Activist: Rising violence pushes Iraqi women from political, social spheres
By: Angela Riley
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: News
- < prev Page 2 of 2
Enloe pointed out that throughout history, women's roles with the military have been to boost morale. Gorski's needs weren't taken seriously; she was struggling, and the military only wanted her to act as a support system for her husband and other military wives. Until the early '90s, the evaluation form that determined promotions for the armed forces had a line to evaluate a serviceman's wife.
The discussion of military wives' struggles resonated with freshman international relations and Spanish major Kelsey Hughes. Her mother was the wife of a senior military officer during the first Gulf War.
"I had never thought even close to the depth of what a struggle it was for my mom, taking care of (my brother and I as toddlers), being strong for the other wives and dealing with my dad being gone," Hughes said. "(Enloe's discussion) made me think of my mom's experience in deeper way."
Others saw associations that they had never thought of before.
"I didn't think about the connection between Iraqi and American women," said Deanna Beaton, sophomore speech communications major. "I didn't realize how similar we are and how trivialized women are in both places. The U.S. went to Iraq to fix those things, but we haven't even fixed a woman's role in our own country."
Enloe's journey to becoming a feminist didn't happen overnight. It was marked by distinct experiences.
"When I was studying at (the University of California, Berkeley) in the '60s, we didn't have discussions about women, and I didn't notice," Enloe said. "Later, I realized that I was the only woman doing this and that with political science, but I didn't really think about what that meant."
Female students contributed to Enloe's awareness of women's issues.
"I was teaching at my current position at Clark University in 1975, and female students gathered all the female faculty together to ask them to teach women's studies courses," Enloe said. "I didn't even know what that was, but I agreed to teach. I was able to do that because I could research. I taught a class on women's politics in other countries, and after that, I was hooked."
Associate philosophy professor Kate Parsons invited Enloe to come to WU on behalf of the Webster University Center for Ethics.
"I read one of Enloe's books and got very excited," Parsons said. "I'm not associated with political science or a scholar in international relations, but she made topic interesting and accessible. I knew if I could understand it, others would enjoy it as well."
Seven other groups helped bring her to campus: the Women's Studies Department, the Human Rights Education Project, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Faculty Speakers Committee, Students for Gender Equality, the department of behavioral and social sciences and the department of history, politics and international relations.
The discussion of military wives' struggles resonated with freshman international relations and Spanish major Kelsey Hughes. Her mother was the wife of a senior military officer during the first Gulf War.
"I had never thought even close to the depth of what a struggle it was for my mom, taking care of (my brother and I as toddlers), being strong for the other wives and dealing with my dad being gone," Hughes said. "(Enloe's discussion) made me think of my mom's experience in deeper way."
Others saw associations that they had never thought of before.
"I didn't think about the connection between Iraqi and American women," said Deanna Beaton, sophomore speech communications major. "I didn't realize how similar we are and how trivialized women are in both places. The U.S. went to Iraq to fix those things, but we haven't even fixed a woman's role in our own country."
Enloe's journey to becoming a feminist didn't happen overnight. It was marked by distinct experiences.
"When I was studying at (the University of California, Berkeley) in the '60s, we didn't have discussions about women, and I didn't notice," Enloe said. "Later, I realized that I was the only woman doing this and that with political science, but I didn't really think about what that meant."
Female students contributed to Enloe's awareness of women's issues.
"I was teaching at my current position at Clark University in 1975, and female students gathered all the female faculty together to ask them to teach women's studies courses," Enloe said. "I didn't even know what that was, but I agreed to teach. I was able to do that because I could research. I taught a class on women's politics in other countries, and after that, I was hooked."
Associate philosophy professor Kate Parsons invited Enloe to come to WU on behalf of the Webster University Center for Ethics.
"I read one of Enloe's books and got very excited," Parsons said. "I'm not associated with political science or a scholar in international relations, but she made topic interesting and accessible. I knew if I could understand it, others would enjoy it as well."
Seven other groups helped bring her to campus: the Women's Studies Department, the Human Rights Education Project, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Faculty Speakers Committee, Students for Gender Equality, the department of behavioral and social sciences and the department of history, politics and international relations.
Be the first to comment on this story