Preloading

How Lipstick Became a Weapon in the Bosnian War

Season 6 Episode 625
Aired on 11/22/2015 | CC tv-14
Humanitarian activist Zainab Salbi found her calling fighting for women's rights when she was just 23 years old. It was the early 1990s, during the conflict between Bosnia and Croatia, when Zainab heard about the massive number of rapes in the region. She and her husband took their honeymoon money and visited the war-torn area, going from door-to-door asking women how they could help.

Some of the women, Zainab says, wanted her to bring them lipstick rather than more practical items. When the women told her why they wanted lipstick, it all made perfect sense. In the video above, Zainab explains how simply wearing the beauty product became a stand against oppression.