Building the barricades

The women of Bahrain show here why the oligarchs want women kept in domestic servitude.The oligarchs must know our history. Women’s fierce & fearless role in revolutions is no new-fangled phenomenon but is a feature of political resistance all the way back to the Amazons. Stories (some say myths) of Amazons or women warriors exist in many cultures; many believe they emerged in opposition to the formation of patriarchy. Now we see them before our very eyes in the Arab uprisings against another form of tyranny. Here women protestors in Manama, Bahrain build a cement barricade against riot police at a rally to support Abdullah Al-Khawaja (a jailed human rights activist in poor health from a hunger strike) & demand his release to the Danish government for sanctuary. We don’t know how far these revolutions will go but we do know they have just begun & they aren’t going anywhere without women in the lead. (Photo by Hamad I. Mohammed)