The Rev. Imogene Stulken, left, and Meg Bond of the Center for Women & Work, right, flank feminist Dr. Cynthia Enloe after her presentation.

Dr. Cynthia Enloe – a leading scholar in the examination of the role of gender in militarization – delivered the keynote speech to attendees of the 10th annual Center for Women and Work’s Gathering at the Well, presented as a signature inauguration event. 

Enloe’s speech and lively question-and-answer session encouraged participants to “push into new intellectual territory” when thinking about what security means.  “It isn’t obvious to many people the role gender plays especially in war time,” she said, chiding what she termed the U.S.'s lack of curiosity about how war would affect Iraqi women.  

Enloe discussed the heavy toll that U.S. economic sanctions placed on Iraqi women, because the first positions to be cut during downturns are those held by women.  “Economic sanctions just make smugglers rich,” she said.  

In a moving discussion about the status of young women in Iraq, Enloe lamented the backslide of education, due to Iraqis’ fear of sending girls and women outside the home. “When young girls are assaulted and report the crime to police, they’re told crimes against women are not top priority.” 

She described the rise in domestic abuse in Iraq and other war sites – claiming the kinds of insecurities men feel during war leads them to “want to exert more control at home.” 

Enloe’s parting challenge, “It’s not enough to be well-meaning, it’s not enough to care.  You have to have curiosity and a long attention span if you want to learn anything about people.”

The Gathering at the Well event was co-sponsored by the Council on Diversity and Pluralism, the Department of Psychology, and the Protestant Campus Ministry.

Visit UML's photo gallery to view an array of photos from the event.