[postlink]https://beenaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2010/02/honor-killings-21st-century-femicaust.html[/postlink]endofvid
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Logged onto the internet for a few minutes today and read an article in the Guardian UK about a 16-year old girl in Turkey that was buried alive by her family in an “honor killing”. Her crime?...talking to boys. Read here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/04/girl-buried-alive-turkey. Apparently, honor killings account for more than half of Turkey’s murders each year. This article literally paralyzed me for much of the afternoon. I kept trying to imagine how much fear & pain she must have felt, not only after realizing her fate but also that it was being carried out by her family, the very people that are supposed to protect her. It’s very hard to even try to fathom how horrible it must be to be buried alive. The article prompted a string of emotions-- sadness, guilt, and finally anger. The guilt stemmed from knowing that I could have easily been her, had I been born in Turkey to a family like hers. There is so much suffering in this world and for some reason I’m continually guarded from them. Don’t get me wrong, I thank God for blessing me with the family, life, and opportunities that I’ve been born into however, I sometimes question why me? Who am I am to have these experiences, opportunities, and freedoms when so many people, women, in the world are denied them. On a larger scale, it made me very angry about how women and girls are devalued and mistreated all over the world. The fact that a father, mother, relative, person can conceivably kill a young girl in such a gruesomely slow and cruel way is hard to stomach. We don’t even subject animals to such torturous death.
I also thought back to the documentary I watched on bride burnings in India a couple nights ago on the ship's tv network.The more I read and hear about the torture, burning, stoning, and overall dehumanization of women, the more outraged I get. The double standards sicken me. I’m sure that the boys that she was allegedly caught talking to will bear no such consequence. I doubt that they will even get reprimanded. It’s scary that we live in a world where young boys are taught that by merely being born a male, they have inherited the right to unfairly mistreat, punish, and subjugate women. A world where little girls are raised to believe they hold little value, and that the little value they do hold is not their own, but rather stored in their ability to act as their father’s or husband’s property. The fact that this girl’s mother did nothing or could do nothing to stop this illustrates just how painfully helpless women are in certain societies. It’s hard to imagine a mother not doing anything to stop her child from being buried alive. This article reminds me of an article I read somewhere (or a piece I watched on Oprah?) about the global warming of women. Every second thousands of women are killed at the hands of men. There is a lot of concern about sustainability and protecting Mother Earth. I agree that this is important. However, at the same token, we need to put more energy into sustaining our Earthly Mothers by combating their mistreatment and murder. It’s seriously at genocidal proportions—a 21st century Femicaust. I’m going off into a rant and I’m not really sure how to end this, but something seriously needs to be done. The treatment and empowerment of women is an issue that I think I want to dedicate my life’s work to.
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[starttext]
Logged onto the internet for a few minutes today and read an article in the Guardian UK about a 16-year old girl in Turkey that was buried alive by her family in an “honor killing”. Her crime?...talking to boys. Read here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/04/girl-buried-alive-turkey. Apparently, honor killings account for more than half of Turkey’s murders each year. This article literally paralyzed me for much of the afternoon. I kept trying to imagine how much fear & pain she must have felt, not only after realizing her fate but also that it was being carried out by her family, the very people that are supposed to protect her. It’s very hard to even try to fathom how horrible it must be to be buried alive. The article prompted a string of emotions-- sadness, guilt, and finally anger. The guilt stemmed from knowing that I could have easily been her, had I been born in Turkey to a family like hers. There is so much suffering in this world and for some reason I’m continually guarded from them. Don’t get me wrong, I thank God for blessing me with the family, life, and opportunities that I’ve been born into however, I sometimes question why me? Who am I am to have these experiences, opportunities, and freedoms when so many people, women, in the world are denied them. On a larger scale, it made me very angry about how women and girls are devalued and mistreated all over the world. The fact that a father, mother, relative, person can conceivably kill a young girl in such a gruesomely slow and cruel way is hard to stomach. We don’t even subject animals to such torturous death.
I also thought back to the documentary I watched on bride burnings in India a couple nights ago on the ship's tv network.The more I read and hear about the torture, burning, stoning, and overall dehumanization of women, the more outraged I get. The double standards sicken me. I’m sure that the boys that she was allegedly caught talking to will bear no such consequence. I doubt that they will even get reprimanded. It’s scary that we live in a world where young boys are taught that by merely being born a male, they have inherited the right to unfairly mistreat, punish, and subjugate women. A world where little girls are raised to believe they hold little value, and that the little value they do hold is not their own, but rather stored in their ability to act as their father’s or husband’s property. The fact that this girl’s mother did nothing or could do nothing to stop this illustrates just how painfully helpless women are in certain societies. It’s hard to imagine a mother not doing anything to stop her child from being buried alive. This article reminds me of an article I read somewhere (or a piece I watched on Oprah?) about the global warming of women. Every second thousands of women are killed at the hands of men. There is a lot of concern about sustainability and protecting Mother Earth. I agree that this is important. However, at the same token, we need to put more energy into sustaining our Earthly Mothers by combating their mistreatment and murder. It’s seriously at genocidal proportions—a 21st century Femicaust. I’m going off into a rant and I’m not really sure how to end this, but something seriously needs to be done. The treatment and empowerment of women is an issue that I think I want to dedicate my life’s work to.
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