The U.S.-based Center for Investigative Reporting recently published The Price of Sex, a vast multi-media project by photojournalist Mimi Chakarova, who spent nearly seven years doggedly gathering the stories of female victims of sex trafficking.

Jenea (right) is one of the young women Chakarova interviewed. She's from a small village in southern Moldova, and was sold into prostitution by a neighbour who had promised to help her get a job in Moscow.

At 18, Jenea found herself locked in a hotel room in Turkey, forced to sleep with as many as 50 men on some days. She escaped after one year.

Chakarova has charted hundreds of journeys across countries in Europe and to others in the Middle East, where the sex trade is booming, seemingly condoned by authorities in some places.

Her work sensitively presents the tragic stories of women from countries such as Moldova or the Ukraine who are sold into brutal sexual slavery, often by neighbours or acquaintances. The few women who manage to escape find themselves facing not only serious health issues or psychological trauma, but also the social stigma associated with having worked as sex workers.

Click here to read the full story by:
Claudia  Ciobanu

Related links:
The Price of Sex: Women Speak

Tonight, as she has every night since Iran's disputed election, Leyla will walk up to the rooftop of her apartment building in Tehran and join the collective shouts of "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").

Her protest is not confined to the roof of her building. Leyla, who has never been politically active before, has attended all the Tehran street rallies to protest against the alleged fraudulent results of the presidential election which saw Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad returned to power.

"I have gone every day and I have cried every day," she says.

The protests initially saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets demanding a recount. But as the violence has escalated and with the security forces very visibly present in main squares and crossroads, the protests have shrunk - some rallies this week numbered in the hundreds, say witnesses.

"Of course I'm scared of being injured or killed," she says. "When I water my plants these days I cannot help crying because I feel how much I love to live. But I'm also fed up with this feeling of fear that has penetrated my soul for three decades under this regime."

Make your life count in one small way today. Help stop the crackdown in Iran. Click the link. Sign the petition. You can make a difference right now.

Heal The World

There's a place in your heart, and I know that it is love
And this place could be much brighter than tomorrow
And if you really try, you'll find there's no need to cry
In this place you'll feel there's no hurt or sorrow

There are ways to get there
If you care enough for the living
Make a little space make a better place...

Heal the world, make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place, for you and for me

If you want to know why
There's a love that cannot lie
Love is strong
It only cares for joyful giving
If we try we shall see in this bliss
We cannot feel fear or dread
We stop existing and start living

Then it feels that always love's enough for us growing
So make a better world
Make a better world...

Neda's Last Moments Inspire Doctor Who Tried To Save Her

Susan notes: this video speaks for itself. This man happened to be passing by when a young woman was shot in the street in Tehran. He also happened to be a friend of world-famous author (and one of my favourite writers) Paulo Coelho, who by chance saw a video of Neda's death and recognised his friend. Now the doctor tells the story of her last moments, even though in the telling, he puts his own life in jeopardy.

Everything happens for a reason. Thank you for speaking out. In solidarity with all Iranians and victims of violence everywhere. Never give up hope for freedom and peace. We are all connected. Wherever you make your voice heard, please try to do it peacefully.



Related links:
What Kind of World is This?
Amnesty International

Ebadi Ready To Fight For Neda

Ebadi said that Iran's constitution allows people to protest peacefully without permission [EPA]

Shirin Ebadi, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel peace prize winner, has told Al Jazeera that she is prepared to represent the family of a young woman shot dead during a protest in Tehran. 

The woman, named as Neda Agha Soltan on social-networking websites, has become a symbol for people protesting against the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president.

Ebadi told Al Jazeera on Wednesday: "I am personally prepared to legally represent her family against the people who ordered the shooting and those who fired at her."

"This act was against the law.