role-of-women-in-the-tibetan-struggle-for-human-rights / Tibetan Women's Association Statement on the 49th Commemoration Of The National Tibetan Women's Uprising Day http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/18/jailed-tibetan-women-go-on-hun ger-strike-the-crucial-role-of-women-in-the-tibetan-struggle-for-human-rights / Rachel Andres' Solar Cooker Project Leads To Dramatic Decrease in Rapes In Darfur http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/21/rachel-andres-solar-cooker-pro ject-leads-to-dramatic-decrease-in-rapes-in-darfur/ Thank A Feminist http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/21/thank-a-feminist/ The Fear And Exploitation Of Women's Bodies-Worlds Apart But The Story's The Same http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/20/the-fear-and-exploitation-of-w omens-bodies-worlds-apart-but-the-storys-the-same/ Grannies Arrested When They Try To Enlist http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/19/grannies-arrested-when-they-tr y-to-enlist/ Kenyan Women In Refugee Camps Continue To Be At Risk http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/18/kenyan-women-in-refugee-camps- continue-to-be-at-risk/ Bet Elliot Spitzer Wishes He'd Thought Of This-Iranian General Caught Performing Nude "Islamic" Prayers With Prostitutes http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/17/bet-elliot-spitzer-wishes-hed- thought-of-this-iranian-general-caught-performing-nude-islamic-prayers-with-p rostitutes/ Israel Arrests And Deports Starhawk http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/17/israel-arrests-and-deports-sta rhawk/ Violence, Amnesty: Poverty And Discrimination Undermine AIDS Programs In Rural South Africa http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/17/violence-amnesty-poverty-and-d iscrimination-undermine-aids-programs-in-rural-south-africa/ BIDEN Amendment Boosts Funding For Essential Violence Against Women Act http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2008/03/17/biden-amendment-boosts-funding -for-essential-violence-against-women-act/