Nothing but Red isn't a romance.
Sometime in April of 2007 (some say the 7th), a mob pulled Du'a Khalil Aswad into their midst. Supposedly she had been fraternizing with a man not of her faith. They brutally stoned and beat her to death in an honor killing. She was 17 years old. Some recorded Aswad on their cell phones and the horrific images were later posted to the internet.
Joss Whedon of Buffy and Serenity fame penned a blog entry about the incident and about misogyny in all cultures. A few authors got together and decided to create an anthology to raise awareness about the issues Joss Whedon spoke of in his essay and also about Aswad's murder. The anthology contains artwork, essays, poetry, and stories by a multitude of authors.
Nothing but Red is now available. All profits will go to Equality Now. To read more about Nothing but Red, including a list of contributors, go here.
A quote from Whedon's essay: "Because it's no longer enough to be a decent person. It's no longer enough to shake our heads and make concerned grimaces at the news. True enlightened activism is the only thing that can save humanity from itself. I've always had a bent towards apocalyptic fiction, and I'm beginning to understand why. I look and I see the earth in flames. Her face was nothing but red."
Everytime I write about this anthology, I start crying. For Aswad. For countless other women who we don't even know their stories.
Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
4 comments:
There are many more stories of other women and girls like Du'a Khalil at www.stophonourkillings.com.
Thank you for blogging about this. I am one of the contributors to the anthology. You can find my submission either at Joanne's site or here:
http://www.redroom.com/blog/ellen-r-sheeley/the-dishonor-killing-dua-khalil-aswad
Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
"Reclaiming Honor in Jordan"
Joanne, I bookmarked your site. I just don't have the words for how many this practice affects. Thanks for posting it.
Ellen, it's definitely a cause I can get behind. I'm promoting Nothing but Red anywhere I can. I hope it sells a mint and raises people's awareness.
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