Gender
Usury
If thou lend money to any of My people, even to the poor with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest. (Exodus, 22:25)
The key texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all very clear about the sins of lending money for interest - and yet […]
Bond, Gay Bond
The latest addition to the Bond franchise has one of the best beginnings and one of the worst endings of any Bond film. Fortunately the film doesn’t jump the shark till about three quarters of the way through, so it still offers plenty of bang for your buck.
What really struck me, however, were the opening […]
Poonam
When I took this picture I didn’t know the name of the girl. Now I do. It is Poonam, and she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. The thing is, she is now 14 and that is the time when most girls in Chharanagar get married. Her older brother was pressuring her […]
Restraint
Regarding Harriet Miers, who was picked by Bush to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said:
She’s a woman who understands judicial restraint.
And that about sums it up - they needed a woman or a minority, but they needed one who ‘knows her place’ …
If confirmed by […]
Hooch and Hamlet
This December, Shashwati and I are going to India to shoot a documentary film about the residents of one city’s slum who are using theatre to fight back against decades of prejudice and police oppression.
Help us tell their story.
Even though we are paying our own way to India, we need to raise $15,000 to cover […]
Eat the Sun
A sixth of the world’s population lives on less than a dollar a day. Most of these 1.2 billion people are women, and they spend a significant amount of their day gathering fuel:
Because of their traditional responsibilities for collecting fuel and water, in many developing countries women and girls would benefit the most from access […]
Sumo Kitty
No, there is no sumo wrestling Hello Kitty yet (at least not that I know of), but there is women’s sumo wrestling in Japan:
An interesting, if brief, article here on the history of women’s sumo (onnazumo), which was at one time more popular than the men’s sport. Another good article here details the current state […]
The Burka Band
The Burka Band are one of the first pop groups to emerge in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Performing on Western instruments (electric guitar, drum kit) and singing in English, these 3 ladies not only wear the traditional head-to-toe burkas, they sing about ‘em on their debut 7″ from the German label ata tak. Not quite a Muslim […]
Schiavo II Update
Last week I discussed a 13 year old Florida girl who was being prevented by the state (her legal guardian) from having an abortion. Today a court ruled that the state could not prevent her from having an abortion because Florida state law explicitly states that minors are not required to seek parental consent. I’m […]
Schiavo II
Here we go again …
A pregnant 13-year-old girl in Florida has been told she cannot have an abortion because she lacks the maturity to make such a decision.
Her legal guardian is the state of Florida. I wouldn’t wish a fate like that on my worst enemy.
The BBC has this caption under a photo of two […]
An anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, 
