In Sierra Leone A Women's Project For Women

Women that were abducted in Sierra Leone's civil war over diamond mines have been given an opportunity to start over through sewing. These women have been raped, abducted, and held captive for years. Some have been forced into marriages and have had the babies of their rapists. The war is now over but many of these women remain ostracized by their families because of what happened to them. An Austrian judge helped start the sewing school as a way of helping women gain independence. "When the women graduate from the program, their clothing is displayed and sold in a show at the Special Court. The women are given those proceeds, a sewing machine and $100 in seed money and sent back home to start their own businesses." (Los Angeles Times)

It is incredibly sad to me that these women have gone through years of being held captive, years of rape only to have their families reject them. It is upsetting to me because the raping of women to gain control has been going on since the beginning; so little really changes. Also, these women had to suffer partially because of the world's demand for Diamonds. After I saw the movie Blood Diamond, I never would want a diamond engagement or wedding ring unless I knew where it came from. However, as I look down at my fingers I count sixteen little diamonds, am I a part of the problem? I wish there was some sort of ethical standard that had to be marked on products, the equivalent of the surgeon generals warning so we would know, our purchase led this cow to suffer for years in a confined area, or that our purchase was part of an 8 year old girl working for 12 hours, etc. Someone I know was hired to insullate a veal farm and the baby cows were crying, he could not work on the inside of it, seeing all of their suffering. We buy meat every day and don't think of this. These animals are crying and scared, essentially many of them are tortured. We don't know how all of the little things we do can hurt others, our actions seem innocent but if the western world did not need diamonds would these women have suffered in the same way? I don't really know the answer; obviously there were problems in the country anyway.

I think this article shows how empowering sewing can be. These women are coming out of years of forced imprisonment and torture, but they can learn to sew and therefore get their lives back. They can gain independence. The Austrian judge that founded this program is a hero.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bush-wives1-2009sep01,0,1598357.story