“There’s beauty in everything and everyone, and that shouldn’t be decided by the media or anyone,” Dayna Altman — a 24-year-old eating disorder survivor, graduate student, and mental health activist from the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) — told me in a recent interview.
Earlier this month, Amnesty released a report detailing allegations of government-sanctioned abuses in the two buildings of Saydnaya military prison outside of Damascus, between 2011 and 2015. The findings show a systematic policy of mass executions, torture and deprivation of food, water, medicine and medical care, which could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
I came out to my family at 25 years old. It was 2014, and while the country had made great progress in acceptance in terms of recognizing civil unions, putting more LGBTQ figures on television, and passing pro-gay laws, coming out was still a weighty experience.
By now, you have probably seen the infamous clip of Trump and Melania on Inauguration Day. To recap for those who haven’t, the footage shows Trump turning to Melania, who is courtly, beaming. As soon as Trump turns his back, her smile turns swiftly into what can only be described as a grave scowl.
A new initiative is providing an innovative model for women to invest in and support change-making women-owned businesses.
I dressed up as Donald Trump for Halloween in 2015. My costume was inspired by my disbelief that a “sexy Donald Trump” costume was being sold on the Internet. Instead of supporting the company that had (seemingly earnestly) created that costume, I decided to parody the idea by making my own.
“No hate! No fear! Refugees are welcome here!” Shouts are rising into the night sky in Brooklyn as I write this. I just left the Brooklyn federal courthouse, where hundreds of people are chanting that and more, some slogans more angry and profane than others.
In September 2016, when I arrived at a gloomy, two-star Econo Lodge hotel in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Daey*—which means “mother” in Kurdish—was sleeping.