I’ve been reading King Leopold’s Ghost, by Adam Hochschild, which tells the utterly brutal colonial history of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Early on in the book, the author laments the lack of African voices on record that tell the history of the country. Instead it is a history told by the conquerors, as all history generally is. There is no shortage of evidence, however, that the Europeans who colonized the area inflicted terrors on black men and women that are stomach-sickening.

There is a movement in India that is seeking to secure 33 percent of seats for women in elected bodies. And while the "intellectuals" are racking up op-eds and the celebrities are lavishing their endorsements for the Women's Reservation Bill, I have some serious reservations of my own.