Gloria Steinem is one of my all-time favorite heroes. I adore her for her enlightened support of feminism. She’s a bright light of intelligence in a crazy world.
Her most recent news: she was part of a group of women activists who walked across the DMZ between North and South Korea. From Huffington Post:
“We feel very celebratory and positive that we have created a voyage across the DMZ in peace and reconciliation,” said U.S. activist and feminist Gloria Steinem, honorary co-chair of the WomanCrossDMZ group, which is calling for a permanent peace treaty to replace the armistice which ended the conflict.
As the women crossed into South Korea, there were greeted by protests by some conservative groups. The conservatives were responding to what they saw as an accommodating stance toward the North Korean regime by WomenCrossDMZ.org.
I can’t believe that “accommodating” accurately describes WomenCrossDMZ.org. The group’s web site does, according to the HuffingtonPost, hosts a video that says “millions of North Koreans lack ‘basics of survival’ because of what it describes as ‘crippling embargos’ against the North Korean government.”
Certainly the embargo does need to be in place, which is deeply unfortunate, because it hurts regular citizens, not the ruling elite. But North Korea must be hobbled. One point I’m sure the conservatives are missing: the walk across the DMZ was an embarrassment to the North Korean regime, because this rare march points out how rigid and militaristic the regime is; the march was a true mud pie in the face of Pyongyang. Steinem continues to be in the forefront of important work.