Remember the Women in Your Life. . . .

In honor of International Women's Day I pay tribute to all the women who have struggled tirelessly, and continue to struggle, for the rights and equality of Women, and thereby for all of us. Even today women are abused, imprisoned, and even die in this effort and let us not forget them. Let us also remember all of those who, even if they are not active in battle for women's rights, pay the price of gender inequality and male brutality.

I also honor my spouse Sylvia who has worked all of her life not only for the rights of women but for the rights of all people, particularly those most vulnerable and with no voice in the system of power. And I honor my daughters Veronique and Cairo who will continue the struggle into the future. We have a lot more work to do and they will make their contribution to a collective future.


And since I have been working on a biography of her for nearly two years, I honor the nineteenth century writer Mary Russell Mitford. Though she was not an "activist" in the struggle for gender equality, she carved out her own literary career in an age when women in the arts were seldom taken seriously. The example that she and her peers set by simply refusing to sit on the sidelines of life is invaluable.

The struggle continues - let's not be idle!