Never doubt the transformative power of sex—or lack thereof. Local authorities today agreed to appease the women of the Colombian town of Barbacoas, who in an effort to get a road to their town paved have spent the past 38 days swearing off sex in a so-called "strike of crossed legs," according to Colombia Reports. Construction of the road will begin on Oct. 11—and the women will keep their legs crossed until then, they say. "The Barbacoan community is aware that there have always been many promises made here that have never been kept."
The road is a more serious issue than it might at first sound; without it, getting to the nearest hospital took 12 to 14 hours. "Why bring children into this world when they can just die without medical attention?" one of the strike leaders explained. Some of the town’s men joined the protest by hunger striking. Euclides Montes of the Guardian draws a parallel with the SlutWalk movement, saying we're witnessing a new kind of feminist action “in which sexuality is being used as an empowering tool.” (More SlutWalk stories.)