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