Kiri Westby

With the Academy Awards this weekend, the media is buzzing about Glenn Close's new film Albert Nobbs. Ms. Close and supporting actress Janet McTeer have both been nominated for their portrayal of women passing as men in 19th-century Ireland. Watching the trailer left me thinking about the lives...

"We used to have a government that was almost secular. It had one dictator. Now we have almost 60 dictators -- Islamists who think of women as forces of evil. This is what is called the 'democratization of Iraq '"

- Iraqi Activist Yanar Mohammed

When I heard the...

I have no idea how to do this.

I realize this truth at some point every day. When it hits me, I get roller-coaster belly and jelly knees, as the ground I thought I was standing on is suddenly gone. All that I had so proudly figured out yesterday no...

Last week I watched ABC's new show, "The Secret Millionaire," which places millionaires in low-income communities, strips them of all their worldly possessions and asks them to covertly find worthy organizations with which to volunteer and eventually to make a sizable donation to. I cried.

I cried not...

This week I nearly lost a family member, albeit a four-legged one. And in the midst of dealing with urgent-care doctors, IVs and exorbitant bills, I shed a lot of tears and thought a lot about the end of life ... how quickly it arises and how little control we...

In honor of Sleep Challenge 2010 (thank you Arianna and Cindi!), I offer a personal perspective on the challenges of being pregnant and sleeping well...

I've always been a sleeper.

Even as a child I could sleep anywhere and recall falling asleep at a rowdy Denver Nuggets...

It's not easy to ignore Christmas.

Whether you like it or not, Christmas is everywhere. Propagated by the mass media and often conjuring up such a frenzy of need and expectation that many people end up disappointed and stressed-out. I often wonder how many people still feel like Christmas is...

As I write, I am crammed into a middle seat in economy class, headed across the country. Two flights and a six-hour drive later, we will finally reach our destination...Thanksgiving dinner with the in-laws.

Yup, its that time of year again. This week millions of Americans will take to...

This week I found myself asking a simple, yet extremely complex, question: What causes someone to pick up a gun and shoot innocent people?

The situation of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is complicated for me.

First of all, his family is originally Palestinian. My experience working in human...

There is not a lot of inspiring news coming out of Tibet these days.

The New York Times' recent exposé on the detention and torture of Tibetan filmaker, Dhondup Wangchen (if you haven't seen his "Leaving Fear Behind" click here), left me feeling outraged, as...

Last Friday I went to hear a keynote address from Iran's only Nobel Peace Laureate, Dr. Shirin Ebadi. I was blown away.

Dr. Ebadi is a human rights lawyer who used the 2003 Nobel Prize money to start the recently shut down Defenders of Human Rights...

There is a lot of talk about Iran these days.

From the highly criticized, and widely protested, re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this past June, to international condemnation about the country's "nuclear proliferation activities" (which Iranian authorities repeatedly deny), Iran is at the center of the debate on...

It's no secret that yoga has become a commodity. But this week at the Yoga Journal Conference I found something unexpected...yogis giving back.

What was once an ancient Hindu practice aimed at bringing about mental clarity and overall well-being, has today become a popular form of exercise accompanied by...

When I was in kindergarten my teacher used to ring a bell, upon which we were trained to do three things...Stop, Look and Listen.

Of course then the point was to stop playing, pay attention and listen to pending instructions from the leader of our small universe about what...

"Kasto Moto Chha!" Look how fat you are! Exclaimed my host mother during a visit to my adopted home in Nepal.

"Life has been good to you daughter! How happy I am." She beamed with pride.

When in Nepal, my initial reaction to this greeting is always discomfort, as...

Lately I have been cleaning public restrooms.

Having spent a lot of time in Asia, where the toilet-going experiences are ripe and raw, I have begun to investigate my relationship with toilets here in the US.

Recently, a woman in front of me in the bathroom line at the movies...