Monday, December 31, 2018: What US withdrawal from Syria means for Rojava

YPJ (Women’s Protective Force) fighters in northern Syria

The planned withdrawal of US troops from Syria is widely seen as a green light for Turkey to invade Northern Syria. What will that mean for the socialist feminist Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, colloquially known as Rojava? Reflecting on this prospect, we listen to excerpts from my interviews with Sinam Mohamed, representative of the Syrian Democratic Council to the U.S., conducted as Turkish forces were occupying her home in Afrin, and with Janet Biehl, translator of Revolution in Rojava: Democratic Autonomy and Women's Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan.

Click here to listen to the show. 59:50 min

Produced and Hosted by Kate Raphael.

Listen to the full interview with Janet Biehl (48:53)
Listen to interview with Sinam Mohamad, Syrian Democratic Council (Rojava) Representative to the US. Mohamad's home in Afrin was occupied by Turkish-backed forces in March 2018. (53:44)

Thanks so much to all of you who donated to support Women's Magazine during the pledge drive. Thanks to you, we made our goal! And KPFA came close.  Looking forward to another strong year at Women's Magazine.  Happy New Year.

Also on today's show:

History of the Vibrator

Monday, September 3, 2018: Rahila Gupta and Lucy Jane Bledsoe on Paradises Built in Hell

Today's show was originally aired on May 7. Enjoy this replay from KPFA Women's Magazine:

Rebecca Solnit's 2010 book A Paradise Built in Hell posits that disasters, whether natural or human created, commonly bring out our most generous and cooperative nature, leading to the development of new forms of community and democratic organization. This week on Women's Magazine, I talk with two women who have done their own research into this phenomenon.

British journalist Rahila Gupta traveled to Northern Syria to witness the grassroots feminist democracy being built in territory liberated from the Islamic State. She has written extensively about the impressive network of women's cooperatives, political education and legislative accomplishments built in just a few years.

Lucy Jane Bledsoe's new novel, The Evolution of Love, imagines the aftermath of a massive earthquake in the East Bay, and suggests that our bonobo nature, favoring love and cooperation over conflict and competition, might ultimately triumph. Bledsoe is the award-winning author of A Thin Bright Line, which has just been optioned for a film.

Click here to listen to the show. 59:50 min

Interview blogs from May 7:
Rahila Gupta
Lucy Jane Bledsoe

Events:
Film showing:
Good Morning Pakistan by Dr. Hazan Zee
SAN FRANCISCO EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT September 6 and 13

NOW PLAYING - 4 Star Theatre SF- BUY YOUR TICKETS https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3593009

RISE FOR CLIMATE, JOBS AND JUSTICE MARCH

SEPTEMBER 8TH
Look for the queer and women contingents. Meet at 10:30 AM at 101 California for the queer contingent and at 10 AM on Stuart between Market and Mission for the women's contingent.

Monday, May 7, 2018: Rahila Gupta on Paradises Built in Hell

Rebecca Solnit's 2010 book A Paradise Built in Hell posits that disasters, whether natural or human created, commonly bring out our most generous and cooperative nature, leading to the development of new forms of community and democratic organization. This week on Women's Magazine, Kate Raphael talks with two women who have done their own research into this phenomenon. First we hear from Rahila Gupta.

British journalist Rahila Gupta traveled to Northern Syria to witness the grassroots feminist democracy being built in territory liberated from the Islamic State. She has written extensively about the impressive network of women's cooperatives, political education and legislative accomplishments built in just a few years.

Rojava is broken into three cantons. Afrin Canton in the West, Kobane Canton in the center, and Cizre Canton in the East. These three cantons are working in cooperation with many local and international players to push back the Islamic State.

Click here to listen to the show. 59:50 min

Also on today's show:
Lucy Jane Bledsoe

Friday, March 16, 2018: Special Women's History Month Programming

Global Feminists Building New Futures

From Kobani in Syria to Cochabama in Bolivia, feminists are creating experiments in collectivism as a means to women’s equality and safety. We hear about the Rojava Revolution, a democratic socialist feminist democracy being constructed in northern Syria, and women’s collectives in Bolivia who are changing the meaning of self-defense in the country with the highest rate of gender-based violence in Latin America.

Guests:  Janet Biehl, translator of Revolution in Rojava: Democratic Autonomy and Women’s Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan;

Leny Olvera-Rojas, grassroots feminist activist, scholar and musician from Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Produced and Hosted by Kate Raphael.

Click here to listen to the show. 1:12:14

Listen to the full interview with Janet Biehl (48:53)
Listen to interview with Sinam Mohamad, Syrian Democratic Council (Rojava) Representative to the US. Mohamad's home in Afrin was occupied by Turkish-backed forces in March 2018. (53:44)

Tune in to KPFA.org next Friday at noon for more Women's History Month special programming.

Monday July 20, 2015: A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile

"For me it's very important that people know how to behave with technology...Syrians were just trying to get a freedom they never had...the regime used that story as a wide westerner propaganda pretending the revolution never existed..." Sandra Bagaria

In June 2011, Sandra Bagaria was in an online romance with a Syrian revolutionary named Amina Arraf.  Then Amina disappeared, and someone told Sandra she had been kidnapped by agents of the regime.  Sandra mobilized along with gay activists all over the world to demand Amina’s release. But then everything unraveled, and Sandra learned that her lover never existed.

A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile, which opens at the Roxie theater on July 24 in San Francisco, is Sandra’s story.  We talk with Sandra about the experience of making the film.

More info on the film can be found at SundanceNow Doc Club.

Listen now or Get MP3. 25:56 min.






Click here to listen to entire show. 59:50 min.

Also on today's show:
Interview with WHO researcher Meghan Bohren
3 Girls Theater

March 3, 2014 - On International Women's Day, Gaza Women Say End the Siege!

Colonel Ann Wright, who left her three-decades career in the military in protest against the Iraq War, is heading to Gaza to support women in the beleaguered Strip, demanding an end to the Israeli siege and the right to live in peace.  Ann and the other members of Code Pink's International Women's Day delegation will also check in on Gaza's Ark, an audacious project to enable Palestinians to export their products to the world.

Ann Wright recently returned from the Syrian peace conference in Geneva, where she supported a coalition of Syrian women demanding a seat at the table.

Listen or download (21:48)

Update:  Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin, who was also planning to join the delegation to Gaza, was denied entry to Egypt and detained overnight before being deported to Turkey.  According to Benjamin, Egyptian police stomped on her back and broke her arm before dragging her onto a plane.

Also on this show:  What Does It Take To Become a Superstar?

Listen to entire show

What Does It Take to Become a Superstar?

What Does It Take to Become a Superstar?

What Does It Take to Become a Superstar?

What Does It Take to Become a Superstar?

September 16, 2013: Syria & the Left; Cheryl Marie Wade; Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic Fundraiser

Do's & Don'ts for Progressives Discussing Syria

Syrian American activist Ramah Kudaimi says progressives need to stop talking about Syria as Iraq redux, but learn about the actual history and people of Syria.  While opposing U.S. intervention, Kudaimi says we need to put the blame for the devastation and enormous loss of life in Syria where it belongs, on the Assad regime, and not use rhetoric of "both sides are wrong" or "it's just a civil war and we should stay out of it."  Kudaimi is the author of a recent article in Mondoweiss, laying out some good practices for progressives talking about Syria.
 

Download this clip

Cheryl Marie Wade: Disability Culture Pioneer

We pay tribute to Cheryl Marie Wade, award-winning poet, playwright, performer and disability activist.  We hear excerpts of her performances, poetry and interviews with Cheryl, and talk with her friends Pamela Walker and Corbett O'Toole and disability culture author and consultant Simi Linton.

Listen now (17:27)

Download this clip

More videos

Anthology edited by Cheryl Marie Wade, Range of Motion

Female Vocalist Extravaganza: A Benefit for Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic

We talk with Gabriella Heinsheimer, Medical Director of the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic.  Charlotte Maxwell provides free accupuncture, massage, herbs and imaging therapy, as well as a range of other services like food and transportation, to low income women with cancer.

On Sunday afternoon, September 22, a group of extraordinary female vocalists will perform in a benefit for the clinic.  We sample music by two of the performers, Ana Maria Flechero and Ellen Robinson.

Download this program
Play this clip in your media player

September 2: Labor Day on Women's Magazine - Fast Food Workers, Syria and Helen Thomas

Syria

Rafif Jouejati, among many other activities is spokesperson for the Local Coordination Committees in Syria. LCC is the largest non-violent activists organization on the ground in Syria. The Committees focus on reporting crimes against humanity, humanitarian relief and finding funds for many other projects. She also is the director of Free Syria that works primarily with Syrian women to restore equality and education to empower women in Syria. Rafif Jouejati talks with Kate Raphael about the prospect of US military intervention and her vision of life after Assad.

Check out the Facebook group Stop the killing, we want to build a country for all Syrians to read diverse statements from the Liberation Struggle.

Thank you Helen Thomas

"Thank you Mr. President!"

Women's Magazine remembers the groundbreaking journalist Helen Thomas, with friend, author and civil rights leader Daphne Muse, Arab American journalist Gale Courey-Toensing, plus interviews and clips from Thomas's 5-decade career. Helen Thomas was an out-spoken, very intelligent and progressive reporter. She was not afraid to express her opinions on the tough subjects and explain later when required.

Fast Food Workers Strike

WWW.FASTFOODFORWARD.ORG

Plus food service and concessions workers at Oakland airport, along with other low-wage workers around the country, strike for fair wages and benefits. Fast food workers strike for one day for doubling the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. Two-thirds of fast food workers are women and the average age is 32 years.


Listen to the entire show from KPFA archives. 59 min.

November 26th: Women in the Syrian opposition coalition; and gender on TV

Women's Magazine's Kate Rafael discusses the new Syrian opposition coalition with Afraa Jalabi of the Syrian National Council and Mohja Kahf, Professor of Literature and Gender Studies at the University of Arkansas.

courtesy:  Mohja Kahf

"This is not your father's revolution," says Mohja Kahf. There is an active and escalating non-violent, grass roots movement in Syria. Mohja and Afraa give a personal and political account of the Syrian revolution. There are over 33,000 prisoners of conscience in Syria prisons. 472 are women. They have been there for over a year without due process. Stay in tune with the grassroots movements in Syria through links on Stop the Killing Campaign Facebook page.

Listen or Get MP3

"Brides of Peace": In the Middle of Madness, Four Women March for Nonviolence in Syria

By Mohja Kahf

Four young Syrian women staged a women’s march for nonviolence through the middle of Medhat Basha market in Damascus, Syria, on November 21, 2012. In the finest tradition of subversive street theater, all four dressed in bridal gowns and veils, carrying red banners... Read more

Television for the Discerning Feminist Palate

Is television shaping ideas about women, simply reflecting, or are the lives of television women completely divorced from the lives of real women? Next we dissect gender roles on some of the hottest shows on television (Nashville, Revenge, Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Girls) with bloggers Camille Morgenstern of TurnUpTheSass and Anna Sterling of feministing.com. 27:02 min.

Listen or Get MP3


Special note to KPFA members: Don't forget to vote for the KPFA board members. Your ballot is due in New York on December 11, so get it out early. And if you're not a member, please donate to KPFA and mention Women's Magazine. Thanks.

To listen to the entire show click here. 59:49 min.

September 24: Focus on Syria

As the United Nations meets in New York, with Syria high on the agenda, Kate Raphael talks with Syrian feminists Afraa Jalabi & Mohja Kahf about the state of the Syrian uprising and the prominence of women in the revolution.  They go beyond the news headlines to talk about the incredible grassroots organizing that is continuing even amidst the violence.  41:00
Listen now

Sarah Shourd discusses the humanitarian crisis in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, and how you can help. 6:10
Listen now

KPFA is in its fall fund drive.  For your pledge of $70, you can get our Arab Feminist Superpack, containing the full one-hour interview with Afraa Jalabi and Mohja Kahf, which is excerpted here, as well as interviews with former PLO negotiator Diana Buttu, legendary Egyptian doctor, author and former political prisoner Nawal el Sadawwi, Egyptian youth organizer Shaima Halmi, and Iraqi feminist historian Nadia al-Ali.  (Nawal el Sadawwi & Nadia al-Ali generously provided by our friends at Making Contact.)  Donate securely online at www.kpfa.org.  If you can't give $70, give whatever you can to keep this member supported station coming to you free and commercial-free.

 

Only one in eight listeners ever becomes a member.  If you're one of them, make that change now.  We can't do it without you!

July 4: Arab Lesbians Live! and "Beyond the Money Paradigm"

A few weeks ago, kidnapped Syrian American lesbian blogger Amina Arraf was unmasked as Tom MacMaster, a straight white guy from the U.S., now living in Scotland.  Then, the blogger who first promoted and later helped expose him was found to be ... you got it, another straight guy, leading John Stewart to comment "It turns out, the lesbians we care most about in the world are dudes!"

We talk about the meaning of all this with Lebanese American cartoonist Jennifer Camper, who says "I always assumed men were pretending to be lesbians, and I always figured they would end up talking to each other."  Turnabout is fair play, she says, so she created the blog hetwhiteboy where she, as an Arab lesbian, can pretend to be a white man pretending to be an Arab lesbian.  Also joining us is Alia Ghabra, an actual Syrian American lesbian, who talks about what's really happening for LGBT folks in Syria, and what the support for Amina says about the Arab queer community.  (cartoon at left (c) Jennifer Camper)

Listen here or Get MP3

To learn more about queers in the Arab world, check out these excellent sites:
Bint el Nas, online journal "designed to serve the needs and interests of women who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (including female-to-male and male-to-female trans* people in any state of transition), and who are identified ethnically or culturally with the Arab world"
Meem, a community of lesbian, bisexual, queer and questioning women and transgender people in Lebanon
Al Qaws for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Palestine
Aswat Palestinian Gay Women
Helem, Lebanese Protection for LGBTs

Jadaliyya, an independent ezine produced by Arab Studies Institute, a network of writers associated with the Arab Studies Journal
Now Lebanon, for up-to-date info about Arab Spring and political news from the Arab world

Listen to entire July 4 show, including "Beyond the Money Paradigm" from WINGS, and the Women's Community Calendar.