I am proud to announce that an editor was chosen for 50 Women and began work on the Africa section of the book this week!
Carol Pott brings a collection of editorial and diplomacy experiences to the project. Carol was the coeditor (with John Berry) of Genocide in Rwanda: A Collective Memory. She was living in Rwanda when the genocide started and was evacuated with foreign nationals in April 1994, only to return in October 1994 with the UN Rwanda Emergency Operation and High Commission for Human Rights. Carol worked for the United Nations for several years, living in Rwanda, Swaziland, Geneva and Paris. Excerpts from her journal were published in the Washington Post. Genocide in Rwanda: A Collective Memory was the result of a conference of the same name organized by the editors in 1995 and included witness testimony and presentations on history and culture by Rwandan experts intending to provide foreign aid workers with context for their work. The resulting book combined those elements with more historical and cultural background as well as an English translation of The Hutu Ten Commandments and was published by Howard University in 1999. The book is included on most reading lists and bibliographies of the Rwandan genocide.
Plug that word into any online dictionary site and get back definitions that say “deceit” and “scoundrel”. I am not any of those things. But I am indeed, “going rogue”.
If you look at our Twitter and Facebook pages lately, it appears I have taken time off of 50 Women Project to attend UN functions and participate in Board member duties for Women’s Intercultural Network. Behind the scenes I have actively been involved with 50 Women in different way- researching publishing.
Here’s the deal: For the last 1.5 years I have spent countless hours submitting my 92 page proposal to agents and publishers. I have received scores of praise, the same in-kind rejections, a bizarre experience with one editor and a bunch of contract nit-pickings over who owns the copyright and whether or not they are offering 15 percent or 10 percent royalties to me for my blood, sweat and tears over the last 4 years.
Well. Frankly, I’m tired of the bullshit. What I have is a manuscript representing women from all over the world. It deserves to be produced to its utmost potential and I am going to see to that. I am publishing the book through an NGO fiscally sponsored program. In this circumstance, it is I who calls the shots and oversees the production. Print on demand channels will still allow the book to be available for global distribution through all major internet outlets and even some national bookstore chains. To simplify the costly production process, 50 Women will be split into two separate books. I have over one thousand pages of content spanning over 30 countries and there is just too much information to go into one book. Splitting the book into a series will allow the stories to be told and read to their full potential.
Here is the geographical breakdown of the mini series:
Book 1: Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, South Caucuses
Book 2: North America, Central America and Mexico, South America, Western Europe
By doing this I am able to push 50 Women to production (finally)! Rather than bickering or waiting, I’m moving forward, just the way I like it.
It’s “go rogue” time!*
*I mean this in absolutely NO REFERENCE WHATSOEVER to Sarah Palin*
I am very proud to be featured on the series “Wife Talk” about my recent trip to the 57th annual session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. This 12 min video addresses some of the common challenges faced during this meeting at the UN. For the full report, read my debriefing.
The importance of the annual Commission on the Status of Women meeting and the parallel NGO (non-governmental organization) sessions is to bridge the global policy making body of the United Nations with the grassroots efforts of the non-governmental organizations (NGO). NGOs are the ammunition needed to jumpstart UN policy in member nations because they have the most direct grassroots influence on the micro level. What was witnessed at this year’s session was a merger between the micro and macro levels of the United Nations and its NGO consulting partners. This debriefing examines both areas.
The priority theme for 2013 was Ending Violence against Women and Girls. Violence against women persists in every country in the world as a pervasive violation of human rights and major impediment to achieving gender equality. Violence against women will not be eradicated without political will and commitment at the highest levels to make it a priority locally, nationally, regionally and internationally. Political will is expressed in a variety of ways, including legislation, national plans of action, adequate resource allocation, location of mechanisms to address violence against women at the highest levels, efforts to overcome impunity, visible condemnation of this violence, and sustained support by leaders and opinion makers of efforts to eradicate it. Over the past two decades, there has been significant progress in elaborating and agreeing on international standards and norms to address violence against women. Yet NGOs have a long way to go and a significant amount of work to do.
Microlevel: UN consultative NGOs and current progress at combating violence against women in the global grassroots
There are hundreds of global non-governmental organizations with consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Each year at the annual Commission on the Status of Women meeting they meet in parallel to the main ECOSOC commission in order to present their activities, research and panels of survivors and experts in order to keep other NGOs informed of their progress and key issues in their country pertaining to the theme of the meeting.
Recurring themes of these NGO presentations for this year’s meeting were armament and militarism, fiscal economic policy, women’s political participation, economic inequality and human trafficking.
The first panel discussion I attended was presented by my sponsoring NGO, Women’s Intercultural Network, on winning strategies at combating violence against women and girls where several experts spoke about municipal and government initiatives.
Marilyn Folwer, President of Women’s Intercultural Network
In a separate panel discussion organized by Global Fund for Women, it was brought to our attention that total military spending around the world amounted last year to 1,738 billion dollars. The United States is a top spender, topping out at 40% of total military expenditure. The other 60% is accounted for with China, Russia, UK and France.
An economist emphasized that the feminist movement should be focused on economic policy, budgeting, taxation and military expenditure as war and conflict situations yield high incidents of violence against women. More women need to participate in the security sector if we are going to reduce violent war crimes. UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response, in post-conflict reconstruction and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, was cited multiple times during the discussions of military and armament. The Arms Trade Treaty, created just last year in order to regulate the sale of weapons, was also cited as a means of controlling the flow of armament and land mines circulating globally. In too many countries around the world, women are too often left out of the peace negotiation process when it comes to matters of military, peace and security. The United Nations and its consultative NGOs are working hard to ensure the inclusion of women in these aspects of governance.
These discussions further continued at a separate panel discussion with invitation from Peggy Kerry, NGO liaison at the US Mission to the United Nations (and older sister of our current Secretary of State, John Kerry). We were presented with a panel of UN experts and US UN Mission personnel to answer our policy related questions about violence against women, military spending and initiatives government entities are undertaking to combat it.
Peggy Kerry, NGO liaison to the US Mission to the UN
Women, War and Economics presentation
In another panel organized by United Methodist Women which represented several NGOs from the Republic of Georgia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Honduras, discussions on military and armament continued. For the Republic of Georgia, the NGO Atinati presented on the amount of displaced persons still remaining in the country after the 1992 energy war with Russia in a region known as Abkhazia. I was fortunate enough to interview the operator of the NGO about its creation amidst a trying time in the country. Although Georgia has its share of improvements to make, she cited recent improvements came in the form of prosecution for individuals who kidnap women as brides and an overall people oriented focus in the police force in recent years. In 1994, the Georgian parliament officially ratified CEDAW, the UN women’s bill of rights and this, she explained, has helped make progress in the country for legal matters concerning violence against women.
An NGO from the Democratic Republic of Congo reported about the 71 million people affected by the 20 years of war and ethnic conflicts happening in the country. It was reported that rebel group N23 was receiving aid from the United States and Europe and were committing 70% of the rape cases resulting from the armed conflict in the country. The presenter described the situation: “We have lost our dignity; our bodies have become a sanctuary for our rebel groups”.
Following the Democratic Republic of Congo, an NGO representative from Honduras painted a grim portrait of the changing sociopolitical circumstances in the country. Currently there are transworld capital investments and organized crime occurring and militarism was cited as one way of controlling the resources, territories and investments pouring into the country. In the current economic crisis, there are an influx of weapons circulating in the country. The presenter stated with great emphasis: “They have made life a commodity itself”.
Due to the 2009 military coup, the country has entered into an arms and drugs race and officially declared bankruptcy. The military coup consolidated all economic interests and started passing laws that systematically made life worse. All labor is temporary and employers pay per hour at a rate they decide, not at one that is regulated by law. As a result of this, the country is also being sold off in bits and pieces where multinational corporations are actually renting parts of the country. 18 provinces are now for sale and the biggest player in this race is the United States. The presence of the US military appears to be justified in the “war against drugs”, yet they are selling and participating in the drug trades. Resource wars, similar to the gas wars in Georgia, are happening all over the country.
I attended another NGO presentation on Wednesday by two Sudanese groups, where we were provided updates on the situation of disputed borders between Sudan and South Sudan. Due to the conflict over natural resources there is unequal power and economic resources, a lack of infrastructure, roads, bridges and hospitals. South Sudan has oil but needs North Sudan to transport it. The peace delegations currently in the country are almost entirely male with a severe lack of female participation. It is currently difficult for women’s rights defenders to operate because many of them are being detained and tortured. Rape as a weapon of war has long since been a factor in this environment. Currently the country is attempting to bridge Sudan and South Sudan in peace talks and a negotiation of their new constitution. Women’s rights groups are grappling to get women a seat at the table, citing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the CEDAW ordinance, since Sudan joins the United States, Somalia, and Iran in refusing to ratify the ordinance.
The last full NGO panel I attended was again Co sponsored by Women’s Intercultural Network and US Women Connect, where Board representative Ana Maria Sanchez gave a powerful speech about her struggle with Domestic Violence.
In this panel, an engaging discussion was launched on the cellular memory of generations. When a people are oppressed, the scars and burden of that oppression trickle through the generations and are felt by the offspring of the people.
These are just a few select observations that were made in panel presentations in the NGO portion of the meeting.
Macro level: United Nations Policy and the responsibility of its member states
Two policy tools for combating violence against women
1. The Beijing Platform for action (BPFA) is a 150 page document that was adopted as a result of the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It is the agenda for women’s empowerment which fosters women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political –decision making.
2. The Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) similarly defines the legal obligations of State parties to prevent violence against women and girls. Adopted in 1979, it is an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and thirty articles, if defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end it. Countries that have ratified or acceded to the convention are legally bound to put its provisions into practice. They must submit national reports every four years on measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations. Currently 187 States have ratified CEDAW. Countries that have not ratified CEDAW include Iran, Nauru, Somalia, Sudan, Tonga and the United States of America.
It is necessary to realize that it is the responsibility of the member State to prevent, investigate and prosecute all forms of violence against women and to hold perpetrators accountable.
High level roundtable session of CSW
In attending General Discussions and High Level Roundtable of the Commission on the Status of Women, I observed a review of the (Beijing Platform for Action) BPFA and ways in which each member state is looking to implement BPFA and CEDAW. Some examples of this are as follows:
- Jordan and Slovenia reported on the adoption and reforms of laws and policies to address gender-based discrimination. Kuwait and Sri Lanka took measures to increase women’s political participation, and Sweden took measures to increase women’s access to labor markets and financial resources with a focus on rural and immigrant women.
- Many reporting states, including Denmark, Malta, Mauritius and Slovenia have adopted national action plans to address violence against women in general, or in specific forms.
- Several states, such as Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Mauritius, Mexico, Poland, Spain, and the Sudan, Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reported on the establishment of coordination mechanisms, including task forces, dedicated units, working and interministral groups or observatories.
- Senegal reported on a national action plan to address poverty as a means to address violence against women and girls, while in Japan, Hungary and Slovenia national action plans on gender also included measures to prevent violence.
- Jordan and Slovenia reported on the adoption and reforms of laws and policies to address gender-based discrimination. Kuwait and Sri Lanka took measures to increase women’s political participation, and Sweden took measures to increase women’s access to labor markets and financial resources, with a focus on rural and immigrant women.
- As a means of challenging gender stereotypes, Mauritius developed a program to promote men’s responsibilities within the family.
Suggestions from the Macro policy level for member states to combat violence against women:
- Implement, monitor and set periodic reviews and revisions of laws in order to punish perpetrators.
- Establish a reliable and consistent form of data collection on violence against women utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Many countries lack reliable data and much of the existing data cannot be meaningfully compared.
- Strengthen the awareness and knowledge base of all forms of violence against women in society
- Allocate funding for violence programs.
Agreed Conclusions of CSW 57
The agreed upon conclusions of the meeting have officially been released and are receiving objections by the Muslim Brotherhood. To view them click here.
My takeaways
Once again, I went into this experience a bit naïve. Diplomacy work is an oxymoron in a sense because you go into the experience believing you can make a difference yet what you are met with are many layers of corruption. I think most people assume being a diplomat allots you the fancy ability to make the world a better place. Yet, it can be a very dirty, cold and harsh reality. There are egos at stake of key players and leaders and a constant grappling for resources and power. It can be tricky to balance power with the needs of one’s member state. For example, the United States has been aware of the forced sterilization in China since it began, but is so economically tied to the country it that it is not in our best interest to “step on the toes” of officials to end the practice. Diplomacy is tricky in that sense. My experience at the United Nations proved to be a bit disillusioning. I want to believe that all the work I am doing is making an impact, yet in a delegate role- one observes the intricate layers of corruption present in every nation in the world. It is discouraging and disconcerting. In all truth, I felt like an immense failure when I came home. I was severely depressed for the week following the conference.
On the positive note, it has allowed me to connect with grassroots women from all over the world and gave me the fortunate ability to interview fascinating women from Georgia and from Bangladesh.
Receiving the opportunity to be a player in world diplomacy was a blessing in many ways. I was able to see what the real issues are and where many of the problems lie. To change the world, the key area of everyone’s focus should be economics. Money is where everything begins and ends. It is the source of corruption, of power and of greed. My recommendation moving forward is for activists and humanitarians to make economics more of an area of focus.
Overall, I am grateful for this intense experience. It is difficult work to do because it such a hefty dose of all of the world’s problems. The most inspiring aspect of CSW 57 was the amount of women I met from very impoverished countries. Some of them spent their life savings just to attend that conference and talk about what their NGO does to combat violence against women. That is very uplifting to conceive. I have decided to let that notion be my light.
I am off to New York City for the 57th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in just two days. I am excited and anxious for this experience to unfold. My journey with “50 Women” has led to many unanticipated and fascinating paths and going to the United Nations as a delegate is certainly a profound honor. Going BACK to the United Nations for the second year is even better!
This year I have joined the Board of Directors of the sponsoring NGO Women’s Intercultural Network as board Secretary. I am chairing their social media outreach efforts going forward. From a Board level perspective, I’ve been able to see much more- and a lot of it is political. My dear friend and domestic violence survivor, Ana Maria Sanchez will be joining me. I will also be representing Jayne Anyango, a warrior woman based in Kibera, Kenya who works to empower and mobilize kibera women in often trying conditions. Currently she is straining to keep peace in Kibera during the 2013 elections. In the last presidential election, Jane was instrumental in stabilizing the ethnic tensions that arose. I admire her work greatly and want to pay tribute to her in order to connect her with more resources so she can continue
her meaningful work. Read about Jane here.
For those curious about what this process means and what the commission does, I am here to explain the specifics and give a very brief overview of the United Nations:
The founding of the United Nations in 1945 was facilitated by the fascinating and vibrant Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman who certainly made her mark in American history and who coined the very motto I live by: “Do something every day that scares you”.
The United Nations was originally founded to facilitate cooperation between member states in international law, security, economic development, social progress, human rights and world peace. There are currently 193 member states and its primary judicial organ is the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands.
What I will be attending is the 57th annual session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. CSW is a commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It is the principal global policy making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. Each year the CSW hosts an annual session generally lasting 10 working days that brings together representatives and NGO appointed delegates aimed to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and women’s global empowerment. Each annual session has its own theme and this year’s theme addresses various forms of violence against women.
The fact is one in every three women will be beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in their lifetime. The theme of this year’s meeting will be a heated one. I am looking forward to meeting with ambassadors from Kazakhstan, Peggy Kerry, and to see Nobel Prize Winner Tawakul Karman speak.
As an NGO appointed delegate I will have a number of tasks, but one of the main will be coordinating all media efforts for Women’s Intercultural Network. I will be live tweeting as I attend panels and meetings under the account @50womenproject and @WINCAWA (To view a list of all session activity, refer to #CSW57 or #wincsw57).
Since the conception of “50 Women” in 2009 I have fought for the rights of global women including assisting on certain political asylum cases and connecting with women working in the grassroots across the globe. I have a direct concern for the rights and opportunities afforded to women in this world and believe it is our human rights that will serve to advance societies and cultures. This year’s session is a groundbreaking event for me and “50 Women”.
This is yet another necessary step in my journey with “50 Women”; especially since I have experienced so many hurdles and challenges in trying to publish the book. I am proud to represent everything I have stood for at the United Nations. I am humbled by this opportunity and cannot wait to see the other doors this experience will open in my life and the connections I will make with other progressive women in New York.
Valentine’s Day this year will be filled with women all over the world rising to end violence against women. I will proudly be one of them. I am part of the flash mob in San Francisco dancing “Break the Chain” in solidarity with my global sisters. The truth is, one in every three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or abused in her lifetime and I’m sick of this. In too many cultures violence is an acceptable norm. But not anymore. This valentine’s day, instead of worrying about flowers, cards or candy- we will all be rising! Watch my video below to find out why I’m rising:
This week, I am wrapping up the year 2012. What a random collection of experiences it was. Many of these 2012 occurrences have left me asking introspective questions necessary to move forward with publishing “50 Women”.
This was the year where I not only finished the 92 page book proposal for “50 Women”, but also the draft of the complete 900 page manuscript. It was also the first time I have started sending it out in search of its publishing home. 2012 marks the third year I have spent on this book project. This year, as much as I struggled to avoid it, the focus shifted from immigration cases, ESL teaching, activism and advocacy to…well, me. My recent Board of Directors appointment with United Nations NGO Women’s Intercultural Network now places me in the position to influence policy initiatives affecting women all over the world. It is an honor to have arrived at this place in the journey, but I have refused to acknowledge what qualified me for this journey to begin with.
I am not a narcissist. Initially I sought to compile “50 Women” to heal from many things. Secretly I hoped I would just “fly under the radar” in terms of healing and never be forced to look inward. I did not want to admit to myself that certain things happened to me. I have spent much of my time in the last three years focusing on improving the lives of others. When I started this blog in 2009 to chronicle the development of what I knew would be a long term project, I used it as my voice and my lens as I embarked on new experiences aimed to take me deep into other cultures and philosophies. I wanted to show the ties stringing together the lives of 50 women from 30 countries. In 2012, I have found it harder, not easier, to communicate my thoughts here. Mainly because I began to realize in this third year that I was the missing component of those ties.
The recurring themes of 2012 appear to have been: vulnerability, surrender and authentic self. Yet there are many things I’ve been afraid and ashamed to admit. In reading the 92 page book proposal I started pitching out to various publishers, I realized that I’ve highlighted my achievements and divided all my articles with colorful tabs, yet my real conviction is completely absent from any of this materiel. Is that truly authentic? Am I really, fully representing the purpose of this project?
I have a past. One many don’t know about and one that I rarely discuss or acknowledge. I have experienced many of the things the women in this book have with the exception of a war. I know what brokenness is like, I know what self-deprecation is like and above all, I know what is like to endure fear, shame and humiliation. To understand those is to understand every social aspect of humanity. The result of these experiences encouraged me to advocate for myself and to learn to defend myself at a very young age.
No matter what my experiences amounted to- I never wanted to be a victim. I never wanted any of these experiences to define who I was. I never met with other survivors, I did not tell anyone most of the details of what I was going through and I did not express that I was deeply hurting. Instead, for many years, I took it out on myself privately in various demeaning ways. Not opening up only made me an angry person, and for many years, I was very angry at the world. There were many people I needed to forgive and I actively chose not to. In the end, I only harmed myself because harboring that anger destroyed me in many ways. In the present day, I am my most favorite version of myself. This Jessica is kindhearted, understanding, loving, compassionate, fierce, ambitious and innovative. She is wiser, calmer and more centered. She acknowledges that she is part of a more global pain; a broader picture. Once I gained that global perspective on pain and survival, I have since never felt alone again. Once you realize you cannot personalize your own grief or suffering and tap into a more universal level of humanity you will no longer pity yourself. You will realize that you are part of a greater experience; one that is much larger than yourself. If there is anything that “50 Women” gave me, it is that truth. I have cited the boona’s example of this from her story in a previous article of when she discovered her son’s body after he committed suicide. This is, by far, the best example I have that describes this realization:
The next morning I found him. I remember this day very vividly: I called him around 12 o’clock and then I found him dead around 8:30 in the morning. It was intense. It was a very intense spiritual experience for me. I felt that I walked with his soul to whatever that other side was and is. It was beautiful! We went through a dark blue door that opened into gold light and then we were in the gold light and I was back. His breath was not in his body at that point. I think his soul was still there because he had just died around 6 o’clock in the morning. When I was thrown back from that light, I realized that hundreds and thousands of children had just died in that same moment and that my grief was a universal grief. I realized I could not possibly personalize my grief or his death; that in a way that would be too selfish. He was not like that, he would have wanted to be seen as part of a bigger pain where there was a bigger experience because he did not live small little experiences.
The next feeling that I got was that I was just one of the grieving mothers universally. There were all these perished children and I was just another one of their grieving mothers crying. We were having an individual experience but being able to see other souls that were experiencing the same thing in that moment. This was so spiritual and so uplifting. I got to see this truth and I thank him everyday for that. Individual relationships holding so much pain, sorrow, and grief are taken so personally. I believe this is selfish because we don’t think about other people. We don’t think about the hardship and all that stuff that is happening to everyone. So I am in a bigger place since then, especially when it comes to grieving. I found a real solidarity in grief.
When I was younger, I received the rare opportunity to cultivate friendships with people from all over the world. I quickly learned that most women, no matter which country or ethnic background they were from, shared my similar experiences. Their stories transformed me and their friendships and cultural sharing gave me a strange sense of belonging, as though I belonged to the other people who did not belong. I wanted to go deeper into their cultures and observe and experience life from their point of view. In 2009, the idea to compile “50 Women” came to me suddenly as I sat at a desk. Subconsciously, I was seeking redemption through 50 other women and over past 3.5 years, these women have transformed me. I was naive going into this project. I always assumed that it would not affect me as much as it did. Yet the situations I have encountered, such as going to the United Nations, asylum immigration cases, teaching ESL to immigrant women and writing for different publications forced me to ask introspective questions. At the beginning of 2012, it divorced me from my previous traditional notion of God, shattering all of my spiritual constructs and leaving me bewildered, raw and ego- less. Every layer, every facade, every notion and every aspect of me was stripped away. For those fortunate enough to experience something of this nature- it is very humbling. At the same time, it is also very awkward, confusing and anxious. It is a removal of all vices of the self. Siobhan Neilland describes this sensation very well in her story when discussing her recovery from her sex cult upbringing and other destructive situations:
It is in many ways because I am so present for it. This is why many people don’t go out and face their dreams, their goals and themselves. It’s one of the most uncomfortable things you will ever experience in your life when you are trying to be genuinely who you are. One of my favorite sayings is “vulnerabilities are where your strength lies”. Right now I feel like I am running around exposed and for the whole world to see at all times. I feel like a newborn baby that someone threw out into the world completely naked. It is a very raw feeling at times; at others I am simply not comfortable in my own skin.
I often joke that I wrote this book to “find God” and now that I have the manuscript, I am more confused about such a concept than I ever was before. It appears the more questions I ask, the more questions arise and none of them seem to have any answers. Once you live so many different experiences and travel through so many different cultural realities, it is difficult to condense yourself back to who you were before. All the beliefs you once held no longer make sense due to the expansion of your character. Evolution is the price you pay, yet the prize you gain for being a narrative journalist.
The publishing challenges have also been monumental in the past months. Here I have a manuscript with 50 incredible women from 30 countries, yet it has been an uphill battle all the way. There are publishers who won’t accept the materiel due to presence of certain religions, the controversial subject matter, the first person story focused approach and the fact the women in this book are not “famous”.
In a “would be” book deal that did not work out I was insulted, criticized, discriminated (yes, believe it or not- because I am “white”), overlooked and not taken seriously. One criticism arose regarding a “50 Women” contributor named Neema, who returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo last year to keep a promise to a group of orphaned children she cared for after she survived a month in jail as a prisoner of war and then genocide at Gatumba Refugee camp in Burundi. I was criticized by a group of university press panelists for suggesting that genocide is a ‘plight to be overcome’. In Neema’s case, she did overcome. I know this because I observed her gathering the strength to return to the place where it once happened. When I met Neema in 2010, she was agoraphobic and was in a fragile state. When I was informed of her return to Democratic Republic of Congo in order to honor the promise she made to the orphans she cared for as a result of Gatumba, I was moved. The shell shocked woman I met before had changed and evolved so much. That personal evolution is the true meaning of “overcoming”.
Remembering the times I fought for 50 Women in 2012 fill me with strength. When you believe in something so strongly, nothing anyone will say or do matters to you. If you truly believe in something, you will fight for it to the bitter end. You will not allow anyone to take it away from you and you will not allow anyone to destroy it. A belief that strong can only come from a deep-rooted inner conviction.
Perhaps I have experienced these issues because there was an absence of real conviction in my pitch materials. I did not admit that I am equal to the women I have stood in the same room with. I did not admit that I share their experiences, therefore understand their own unique voices. Going forward, I will step up to this challenge. That universal version of myself is asking me to acknowledge how my own experiences play into the creation of “50 Women”. Without that conviction there is nothing and the true qualification I have for writing this book comes from certain experiences I have shared with many of them. The rest are merely secondary elements which better allow me to do the job.
In fact, my path to narrative journalism came through such means. I find passion in people’s stories. I have a very ethnographic approach to my work because I want to represent people for who they truly are. In literature, we say there are always a context and a subtext to a person and story. The context is what is observed at face value, such as personality traits, actions and daily functionality. The subtext is the conviction. It is the underlying and often cultural reasons why a person behaves the way they do and make the decisions they make. That is why ethnography combined with journalism is so effective. I have gone deep inside the cultures and lives of many of these women in “50 Women”. I did so because I wanted to understand them in context and subtext. In order to write a person’s story you have to know them inside and out. Although I have been criticized for my activist and involved approach to my journalistic pursuits, I believe such a raw approach is the best way to fully understand a person. For example, there are several Muslim women present in “50 Women”. To understand them, I went to extensive lengths: I prayed with them, wore a hijab, read the Quran, visited a local mosque and studied prayers in Arabic. I spoke to nearly a hundred different Muslims about Islam. I wanted to understand what it meant to be a Muslim woman- the conviction and the dedication to the faith. In her “50 Women” story, Bineta Diop recalled that when she lived in South Carolina, people constantly asked her to remove her hijab because it made “other people uncomfortable”. She refused. But WHY did she refuse? What did that hijab, a simple piece of cloth to me, mean to her? Why was her conviction so strong? The only way I could understand this, was to see the hijab through her lens. When I was able to do that, I realized that her hijab represented her dignity and her service to Allah and Bineta wanted so deeply to guard her dignity just as all women do. That is where the ethnography component comes into pursuits of narrative storytelling and why it is so important. That is also where my own convictions were missing from this equation. The subtext of me.
They say to craft a good narrative, one must answer the fundamental question: What is the story about?
This story is about a young woman, certainly not an ingénue, but an old soul in a new body- wary and wise to her own long past seeking to understand the subtext of humanity through the tumultuous lives of 50 women from 30 countries. It will not always be a comfortable experience or a familiar one, but she is vulnerably ready to be molded and shaped by it as the bits and pieces from every culture she interacts with become pieces of her.
