For nearly three years, Siranush Sargsyan has documented Azerbaijan’s siege of the 120,000 indigenous Armenians in her disputed homeland of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). The former history teacher and state worker turned wartime freelance journalist is now among the over 100,700 forcibly displaced taking refuge in neighboring Armenia.
Author: Jackie Abramian
Jackie Abramian is a social enterprise advisor and board member, committed to amplifying the work of women peace-builders, change makers and social entrepreneurs, empowering girls and women’s equity worldwide, ensuring they have a seat, or two, at the table and are on “the menu” during all negotiations. She’s a member of International Coalition for Democratic Renewal (ICDR) Working Group on Women, Democracy, Human Rights and Security (WDHRS), a corporate communications strategist, and the founder of Global Cadence. Her columns and blogs have appeared in Forbes Women, Thrive Global, HuffPost, GritDaily among others.
Journalist-Activist Nadezhda Azhgikhina on Global Journalism, Women’s Wartime Roles, and Why We Can’t Just ‘Cancel Russian Culture and All Russians’
Ms. spoke with Russian journalist and activist Nadezhda Azhgikhina about the global demise of journalism and women’s roles in peace negotiations between Russia and the U.S.
“I believe it’s possible for women in Russia and in Ukraine to find a common language and help each other. It’s women’s potential which expedites and eases a common language of peace so that we can all overcome the consequences of the tragedy we collectively face today.”
Iconic Book ‘Our Bodies Ourselves’ Goes Digital
In September, Our Bodies, Ourselves went digital as Our Bodies Ourselves Today (OBOS Today)—a definitive knowledge hub for trusted, peer-reviewed information from a feminist perspective, with content by over 100 experts.
“We are living in an era where our civil rights and human rights are being taken away from us—not only the right to abortion in many states but also the right to talk about it,” said Amy Agigian, director of OBOS Today.
‘My Win Is Their Win’: Deqa Dhalac Makes History as Maine’s First Black, Muslim Somali-American Mayor
Thirty years ago, Deqa Dhalac fled her homeland of Somalia, right before the start of a devastating civil war which still lingers on. Last December, she made history when she became America’s first Somali American mayor; South Portland’s 11th woman mayor (the city’s first female mayor was in 1985); and the first African, Muslim, Somali American mayor in Maine and South Portland—a city where 90 percent of the population is white.
“It says a lot when six white Americans support and elect a Black Muslim immigrant to be their mayor,” said Dhalac about other South Portland City Council members.
It’s 100 Seconds To Midnight! Can We Reverse The Doomsday Clock?
“We are perilously close, closer than we’ve ever been, to a man-made point of no return,” said Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin. “But setting the Doomsday Clock each year is meant to carry a message of hope and remind us we have the ability to reduce these seemingly insurmountable threats and of our responsibility to future generations. It tells us we can beat the odds.”
The Feminist Peace Initiative Urges Intersectional Feminist Principles in U.S. Foreign Policy
The Feminist Peace Initiative, co-founded by MADRE, Women Cross DMZ and the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, challenges and reimagines a U.S. foreign policy in the interests of all people and the planet.
“The conditions people flee—economic, violence—are push factors often created by U.S. policies, and exacerbated by the climate catastrophe, a result of corporate extraction or militarized pollution.”
“Tracking the Backlash”: Feminist Investigative Journalists Uncover Organized Opposition to Reproductive Rights
openDemocracy’s “Tracking the Backlash” uncovers the organized opposition to sexual and reproductive rights including from religious right, far-right and other ‘anti-gender’ movements—in lockstep with the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence.
“Our 15 feminist investigative journalists produce ambitious, cross-border journalism and impactful storytelling that challenge sexism, homophobia and racism worldwide—and in the media,” said Tatev Hovhannisyan, editor Europe and Eurasia on openDemocracy’s “Tracking the Backlash” project.