Thoughts on Ukraine and Women's History Month

 The war in Ukraine has impacted me more than I thought it would. My family has strong ties to the Poland-Ukraine-Russia region, and so the events there have claimed my attention.

But there are a few things on mind that should be written about sooner rather than later, if in a shorter format than usual.

Muslims and the War in Ukraine

I’ve written at length about reports that Muslim immigrants not so much wanting to come to the West to change their lifestyle as to live their old lifestyle more lucratively, even if that includes honor killing of daughters and enforcing other cultural restrictions. Naturally, the war has threatened Muslim civilians in Ukraine as much as anyone else, but most of the Muslims (and Tatars) in Ukraine are in Crimea (12% of the population), where the Russians have been in control since 2014. The rest of the country counts Islam as the religion of less than 1% of the population. So, a muted reaction to Russian aggression is to be expected, if for no other reason than to secure the position of those in the Crimea.

But this does not explain the unwillingness of other Muslim nations to join the international community in imposing sanctions on Russia, as long as Putin continues to press his invasion. (One cartoon has Putin going all the way to Paris if things go his way.)

The UAE and Saudis have gone so far as to refuse communications with the USA president, all because they do not want to go on the record as refusing to cut off oil supplies to Russia (yes, like many other countries, Russia is both an importer and exporter of oil…the economics of storage and transport and refining capacity always dominate the various considerations).

Here in the USA, oil prices have already reached record highs. But if we could endure years of rationing to protect our country’s interests in Europe during WWII, we can surely do it now, surrounded by allies.

Putin is quite a magician to turn Biden into Roosevelt and Zelensky into Churchill (Zelensky is an eloquent and effective presence in the media).

Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month and 8 March was International Women’s Day, a date chosen to commemorate women’s role in socialist movements and the adaptation of women’s rights, including voting, affordable health care, education equality, and—dare I say it?—a women’s right to choose to have children or not. 

Life is much fuller and more secure for families everywhere because of the efforts of women, and we should never forget that. In ancient Rome, whose guidelines and legal system the West has largely adapted, men ruled in the public spaces like the Forum. But we must never forget that women dominated the private space of the home and hearth, much to the chagrin of many males who were told their power as family head was absolute in all cases.

Women like Fulvia, Mark Antony’s wife, even lead armies in the Perusine War of 41 BCE, something many would prefer to forget. She was also the first woman who was not a goddess to appear on a Roman coin.

Let’s not forget that Najeeba, the hero of Terror Quest, is the one who rallies everyone around her to take action in spite of the risks.

I’ll say more about Najeeba’s background and personality next time. Thanks for reading…