March 24th: Vidya Sri and Darakshan Raja speak about forced marriage in the US

Kate Raphael begins this weeks Women's Magazine by introducing us to our new producer Alicia Sierra. Alicia grew up in New York and moved to the Bay Area 8 months ago. It has been her dream to have her own radio show focusing on women's health and spirituality. She wants to focus on issues that are "dear to women and that aren't really talked about." Women's Magazine is always looking for volunteers and welcomes Alicia to the show.

Next week the supreme court will be deciding whether or not large employers can exclude certain preventive healthcare services because these employers don't think women should be having sex. Even if Hobby Lobby wins, the ruling will not require women to have to ask their employers for money to buy birth control. For more info: http://www.npr.org/2014/03/25/293956170/hobby-lobby-contraceptive-case-goes-before-supreme-court

And for those of you who love Apps, there is a cool one from Public Radio Exchange (PRX) called Public Radio that includes podcasts of past Women's Magazine shows under the heading Lifestyles.

Forced Marriage in the USA 

Forced marriage, falsely termed "arranged marriage," is a rich and complex discussion.   Researchers and activists Vidya Sri and Darakshan Raja explain that the practice is more common than we think, cutting across all classes, geographies, ethnicities and religions. They discuss their report Voices From the Front Line: Addressing Forced Marriages in the United States.

A Forced Marriage is a marriage with an absence of consent from one or both parties. A Forced Marriage is one in which coercion, violence, and/or fraud is used to cause the marriage. There is no ability to choose one’s partner and the right of refusal may be denied by the family for one or both individuals. The family and community play a complicit role in perpetrating the violence, coercion, and/or fraud. Significant shaming and intimidation is used to cause a forced marriage. Go to gangashakti.org for more information on forced marriage.

Gangashakti's mission is to "Engage a Wide Range of Service Providers, Student Groups, Community Members and Scholars on this poorly understood issue in the United States."

Click here to listen to the show. 59:35 min.

Today's show included music by Anoushka Shankur, Azam Ali, and Christina Aguilera.