‘I\u2019m tired of complaining that the situation is dire; I like the feeling of being part of the push for change, too.’<\/p>\n
\u2018There are a lot of things about us women that sadden me, considering how men see us as rascals,\u201d sighs Lysistrata, at the beginning of the play that bears her name.<\/p>\n
Jesus would not be born for another four centuries, Athens was battling Sparta, and the golden age of Greece was about to come crumbling down. Women were fed up; their men had been fighting the Peloponnesian War for far too long. Lysistrata was one strong Greek mama, and enough dying is enough. She co-opted a Spartan lady as a partner for peace, and together they spread the word: No more sex for any soldiers till they lay down their arms and lie back in the loving arms of their women.<\/p>\n
The play, written by Aristophanes in the fifth century BCE, takes a sly look at gender relations and power, as well as unpicking the age-old question of what women really want. Peace, it seems, is way at the top of the list. And if crying and pleading with their men won\u2019t stop the war, a sex embargo might just do the trick. (It does. Desperately frustrated fighters race through peace talks and sign a deal.)<\/p>\n
Women in Israel and the West Bank have not, so far, issued a no-action decree until all military action is suspended, but many, many of them have had enough of war……<\/p>\n