Women1 in a civil rights2 group in Togo called a weeklong3 sex strike4 in August to try to force the president of the West African nation to resign5. Members of “Let’s Save6 Togo” planned to withhold7 sex from their husbands8 to pressure the men to take action against9 President Faure Gnassingbe.
The opposition says his family has ruled10 Togo for too long11. He became12 president in 2005, shortly after13 the death14 of his father — who had held power15 for 38 years. Withholding16 sex for political goals17 has a long history. The idea appears in the theater of ancient Greece18.
In the play “Lysistrata,” the women of Athens decide to deny19 their husbands sex until20 the men end the Peloponnesian War. But do sex strikes work21? Pepper Schwartz is a sociology professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. She says the idea is good for making news headlines22, but it takes a lot of work23.
She says the sex strike is a good way24 to make a point for a few days25. But she says that it probably will not work over a long period of time26. She also27 notes28 that: “if you do stick to29 it too long, you might lose30 that other person’s willingness31 to support32 your issue33.”
But pro-democracy activists in Togo say a sex strike during34 the civil war in Liberia gave 35 them cause for hope36. In 2003, Liberia had been through37 14 years of war. Leaders of the group Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace38 organized a series of nonviolent actions39.
They included a sex strike. The actions earned40 the group’s leader a share41 of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize42. Leymah Gbowee shared43 the prize with two other women, including44 Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
She became Africa’s first democratically-elected female45 president in 2006. The third winner46 was Tawakkul Karman, a women’s rights activist in Yemen. Yaliwe Clarke teaches47 gender48 studies at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
She says that the women in Togo can inspire other women in Africa just like49 the Mass Action for Peace in Liberia did. But sociology professor Pepper Schwartz says women need to hold real power in order for50 something like a sex strike to work. “They only work in proportion to the amount of power51 women have in a society,”
she says. “In other words52, you have to have a certain amount of power already53 to tell your husband no.” She says this depends on54 having a society where men respect the opinions and wishes55 of women. For VOA Learning English, I’m Laurel Bowman. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 05Sep2012)
VOCABULARY
1. Women = mulheres 2. civil rights = direitos civis 3. weeklong = De uma semana de duração 4. Sex strike =greve de sexo 5. resign = renunciar 6. Let’s save = vamos salvar 7. withhold = conter 8. husbands = maridos 9. take action against = toma uma attitude contra 10. has ruled = tem governado 11. too long = tempo demais 12. became = tornou-se 13. shortly after = logo após 14. death = morte 15. had held power = tinha mantido o poder 16. Withholding = contenção 17. Goals = objetivos 18. ancient Greece = antiga Grécia 19. deny = negar 20. until = até que 21. work = funcionam 22. news headlines =manchetes de noticiarios 23. takes a lot of work = dá muito trabalho 24. way = forma 25. for a few days = por alguns dias 26. over a long period of time = durante um longo periodo de tempo 27. also = também 28. notes = observa 29. stick to = apegar-se a, persistir em 30. might lose = pode perder 31. willingness = disposição 32. support = apoio 33. issue = questão 34. during = durante 35. gave = deu 36. hope = esperança 37. had been through = tinha passado por 38. Peace = paz 39. nonviolent actions = ações não violentas 40. earned = ganhou, conquistou 41. share = fatia, cota 42. Prize = prêmio 43. Shared = dividiu, compartilhou 44. Including = incluindo, inclusive 45. Female = feminina 46. Winner = vencedor(a) 47. Teaches = ensina 48. Gender = sexo 49. just like = assim como 50. in order for = a fim de que 51. amount of power = quantia de poder 52. In other words = em outras palavras 53. Already = já 54. depends on = depende de 55. wishes = desejos