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

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, November 21, 2016: Gender Trouble in Poland

What can we learn from the wave of right wing victories in Europe? And state supported "anti-genderism."

Right wing campaigns like Donald Trumps are not new and have been occurring throughout Europe. In 2015 Poland elected a right wing government that like Trump campaigned on an anti-immigrant and anti-feminist agenda as well as an anti-neoliberalism and anti-globalism agenda.  Then on October 3rd thousands of Polish women  walked out of their jobs and  protested  a proposed new law making abortion entirely illegal taking the one year old  right wing Law and Justice government by surprise and delaying the new bill.  In 1980 Poland lead by its new independent union Solidarity was one of the first countries in Eastern Europe to have a successful uprising against Soviet domination. Today the Catholic church and right wing dominate Poland.

"Through democratic means extremely undemocratic governments are coming into power." Ann Snitow

As we begin our struggle with a neo-facist government lead by Donald Trump can we learn from the right wing movements and the uprising of feminist and other  activists against these authoritarian governments in Europe and in Poland?  Today on KPFA Radio's Women's Magazine we talk to New School Professor Ann Snitow about feminism and the right wing in Poland and her article in the fall issue of Dissent "Gender Trouble in Poland." 

Ann Snitow, a co-founder of the Network of East-West Women, is a professor of Literature and was the Director of Gender Studies from 2006 to 2012 at The New School. Her most recent book is The Feminism of Uncertainty: A Gender Diary (Duke University Press, 2015).

Click now to listen to the entire show and hear Lisa's tribute to soul singer Sharon Jones who died November 18 at age 60. 59:50 min