The Summer 2009 issue of Ms. Magazine will be hitting newsstands on August 4th. There's some great stuff in it, so be sure to pick up a copy. I want to highlight two of my favorite stories you can find in the issue:

1. "A Man Who Trusted Women" by Michele Kort

As I read this tribute to Dr. Tiller, my eyes welled up with tears. Kort profiles Dr. Tiller, from his decision to start providing abortions to his horrible death. He was a man who trusted women to make the right decisions, and his compassion and trust earned him endless hardships. But he stayed strong, because he knew he had thousands more women to help:

The legal battles were exhaustive and expensive for Tiller, although he "held up like a soldier," says Monnat. Nonetheless, his friends worried about him. "The last
time I talked to him," says Susan Hill, "I said, 'Why are you still doing this, George? You certainly don't need to. Why don't you just retire, enjoy life?'

"He said, 'I can't, I can't leave these women. There's no one else for them.'"

Definitely a worthwhile read.


2. "Baghdad Underground" by Anna Badkhen

This is an upsetting, but inspiring, profile of the women in the "Underground Railroad," a small network of shelters, hidden underground mostly in Baghdad, for women who have been raped, battered, forced into prostitution, or have been rejected by their families for "dishonoring" them. The Railroad was started by 35 Iraqi activists who called themselves the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq. So far, the underground shelters have helped thousands of women escape from misogynistic violence and persecution.

It is depressing, to say the least, that these women have been so abused and mistreated that they must hide underground to escape it, but it is wonderful that they have a safe place to go. Things are terrible for women in Iraq, but women always find a way to help each other.

Be sure to pick up a copy of Ms. Magazine come August 4th to read these stories and others!