This Is What the War Has Done For Women.

I saw a Saudi Arabian prince from their ruling family discussing the treatment of women in his country. The subject was the rape victim in Saudi Arabia who will be tortured with 200 lashes and prison, because she dared to publicize the original sentence of 100 lashes. This is the way it has always been done. Remember the princess who was publicly beheaded because she wanted to marry a soldier? The "ruling prince" who could overrule the decision and comute her sentence if he wanted, said the legal system has been changed but unfortunately those changes will not occur until next year. He did not specify what changes have been made.

This is what the war has done for women, what Bush has done for women and it is significant. The light of the Harbor Lady has been shining on the middle east patriarchies and the women are moving under those veils in Saudi Arabia. The whole world is watching. The slave status of women in the world is revealed. John Lennon wrote a shocking song about this phenomena titled, "Woman is the Nigger of the World".

We have slept to this. Woman were screaming but no one could help. The problem was too big. Now there is a way. This is what the war has done for women. Now. The Taliban is gone. Afghan women are working with the State Dept's OIWI. Women are angry in Iran and Iraq. The status of women, particularly Muslim women, which had been ignored in plain sight, is something the world is ready to deal with. This is what the war has done for women.

The UN is asking for funds to reduce violence against women. 185 countries have signed the Treaty to End Discrimination Against Women. The US Senate is considering passage of the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA).

This is what the light our dead are holding high has won for women. Blessings on their names.

This is what the dead have won for women. An opportunity for change exists now. The condition of women held as property under Sharia law can be labeled slavery and abolished. Most countries will let us in to build Women's Centers, DV Shelters, transitional housing.

We must define violence and rape prevention. The long term solution to the level of social violence is centered in how we socialize the world's children. See: The Silent Children by Linda Sandford. We prevent violence against women in the world when we stop violence against girls and boys in the family.

When we change societal tolerance for abuse and assault of children, we reduce the cycle of violence in society. When there is food, housing and a way to remain financially independent. We need to teach the compromise and civil skills which are important to democracy.

We must gain the peoples consent as they did in South Africa, to agree to change for equality.

Therefore, we build Children's Villages to resocialize children (and their parents if possible) to parenting without physical or emotional abuse. Three shifts of paid substitute parents who are anger management counselors, teachers, resocialization experts, child development workers, work in the children's houses in a Children's Village, all being trained on-line and monitored by security cameras. Real Schools at their center for boys and girls instead of religious schools.

The adults will be learning trades as can the children learn trades as they get older. We can incorporate Medical Clinics into the shelters. We can take girls before they are genitally mutilated.

This opportunity is manifest - where it once was a hope, it has become do-able.

It is the Oprah Model.

This is what the war has done for Women. The form of the high priestess, sister to the Lady of the Harbor, The Office of International Women's Issues has been formed and exists as the oracle for our country, Their mission statement is as follows:

The United States is deeply committed to addressing issues that are important to American women and women throughout the world. Promoting women's political and economic participation is an important element of U.S. foreign policy and a key component of transformational diplomacy.

Global respect for women is a Bush Administration foreign policy priority.

The United States is in the forefront of advancing women's causes around the world, helping them become

full participants in their societies

through various initiatives and programs

that help increase women's political participation and economic opportunities

and support women and girls' access to education and health care.

The Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues serves as the Department's coordinating body for all foreign policy issues related to the political, economic, and social advancement of women in democracy worldwide.

Recognizing that the full and equal participation of women in the political, economic, and social spheres of society is a key ingredient for democratic development,

the mandate of this Office is to mobilize concrete support for greater women's empowerment,

promote greater awareness of gender-based violence and discrimination, and

to ensure that women's human rights are considered along with, not segregated from, other human rights in the development of U.S. foreign policy.

The global women's network has been established by that Office under Condi Rice. She used,the Women of Courage Awards. This is the way to find the women who will be democracy's conduits in their own country and protect them.

Additionally, Rice has set up US-Afghan Women's Council. Other such councils can be developed when Hillary takes office. Muslim women have described the forced submission of slavery in books ; Ali Hersi's "Infidel", and many other Muslim and Arab/Persian women. We have seen who came to speak and write for women during this great clash of civilizations and who was silent. Those are the women who should staff this Office.

I say again, Hillary should try to keep the staff and officers who manage the Office of International Women's Issues for they have done an excellent job.

Instead of firing these experts in woman's work Hillary can create additional subdivisions of that Office, a domestic violence unit and a poverty unit. Biden's "Office of Global Women's Issues" in his I-VAWA should be ADDED to the current Office and its' budget be expanded.

As additional staff for those units, Hillary can hire those feminists who built the shelter system in the US and those who are experts in gender organizing. The old staff will continue their network building and teaching work. The new staff and the old staff will pool their information so that all funded projects are a combination of all three units. This opportunity exists now. This priestess must be bi-partisan. If you are for women, you are with us and we can work out the details.

Now we must insist that our government, soon to be the Democrats, continue this work by a vigorous feminist foreign policy that has at its' core, the elimination of discrimination and violence against women globally, especially in the middle east. We can insist that the agencies we fund to do this produce measurable results. We can insist that the Office is authorized to work with the armed forces in projects such as building domestic violence shelters.

The war has brought this issue to the front and Bush has created the way. It is for us now to find our own way to realize this opportunity for our caste sisters. This is what the dead have bought for us. Blessing on their Names.