My grandmother had liberation feet: bound feet that had been freed halfway through the process.
Tag: Asia
What Does “Feminism” Mean in Bollywood?
Bollywood cinema has come a long way from misogynist, one-dimensional, racialized portrayals of women and feminism—but we have a long way to go towards forging a better understanding of what it means to be feminist in Indian cinema.
The Devastating Impact of Trump’s Global Gag Rule
Experts at the Women Deliver 2019 Conference discussed the impact of US funding restrictions and the need for data-driven programs and policies to increase access to safe abortion.
Celebrating Boundary-Breaking, Norm-Changing Grandmothers Around the World
My grandmother decided to end an abusive marriage in 1961, at a time when divorce was not even considered an option. She went against everyone and raised my mother single-handedly to be an independent woman. Her examples of courage and her values enabled my mother and me to fight for our rights and have a […]
“Rough Magic” is an Upbeat Ride Across the Mongolian Steppe
Lara Prior-Palmer was the youngest person to ever finish the Mongol Derby and the first woman to win. Her book “Rough Magic” captures her thousand-kilometer race across the Mongolian steppe, describing the 25 ponies she rode and the many places her thoughts wandered.
Where Every Rohingya Woman is a Hero
I must admit to being somewhat flattened at first by the heaviness of the Rohingya predicament, with no truly feasible resolution in sight. Signs of trauma cling to my sisters, permanently emblazoned on my memory. But I cannot stress enough that those images alone do not represent the full picture.
Tibet’s Woman Warrior: The Unexpected History of Nun Big Courage
In the mid-twentieth century, a Tibetan nun inherited her father’s position as clan chieftain and led her people in armed resistance against Chinese rule.
Feminists in India Built a “Women’s Wall” to Fight Patriarchy
Women in India kicked off the new year with a call for equality, coming together to stand arm-in-arm as part of a historic protest.
Telling Her Story to Change History
Learning English and adjusting to life in America wasn’t easy—but the hardest part for Puja Mapchen was feeling like she wasn’t supposed to talk about her life growing up in a refugee camp.
The Ms. Q&A: Extremism Won’t Stop Rafida Ahmed Bonya’s Secular Feminism
Rafida Ahmed Bonya’s story resembles that of the mythical bird the Phoenix. In February 2015, Bonya and her husband, Avijit Roy, were violently attacked by Islamic terrorists while they were visiting their native Bangladesh. Her husband didn’t survive; Bonya got back to the U.S. with severe injuries, a sliced-off thumb and gnawing memories of the […]