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Speeches. Sign language poems. Art. Q&As. Personal reflections.
Our third edition of Reflections on Our Countries dives into multiple genres and our contributors skip across continents to reflect on themes of bodily autonomy and more. We are excited to share this edition with you!
This edition’s editorial by Nana Abuelsoud ties in past and present strands about bodily autonomy and the right to choose. As we celebrate gains, reflect on the past and galvanize for the future Nana reminds us that the fight for safe accessible abortion and contraceptives is also a class, race, and disability fight.
In this edition
- “…we are not asking as a movement that people lose their personal beliefs, what we are demanding is that the personal beliefs of each person are not the basis for creating public policy or for reaching international agreements.” notes our comrade Shi Alarcón-Zamora in a speech made at the Assembly of Delegates of the Inter-American Commission on Women in Panama in May 2022. She points out that “human rights are not finite,” and that expanding allyship and will not result in erasure but renewed strength in the fight for equality and justice. Published in Spanish and English.
- From Argentina, Resurj accomplice Mariana Iacono writes about discriminatory laws and the criminalization of HIV transmission through a recent case. This article is available in Spanish and English.
- Lisa Owino thinks aloud about Kenya’s conversations around sexual and reproductive health and raises vital questions about abortion advocacy. She asks the fundamental question at the crux of the fight: “Why ascribe legality or illegality to something so autonomous as my body?”
- How can election processes be rights-based in the age of digitalization? Resurj member Shubha Kayastha invites us to reflect on SRHR, privacy and how political elections have morphed due to digitization by discussing a publicly available, biometric voter database in Nepal that is a cause for concern.
- What happens when history repeats itself in a family? How does the right to choose impact two different generations? In this sign language poem based on a true story, Resurj ally Deaf Women Included from Zimbabwe present a story about two generations of deaf women from a single deaf mother’s perspective.
- Imaan Jufeer is a self-taught visual artist from Sainthamaruthu, Sri Lanka whose art revolves around social themes. In this Q&A, she discusses how she uses art in her activism and the themes she is drawn to.
- A contributor from Rwanda reflects on the rights of women and girls while navigating cultural and community inheritances.
- Finally, Thisanthini Thiruchelvam from Sri Lanka self-reflects on feminism as a framework for life and takes us on an introspective journey on how our personal value systems are rarely static and can transform over time. This Reflection is published in Tamil and English.
This edition was coordinated by Adilah Ismail. Translations by Bruna David and Sivatharsini Raveendran.