Fatima

Yes, this woman is skinnier than my personal opinion of beauty. This body affords her the opportunity to be on "America's Next Top Model" (one of my not-always-guilty pleasures). And that platform affords her the opportunity to spread awareness of a horrifying practice throughout the nation.
Fatima was born in Somalia, where she spent the majority of her life, up until the past seven years. When she was seven years old she was circumsized.
Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM, is extremely common in African and Middle Eastern countries, for different reasons. For some it is a rite of passage, for others a religious requirement. It is sometimes meant to prevent a woman from feeling sexual desire, therefore "protecting" her.
The process consists of the removal of the entire clitoris. Often the labia are sewn together as well.
Fatima wants to use this show as a platform to raise awareness of this horrible tradition. Girls of all young ages experience this, and the fatality rate is staggering. These procedures are often done amateurly, especially considering how many countries have now made it illegal. Even in England there is a huge subculture of this practice, given the rising percentage of Middle Eastern inhabitants.
I applaud Fatima for making her effort to change the world. Each of us has potential to do this; it is only a matter of trying.

Ciudad Juarez

The headline that accompanied this picture reads as follows:
"A group of women wearing white dresses splashed in fake blood, proclaiming themselves Miss Juarez, Miss Atenco and Miss Michoacan in reference to places in Mexico where women have been raped or killed protest beside the stage where the Miss Universe's native dress fashion show was held in Mexico City, Sunday, May 20, 2007."
As you can tell, I am quite tardy in keeping with these events. This is especially true when you take into account that these horrendous rapes, kidnappings and murders started in 1993. Or at least that is when they started getting noticed.
There is no way of knowing for sure how many women have been kidnapped, humiliated, mutilated, raped and murdered on the soil of Juarez. And no one seems to be trying very hard to stop it. Well, that statement is too blanketted; no authority or government seems to be trying very hard. There are angels working day and night to protect these women. Esther Chavez Cano, for one, has made it her life's work to keep these women from danger and help them when it is too late. She founded Casa Amiga, a sort of safe house for these women. She is a Vagina Warrior and an angel.
There are many theories surrounding these crimes, but there is one at the fore-front: many believe that the attackers are sex-offenders from El Paso. Apparently the border between the two is laughably easy to cross; from American soil onto Mexican soil, at least. We are so busy "protecting our country from them", but we have given no thought to protecting them from us. Apparently El Paso has a very large population of sex offenders. Well, what better hunting ground for these men than an unpoliced desert of impoverished women who 'would not be missed' (from a legal and societal standpoint)? If there is any merit to this theory, and I fear there is quite a bit, than we need to take action. We need to set up serious perimeter protection. What police do exist in this region are so under paid that bribery is common, understood and accepted. This region is also a huge market for drug trafficking, bringing in more bribe money, more violent characters and fewer acting police.
Ask yourself, what can I do for these women? The easiest, and perhaps the best, is prayer. The next easiest, in my opinion, is spreading awareness. Obviously, donating your time and your money would be a big help. Just think, you could change someone's life today. Hell, you could save someone's life today!
Eve Ensler, of course, has commune with these women. She introduced me to a whole world of hurt that I could learn to heal. If you are interested in donating, her website is a great place to start. You can also go to the Casa Amiga website.