Being "my sister's keeper"

It's tough, sometimes. I have a reflexive tendency to avoid even looking at news stories of the "Isn't that awful?" variety. And if I do look, I often resist posting the link. I mean, we all know (at some level of our consciousness) that awful things are happening all over the world. But we can't fix *everything*, right? And it just seems wrong to post something that is going to make everyone feel bad, if I can't also add, "And here's what we can do about it."

Anyway, I'm purposely resisting that tendency today. This article is hard to read, but I felt I had to share it. Don't know what to do, beyond sharing it, but hopefully it can spur some discussion. Maybe there are some do-able action items out there as well--I just don't know what they are at the moment.

Afghan women commit suicide by fire

Desperate to escape domestic violence, forced marriage and hardship, scores of women across Afghanistan each year are committing suicide by fire. While some gains have been made since the fall of the Taliban five years ago, life remains bleak for many Afghan women in the conservative and violence-plagued country, and suicide is a common escape.

You can read the rest of the article here. The article mentions a UK-based group called Womankind. Are there any similar U.S.-based groups out there?

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