My children were among the “skimmers.” Buzzing on sugar from the all-you-can-drink tasting room at the World of Coca-Cola next door, they stood gazing up at a life-size “villain” Idi Amin, the late brutal despot of Uganda, and “defender” Dr. Denis Mukwege of the Congo, a leading voice on ending violence against women in times of armed conflict.

Ultimately, a global movement is required to end acid violence. This movement must insist that whatever injustice happens to one woman happens to us all. There’s a role for everyone from artists to doctors, journalists to judiciary, business giants to everyday citizens – and survivors themselves.

It happens every year around December 10th.  I’ll be standing at the stove cooking dinner, or simply waiting at the bus shelter when I suddenly get a little choked up.  Or a lot choked up, depending on the year. This Saturday will be one of those days — International Human Rights Day, the anniversary of […]

When I was in college, I had a small book of questions meant to serve as conversation starters for social gatherings. There was one question in particular that I had no idea how to answer, and not having a response seemed to indicate some form of personal shortcoming in my young and idealistic mind: “Is […]

Say the words “hunger strike” and many will recall images of an emaciated Mahatma Gandhi enduring several famous fasts to protest British rule of India. But most Americans are currently unaware of an ailing human rights campaigner from Western Sahara now in the third week of a risky hunger strike after being expelled from her […]