The Nature of Things

Aristophanes wrote his play, Lysistrata, about a Greek woman who was so disgusted by the Peloponnesian War that she persuaded her fellow Greek women that they should withhold sexual relations from the men of Greece until they agreed to negotiate a peace. It was a comedy . It's not clear whether the men of Togo are laughing these days as women in that country have determined to use the Lysistrata strategy to try to effect political change t here. They are trying to force the president of the country to resign.  Moreover, their action is being supported by an opposition coalition of political parties, civic groups and movements in the west African nation. The family of  President Faure Gnassingbe has held power in the country for decades and a discontented populace believes it is time for him to go.  The Togolese women were inspired by a similar strike by Liberian women in 2003, who used it to campaign for peace in their war-torn country. Of course, the Lysistrata Stratag...