Luncheon honors women

Fauziya Kassindja came to the United States from halfway around the world seeking asylum from gender-based oppression. When she arrived, she was imprisoned. \nUpon coming to the United States, she spent more than 17 months in prison before being granted asylum on appeal. This case set a national precedent for women wishing to receive asylum from gender-based persecution. \nHer former attorney told Kassindja's story and others to a roomful of people Thursday. It was part of an effort to honor women and defend women's rights worldwide, part of the purpose of International Women's Day.\nIn Bloomington, this year's celebration had myriad faces, women and men of multiple races, ages and religions in the Monroe County Convention Center, 302 S. College Ave. Local and national speakers discussed activism, equality and the rights and plights of women in the United States and abroad. More than 300 people attended. \nAfter Junior Girl Scout troops 631 and 147 performed as the color guard, Jillian Kinzie, from the Commission on the Status of Women, gave the introduction. \n"While local bookstores might feature displays of Women's History Month books in honor of this event, the observance remains relatively uncommercialized," Kinzie said. "Certainly this commemoration focuses attention on the role women play in history, as well as how women have struggled to preserve this history."\nKinzie said the first International Women's Day in the United States was held Feb. 23, 1909 by a female German socialist. After a brief disappearance of the event because of its connection with communism, International Women's Day resurfaced with full force March 8, 1968.\nAfter reading the Woman's History Month proclamation and the presentation of a local women's history month project, it was time to hear from the woman of the year.\nCarolyn VandeWiele introduced Elizabeth Margaret Lion, associate professor emeritus of nursing, to a standing ovation. \nLion spoke of her work, gratitude and the inspiration of her family and friends. \nMary Ann Cannon, a first-time luncheon attendee and Bloomington resident, said she found Lion's speech charming and inspiring. Invited by a friend, Cannon said she plans to attend luncheons in the future.\nKeynote speaker Layli Miller told her story next. A former attorney, co-author of "Do They Hear You When You Cry?" and founder of the Tahirih Justice Center, Miller spoke of her fight and the need for gender equality. \nThe Tahirih Justice Center provides free legal representation to women who face human rights abuses, as it did for Kassindja. Kassindja fled Togo at age 17 to escape a forced polygamous marriage and female genital mutilation. \nFemale genital mutilation, a tribal ritual practiced in about 30 Mideastern and African nations, can involve cuts around the clitoris, the removal of the clitoris and the removal of part of the labia minora or all the labias, in which case the wound is stitched shut. Often performed by tribal women in unsterile surroundings, female genital mutilation is done by knife, razor blade or broken pieces of glass. \nDrawing from her Baha'i faith, Miller said the equality of men and women should be seen as a bird. Each gender represents a separate wing, and the bird cannot fly straight until the wings are of equal strength. Miller said she feels the world is now in its adolescence, and a prerequisite to adulthood is the equality of men and women.\n"She (Miller) is very intelligent and knowledgeable about some of the experiences women are undergoing," said Craig Brenner, Community of Family and Resources special projects coordinator. Brenner helped organize the event.\nNew to the luncheon this year, women's organizations and female-owned businesses were invited to set up information tables on the outskirts of the Convention Center Great Room. Including the Local Council of Women, Pampered Chef and the American Business Women's Association, the exhibits will also be featured at future luncheons. \nThe 16th annual event was sponsored by the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women, the League of Women Voters, Network of Career Women, Office for Women's Affairs at IU, Bloomington Human Rights Commission and the local Baha'i community.\nLayli Miller will be signing copies of "Do They Hear You When You Cry?" 9 p.m. today at Border's Books and Music, 2634 E. Third St. She will be featured on WFHB, 93.1 and 98.1 FM, at 5:30 p.m. March 12.