Not too long ago I posted a relatively amusing little news story about a group of Colombian women on a sex strike in a small village.
Much like the play of Lysistrata, wherein the protagonist ended a war by convincing the women of Ancient Greece to deprive their lovers of sex, in Barbacoas, near the Pacific Coast of our beloved Colombia, hundreds of women went on a sex strike. The aim of the strike, far from merely ending a war, was to encourage the men of the village to lobby the local council into fixing a road that connects Barbaboas to the rest of the country.
Before the strike, a journey of just 30 miles could take over 10 hours for residents, making communications hard. Difficulties were compounded by El Niño, the infamous rain season that has swept much of Colombia and left the already-precarious dirt-track as something more closely resembling a swamp.
At the time, I write: “On the one hand, I wonder if it works; on the other, I hope I never have to find out.”
Well, my questions have been answered (and I didn’t have to find out the hard way): it does work. The women of Barbacoas have been successful in their protest and work has already begun building a 35 mile road connecting to the department’s capital, Pasto.
Credit to them, maybe these Occupy Protests could get in touch with our leader’s partners and see what they can do?
Paul
