Salisbury Forum: Start small and let the effects ripple, says Maryam Elahi

SALISBURY — Maryam Elahi, human rights lawyer and director of the International Women’s Program of the Open Society Institute, was the guest speaker at Salisbury Forum at the Salisbury School on Friday, Sept. 24.

The topic was “Conflict and Peace — Why Should Women Be at the Table?� A crowd of more than 200 people, many of whom not surprisingly were women, came to listen and ask questions.

Early in the talk, Elahi clarified one point: the “table� she referred to is the political decision-making table, not the peace negotiations table.

But to achieve that there is a Catch-22 that must be overcome, she said. For women to be effective they need a certain level of experience and resources, which many societies do not afford them, she said.

 â€œEven today, there is a tribal leader in West Africa who said, ‘A woman’s place is in the kitchen and the bedroom.’â€�

But it is not just Third World nations that struggle with equity for women. In response to a question, Elahi said she considers the United Sates to be lagging behind many other nations on a number of gender issues — with reproductive rights chief among them.

“The Scandinavian countries are far ahead of the U.S. in their support of women and children,� she observed.

Women and children are a prime focus for Elahi since she believes it is they who suffer disproportionately in times of war. The vast majority of victims in a conflict or war are civilians; Elahi put the figure at 90 percent.

And 90 percent of that group are women, children and the elderly, she said.

It is after the guns are laid down that some of the worst war crimes and atrocities are perpetrated on this group of victims, she said. Rape and sexual slavery are rampant, and the recourse for victims is negligible.

Elahi’s life work has focused on gender and human rights; for many years she was the advocacy director for the Middle East, North Africa and Europe for Amnesty International. She was the founding director of the Human Rights Program at Trinity College in Hartford. She has carried out missions to many countries including Algeria, Israel, Iraq, Turkey, Northern Ireland, Guatemala and Afghanistan.

Part of the presentation was a viewing of  “Pray the Devil Back to Hell,â€� a documentary film directed by Gini Reticker and produced by Abigail Disney.

It is the story of a group of women in Liberia who, after weeks of watching the tribal leaders get nowhere in peace talks, rallied together and staged a sit-in in the halls outside of the conference rooms. They physically blocked the men from leaving until they showed they were making a serious effort to resolve their differences.

Told in flashbacks and video footage from the time of the sit-ins, it is a moving and sobering look at the difficulties governments have in transitioning from war to peace.

Elahi urged the students and teachers in the audience to get the movie and share it in their classrooms.

Elahi left the audience with this thought: “We can’t individually transform societies overnight, but if you help one person, you help the world.� Which is why she thinks community gatherings such as the Salisbury Forum series are essential. Start small and let the effects ripple outward.