“12th & Delaware” Joins the HBO Summer Documentary Series
The film took two years to make. Footage was shot the same year that Dr. George Tiller was murdered. The team contacted over 100 crisis pregnancy centers before they chose the Fort Pierce location. A screenwriter’s imagination could not have set the scene any better.
“Quest for Honor: Stop The Killings Now!” — A Documentary Examines Honor Killing
The coroner explains that she was forced to the ground and shot at close range, reflecting “extreme hatred” on the part of her killers.
The BlogHer’10 Conference – Women Power Up
Listening to women from the audience, it was clear that a sense of validation was achieved from their blogging contributions. One woman reveled in the realization that online, she was understood.
America’s Veterans: Falling Through the Cracks?
On the pavement at the northeast corner of 54th Street, a man dressed in combat fatigues was sitting behind a black plastic crate.
Spotlight
“Quest for Honor: Stop The Killings Now!” — A Documentary Examines Honor Killing
First-time filmmaker, 70-year-old Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, has made it her mission to bring visibility to honor killing in Iraqi Kurdistan. Within that context, her documentary highlights the advocacy of women who are catalyzing change in the region.
Bruni, a journalist and photographer, established herself in Turkey in 1985. During April of 1991, she “walked up a mountain above Turkey” and into Iraq, where she joined two million Kurds who were fleeing the reprisals of Saddam Hussein—the result of their failed uprising. For the following three years, Bruni recorded her experiences in Iraqi Kurdistan. Her goal was to make a series of films about the women in the north and their success stories in rebuilding their country. She and her team shot over 500 hours of footage capturing daily life in the locality. They conducted interviews with a wide range of women including judges, physicians, politicians, and poets.
However, something unexpected happened when Bruni and her crew were on the ground. They became aware of the wave of honor killings that were taking place, and the activist women who were fighting back. Bruni redirected her focus to reflect that story.
The narrative follows the efforts of the Women’s Media Center of Sulaymaniyah, which was founded in 1997. Runak Rauf, an indomitable woman in her sixties, established the center and is currently the director. Rauf is known for the march of women she led in 1994, traveling 150 miles to demonstrate for an end to the acrimonious civil war. Rauf publishes the newspaper Rewan, which reports on vital women’s concerns. She has led the Center in cooperating with the local Kurdish Regional Government to investigate violence against women.
At the nucleus of the Center’s operations are Runak Faraj and Kalthum Murad Ibrahim. Faraj, the editor of Rewan, explains that when one of her students died as the result of an honor killing, her life was changed. Ibrahim left school after the sixth grade to help her mother in the house—like many Kurdish girls. The daughter of a mullah, her father treated her as an equal to her brothers. Ibrahim was brought up in an environment devoted to aiding others, and often observed people coming to her father for assistance. Respected in the town of Rania due to her lineage, she is recognized as being knowledgeable about the local people. She started as a volunteer for the Women’s Media Center, and later joined as a staff member. The film follows the two women in their daily and often dangerous work of rooting out the perpetrators of violence against women. They joke, with a subtext of ominous anxiety, that perhaps one day it will be their dead bodies that will be recovered.
The account begins with a phone call to the Center from Police Chief Abudallah. A woman’s body has been found in a field near Rania—a border town where Iraq, Iran, and Turkey abut. Faraj and Ibrahim join him on-site, to observe the place where the murder occurred. They view photographs of the body on Abudallah’s cell phone. The corpse is identified as a woman named Nesrim, a young widow whose husband has been dead for eight months. We learn that her children were taken from her by her in-laws. At the time of her execution, she was dressed in blue jeans and high heels. The clothing subtly suggests that after becoming homeless, she may have been forced to resort to prostitution to survive. The coroner explains that she was forced to the ground and shot at close range, reflecting “extreme hatred” on the part of her killers.
The second story thread follows the travails of Jasmin (pseudonym), who is shot while living at a safe house for women. Moved to a shelter provided by the Kurdish Regional Government’s recently established Agency to Prevent Violence Against Women, she relates how she was previously shot three times while getting ready for evening prayer. Despite the fact that a trio of alleged assailants has been taken into custody, Jasmin remains in danger.
Two articles in the Iraqi law, 130 and 131, had legitimized the killing of women in the name of honor. However, the newer statute, 59, states that “killing a woman is killing a human being.” This does not deter honor killings from occurring; it only serves to make those committing the crimes “afraid of the law.” Therefore, the assailants frequently hide the dead women’s bodies, pouring acid on them or throwing them off of mountaintops.
Bruni steps back and lets the assertions of various individuals represent the disparate points of view. Runak Rauf notes that “people associate the word ‘honor’ with only one part of the body.” Runak Faraj laments, “How cheap women’s blood is.” The family members and in-laws of Jasmin weigh in with several thoughts. One states: “She must be killed. If she reaches the women’s center we will lose our honor.” Another gives an off-handed comment on the best form of interaction with a spouse: “Sometimes you slap or kick her, so she won’t repeat mistakes.” It is opined that women are not killed “for no reason.”
Rania’s Police Chief Abdullah is clearly frustrated by the crimes and disturbed by the repetitive lack of resolution. The Major of Rania is more circumspect. He maintains that the number of honor killings is decreasing, a premise which Faraj emphatically rejects. He suggests that “men are not responsible for women killing themselves” (a reference to the mounting numbers of girls and women who resort to suicide to escape untenable situations ranging from forced marriages to domestic abuse). He calmly asserts, “We must do things step by step. Everything will be achieved in it’s own time.”
Honor killings can emanate from motives as disparate as suspicion of adultery, speaking with a man who is not part of the family, or having an unknown number on a cell phone. Bruni additionally touches on related issues. These include the selling of young girls; “Zhin ba zhin”—the trading of one woman for another; “Trades for Blood”—when women are exchanged between families as a peace settlement after a feud.
On a superficial level, it is easy to disassociate these practices from western culture. However, Bruni makes a point of tying the “uncivilized” custom of honor killing to violence against women worldwide and to domestic violence in the United States.
The equation is worthy of contemplation.
This article originally appeared on the website cultureID.
The BlogHer’10 Conference – Women Power Up
©2010 Justin Hackworth for BlogHer
The Hilton Hotel in New York City was packed on August 6th and 7th with 2400 attendees who had come for the 6th Annual BlogHer Conference. The last time I had been in the Grand Ballroom was to see Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama onstage, for a post-convention unity event. Ironically, it was the divisive politics of the 2008 election that pushed greater numbers of women into the blogosphere, as they clamored to make their opinions heard.
That same year, the New York Times covered the San Francisco BlogHer conference with a story—on their fashion page—that had a tinge of snark. Now, in 2010, no one doubts the influence or economic muscle of women online. Anyone who remains unconvinced needed only to navigate the exhibition hall lined with 100 sponsors (a 50 percent increase over last year). Natural and green items, kids products, and an array of services all shared the floor. From the smaller supporting sponsors like thredUp (a children’s clothing exchange) to the ranks of the top “Diamond” brands such as Pepsico and Procter and Gamble, the message was clear. Women have clout to be reckoned with. As consumers—they are able to drive purchasing dollars.
When I asked a number of the corporate reps why they had chosen to be present at BlogHer, their answers all echoed the same mantra. Amy Goodman, Fashion Trend Director at Timex said, “We’re working to make more connections in the blogosphere and to provide content opportunities.” Their booth was devoted to the company’s Fall line of watches. Anne Westbrook, handling External Relations for Procter and Gamble, told me that P&G was back at BlogHer for its second year. “We’re here because women bloggers are major influences. We want to talk with them on their terms and bring them opportunities and relevant content.” In their large, house-styled booth was a full range of brands from CoverGirl to Bounty. I gravitated to the demonstration of their project, “Clean Water Blogivation.” The social media campaign was designed to “showcase the power of female bloggers to improve the lives of people in need of clean drinking water,” and to enable “women bloggers to be part of the clean water solution.”
PepsiCo chose the BlogHer conference to roll out their new women’s platform, “Women, the 5G Network.” A “Sofa Summit” breakfast early on Saturday featured top female brass from the PepsiCo team in dialogue with Campbell Brown. I contacted Jamie Stein, Director of Communications for Tropicana and the point person on PepsiCo’s online women’s initiatives, for a comment on their interest in the women’s blogging sector. She replied via e-mail, “Women are, and have always been, incredibly influential on social issues, in business and at home with their friends and families. Now, with connectivity, women are wielding even greater power. As a company, we want to help enable the change women see, through innovative platforms like our 5G Network online channel and interactive experiences at events like BlogHer.”
On the lookout for socially conscious business tie-ins, I learned that Liberty Mutual was onsite to familiarize women with their mission, “The Responsibility Project—exploring what it means to do the right thing.” Paul Alexander, the Senior VP of Communications, walked me through the company’s profile and its commitment to the “culture and values of integrity, dignity, and respect.”
Whether in the exhibition hall or over lunch, I saw a lot of action. Connections were being made. Women had come to learn, build their brands, and be energized. Eyeballing the crowd, I saw moms with babies in strollers or on their backs (yes, there was a place to breastfeed) and a wide range of ages. Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer’s co-founder and COO, explained to me in an e-mail that one of the hallmarks of their events is diversity. Regarding the speaker roster she wrote, “One third of our speakers were women of color, a slight improvement over last year. We also ensure that we bring both liberal and conservative voices, LGBT voices, mom and non-mom voices to the microphone.”
The keynotes and panels delivered. With forty-two sessions divided into seven verticals (change agents; passion; personal; professional; geek lab; writing lab; job lab), participants could be heard lamenting the difficulty of having to choose among topics.
“The FTC Guidelines: After a Year, Has Anything Changed,” had a room full of people trying to get a handle on the Endorsement Guidelines that were put in place to insure that “no deception in advertising” occurred on blogs. Top advice included being transparent, explaining connections to advertisers, and keeping disclosures in close proximity to the content. One fundamental boiled down to, “When you get a product or cash, you must disclose; when you are not compensated, you don’t.” Stacey Ferguson, Senior Attorney in the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices, suggested the safest approach—“When in doubt, disclose.”
At “Creating Tangible Social Change: How to Move People to Action,” led by Women and Hollywood’s Melissa
©2010 Trevor Christensen for BlogHer
Silverstein, each panelist described how they were impacting specific communities. Beth Terry, writing at Fake Plastic Fish, blogs about “living life with less plastic.” Terry discussed how her writing had helped to revise the plastic filter recycling policies of Britta in the United States. Stephanie Himel-Nelson, the Director of New Media at Blue Star Families, outlined how the organization’s blog—dedicated to supporting and empowering military families—was becoming a go-to resource. The biggest laugh lines went to Gina McCauley. The founder of two blogs, What About Our Daughters and Michelle Obama Watch, she is also the organizer of the Blogging While Brown conference, the first conference for bloggers of color. Answering a question on how she handles personal attacks and negative feedback, McCauley responded, “I’ve built up a lot of scar tissue and taken a lot of body blows.” On dealing with trolls she advised, “Don’t engage with people on platforms you don’t control.” She added, “She who pays the hosting fees makes the rules!” All the speakers emphasized that an “authentic voice” was more potent than stats on page views or the number of Twitter followers. McCauley pointed to one of her most valuable realizations from the blogging experience saying, “It brought out the reality that my ideas matter.”
Saturday’s morning keynote featured the International Activist Blogger Recipients. They were Esra’a Al Shafei, the founder of Mideast Youth; Dushiyanthini Pillai, the force behind Humanity Ashore; Marie Trigona, who publishes Latin American Activism; Freshta Basij-Rasikh, who contributes to the Afghan Women’s Writing Project. It was a dynamic and moving presentation. The focal points of their respective blogs included bringing together young people in the Mideast region, human rights, war and landmine victims, the 30,000 who disappeared in Argentina during the 70s and 80s, and developing a platform for Afghan women to tell their stories. Underscoring the importance of global issues widened the perspective of the conference. It also made it impossible to ignore the risks being taken by these bloggers, a contrast to the secure setting of the BlogHer event.
Immediately afterwards, I attended “Radical Blogging Moms: Don’t Even Think of Not Taking These Moms Seriously.” Joanne Bamberger (PunditMom) moderated. Stephanie Roberts spoke about her photographic and digital documentary work. Annie Urban discussed how her anger had pushed her to become politicized. At her blog, PhDinParenting, Urban has been an outspoken critic of the Nestlē Corporation for “unethical business practices.” Urban uses stories to explain a situation, rather than “prescribing or instructing.” She shared an interesting anecdote about how the legal firm employed by Nestlē had been scrutinizing her blog.
A number of women in attendance entered the blogosphere in response to family concerns, personal challenges, or the need to reach out and build a support system. I met and spoke with Ellen Seidman, a magazine editor who writes “Love That Max—A blog about kids with special needs (and the parents who adore them).” There was a panel on “Blogging Autism: Shattering Myths, Opening Eyes and Finding Your Tribe” and one entitled “Grief, Loss, Tragedy and Community on the Internet.”
The closing keynote was “How to Use Your Voice, Your Platform and Your Power.” Alison Stewart helmed the dialogue with The White House Project founder and president Marie Wilson, author and activist Gloria Feldt, and journalist P. Simran Sethi. The participants parsed the question of power. Earlier, the audience had been reminded
©2010 Justin Hackworth for BlogHer
that in 2009, BlogHer placed #4 on Katie Couric’s list of the “seven most powerful people in media”. The prevalent question was how to best leverage the power of women in the blogosphere—which was characterized as “the great equalizer.” With the democratization of the media, Simran Sethi asked, “How do you want to use your voice?” Wilson stressed the importance of women running for office and becoming part of government. Feldt, who has a book coming out on “how women can change the way they think about power,” insisted that women have more of it than they realize. She noted that corporate sponsors were “finally getting the picture,” but questioned if women understood the full import of what that entailed. When I contacted her for additional thoughts on this concern she wrote me, “The two floors full of exhibitors aren’t here just because they love us. They’re here because they know the power of women’s collective purse. So we need to use that power intentionally and collectively to shape the consumer market, to get what we want—whether it’s healthy snacks for our kids, green products, or shoes that are comfortable rather than hobbling us—and not allow ourselves to be bought.”
Before taking questions from those sitting at tables in the ballroom, Stewart asked each woman to speak about their own most difficult moments. A roar of laughter greeted Wilson’s comment, “Behind every success is years of crap.” Listening to women from the audience, it was clear that a sense of validation was achieved from their blogging contributions. One woman reveled in the realization that online, she was understood. “Wow,” she exclaimed, “You get me!” Another participant thanked the speakers and the conference planners for “lighting candles in the darkness.”
Whether a woman was reaching out to build a community of mothers, dish on beauty and style, reflect a political agenda, or explore a lifestyle choice, it was clear that the BlogHer’10 demographic had a wide range of interests.
The general consensus was that once you were out there, pushback would be inevitable. The response to that fact was the same…at every session across the board: “Stand your ground and keep writing.”
Spotlight 2
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