Women from a Filipino sewing cooperative ended armed clashes in neighboring villages by withholding marital relations from their husbands, reports the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees. The success of the “sex strike” allowed trade roads to re-open, letting families continue rebuilding their communities.
The Filipino women’s success mirrors that of Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian mother helped end her nation’s 14-year long civil war. Sick of the suffering caused by the prolonged fighting, Gbowee united her fellow females and encouraged them to withhold sex until the fighting stopped. Eventually, Gbowee’s efforts played a major role in the signing of a comprehensive peace treaty, ushering in a lasting peace to their land.
Don’t trivialize the importance of empowered women collectively closing their legs. Anything that brings an end to violence is a great thing, even if it takes one blue ball at a time.
