Editor’s Note
Hello there, friends.
What an honor it is to publish this collection of both written and visual work, all showcasing the strength, power, and fire of what it is to witness a world full of path-forging Women and Mothers.
Originally, my plan was for this to be a “mini” issue. I was blown away by the volume of submissions we received, but I was also taken aback by the wide variety of perspectives, tones, and quite the array of feelings. Reading these submissions made me realize that I didn’t want this issue to only portray the soft, warm, gentle side of Motherhood and Womanhood, but to also encompass the challenging, bitter, fierce, and devastating sides. This issue is for all women and mothers – including cis and trans Women and Mothers, those who want to be Mothers, Mothers who have lost children, those who have lost their own Mothers, those who have difficult relationships with their Mothers, the list goes on and on. As Women and Mothers, we constantly encounter unrelenting expectations and standards, placed on us by a society that simply does not value or acknowledge the invisible load we carry, and all that we do for ourselves, our families, and the world in which we live. All this to say – this issue certainly did not end up being “mini” by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it is perhaps our biggest issue to-date, and it is chock-full of varied lenses, giving an array of different views of the immense strength women and mothers carry within.
It is not lost on me that in celebrating women and mothers, we must also acknowledge the strength of Palestinian women and mothers, of Sudanese women and mothers, of Haitian women and mothers, of Congolese women and mothers, of all women and mothers who are fighting for their lives and the lives of their children. Of all women and mothers who do not get the opportunity to tuck their babies in each night under quiet, peaceful skies. Of all women and mothers who have been forced to witness the near-constant terror behind their children’s eyes. Of all women and mothers who cannot promise safety to their sons and daughters, and who lie awake each night begging a higher power to give them just one more day with their children. My heart bleeds for these women and these mothers. I think of them every second of every fucking day. If you are willing to and financially able to do so, I’ve included links below for organizations that are working to help these women, mothers, and children both here and abroad. Please consider helping, and if you are unable to do so, please share these links with those around you and on your socials, and please, do it loudly.
With love,
Ophelia M.
LINKS TO HELP WOMEN, MOTHERS, AND CHILDREN IN PALESTINE AND ABROAD:
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
Women for Women International – Palestine Crisis Response
United Nations Population Fund (helps pregnant women & newborns in Gaza)
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders)
Save the Children
Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)
The Malala Fund
Women Deliver
Mayday Health (supports women living in areas with strict reproductive rights laws)
wildscape. literary journal 