CWLU Herstory Blog

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The WE-ACTx Girls Exchange Chicago↔Kigali is an exciting program to link a group of six young women from our WE-ACTx HIV clinics in Kigali, Rwanda with six young women from Chicago. The group will include HIV infected and uninfected youth from both cities who have demonstrated the capacity for leadership.

You are invited to a unique fundraiser and potluck to support this exciting project. You may download the announcement here.

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We received these passover reflections from poet, writer and historian Aurora Levins Morales. We asked her to share them with you. Aurora and her mom Rosario were both members of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union.

Dear Friends: Like other Jews around the world, I am preparing for Passover, our annual feast in celebration of freedom. I've been cleaning house, chopping nuts and fruit, and if I were not allergic to wheat anyway, I'd be getting rid of my bread. But in the midst of this work that I love, I can't get my mind off all the people who are taking to the streets this month, in country after country, to demand changes in the food policies that are starving them. The prices of wheat, rice, beans, cooking oil and other staples have skyrocketed in the last three years and hundreds of millions of people can't afford to eat them. Although the Haitian people's protests brought down their government, people are still eating patties made of salted mud.

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Feministing.com is a bold brash feminist blog site where many women and some men start their day by reading the articles and opinion pieces and then posting their comments.

The youngish organizers of Feministing represent a generation of women who are fighting the complex 21st century battle for

When Mardge Cohen and her partner Gordy Schiff left Chicago for Boston, they were warned that their old friends in the Windy City would do what was necessary to drag them back here.

Mardge is one of the world's leading experts on the treatment of HIV/AIDS and a former CWLU member. Gordy is a prof at

In an effort to remake Chicago into a "global city" – one attractive to businesses and tourists worldwide – Chicago's educational, environmental, employment and housing policies have been rewritten over the last two decades. These changes in policy and funding priorities have effected Chicago residents differently by class, race and, as we focus on here, by gender.

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Call for contributions for an edited essay collection on Marjane Satrapi’s works (film, literature, and art).

Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel, Persepolis, was an instant success in France and the U.S. It has garnered numerous book prizes, and the animated film version was awarded the

'Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.'

'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,

Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go

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We recently received a communication from Azer Majedi , leader of the Organization for Women's Liberation, an Iranian feminist organization. Azer Majedi lives in exile in the UK. In her statement, she calls upon the people everywhere to join together and say,"No to a US military attack."

She was

If you are working in the fields of human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, and water sustainablity, PulseWire welcomes you to their founding online community.

Here, any woman with access to a basic computer, and eventually a cell phone, can speak her truth, ask for what she needs and share her solutions through pictures, audio, video and the written word.

Please visit Pulsewire to learn more.