A loving husband kills his wife for having a baby girl and his mother, the wife's mother in law, assisted in this horrific act. In the country of Afghanistan being a woman is one of the hardest and most disgraceful things. According to Zainab Salbi, Founder and CEO of Women for Women International, since the Taliban times of violence women have gained rights against such acts and have gained a sense of identity, but because they are "women" according to some people's cultures women are the inferior gender and due to this belief practices are conducted against women degrading, assaulting and abusing them. What was the point of the rights and laws enacted for them? Who is responsible for not taking charge? What can they do to increase the likelihood of a CHANGE happening? What would be classified as formal equality in this situation? What would we consider the baseline of equality as in the baseline for women in Afghanistan?

Women and girls have no one to turn to because although rights have been implemented men in the country are still superior and believed over women. The government has played no real role in authorizing that women are treated with respect or alone as human beings. Moral equality has no relevance in this country, human rights are not of importance unless it pertains to the men. Women's rights are human rights, these traditions should not be seen as only a crime against women but as a flaw of the country as a whole. I believe not only as women should they have the right to safety, security, and life but they shouldn't fear that they are always at risk of harm. Having a society full of men would be useless in a sense of procreation and pointless in a sense of the household life, which is believed to be taken care of by women. It is contradictory for them to believe men are superior and that when their wives have girls it is a doom to their family, but then they need women to create more lives and form a stable home. How in any situation could a women control the sex of her child, as well how does this constitute as a reasoning to be murdered? Who places the pricing of a male-identified baby having a more successful or productive life than a female? This is absolutely unacceptable and an extreme call for justice and speaking out.

Creating Change: Day One #CC12

If you follow us on twitter than you know  we've been experiencing tons of fun and growth here at Creating Change. The goal of live-blogging, at least in my opinion, is to get resources and tools to folks who are unable to attend. If you're all up in our twitter, you also know that we attended the racial justice institutes. 

And we have some questions to pose to you all:

1. How do you show up in spaces? 
2. Have you thought about your race story? 
3. How do you process your own racial privilege/marginalization?
4. Do you assume peoples' ethnicity and culture based on the color of their skin?
5. Have you thought about the racial make-up of your close friends? 
6. Who do you date? What are some of the reasons, outside of sexual orientation, that your family not approve of someone your dating?
7. How do you understand the concept of intersectionality?
8. What does it mean to be your whole self?

We're going to leave you with questions as opposed to answers because finding out the answers for yourself is half the fun. By asking these questions of yourself and those around you, you will learn so much more than if we gave you our understanding of these experiences. Ask yourself these questions, and let us know if the answers surprise you!

Not Your Average Feminist & Creating Change 2012 #CC12

The 24th annual Creating Change is happening this week and I will be there keeping you updated on all of the amazingness!

"What’s Creating Change? Only the premier annual organizing and skills-building event for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and their allies.

The conference is run by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and attracts more than 2,500 people from all over the country every year. Presenters and participants come from all walks of life and include members of the business community, elected officials, students, faith leaders and staff and volunteers of non-profit organizations.

Our five-day program features over 250 workshops and training sessions, four plenary sessions, and tons of networking opportunities.” –Creating Change Website

I will be cross-posting on another project I've been working on, Born Like This, and will be delivering you nightly recaps as well as live tweets throughout the day! If you are on twitter be sure to chat with us @NYAFeminist. Keep up on the trending topics with #CC12 and #LGBT. And if you aren’t following us on Twitter, what in the world are you waiting for?

And remember “Power is Sexy”