^ Sajida Bibi tells her story.From Victim To Heroine | The New York Times (video, 5:26)
From rape to slavery to honor killings, extreme oppression can be the norm for Pakistani women. But, Times Op-Ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof reports from Pakistan that one courageous woman has built an oasis of hope in her village.
Chances are some of you reading this blog post are female, American, and enjoying the freedoms of being a woman in a democratic first world country in the 21st century while still advocating for even more rights, from preserving Roe v. Wade to a law for equal pay. You can easily and effortlessly bare your face and head in public, wear pants or leg exposing skirt and heels, go on dates, even fall in love and couple with someone without necessarily marrying them first. You know, all the things we take for granted. You embrace personal responsibility for your own decisions, you're respected and admired for your accomplishments, and you breeze through life on your own terms.
But in a country like Pakistan, staggeringly huge amounts of money are being invested by the government in nuclear arms (with some help from the U.S., not surprisingly). In fact we Americans continue to give our tax money to the Pakistan government, who in turn continue to funnel it into their military. And yet little effort is spent on building their human infrastructure - education, schools in remote villages, domestic industries and jobs, and human rights assessment and legislation, especially for women.
In Pakistan if you even dated a man without the approval of your family, you could easily be scorned by them. And your own family could, by tradition, allow you to be gang raped, or even murder you for it. Your own family. Your own brothers and father would be more than willing to sell you off as a slave, if not kill you instead. This is happening today, right now, as it has happened again and again for hundreds of years. Be glad you don't live there as a woman.
Sajida Bibi is a beautiful young woman who is simply trying to live her life. In The New York Times video above she tells her story. Because she had "shamed" them, her own brothers couldn't even decide whether to kill her or sell her off into slavery. There are many other women like her, surviving and eventually getting on while still existing in the shadow of a vicious and cruel patriarchal society and culture. But there are also other women who aren't as strong and must live in mortal fear, they continue to be subjugated to a tradition that treats women as the property of men.
And isn't it hard for you to enjoy your life and your accomplishments when you live under the threat of abuse, torture, and even death for simply trying to be you?
But in a country like Pakistan, staggeringly huge amounts of money are being invested by the government in nuclear arms (with some help from the U.S., not surprisingly). In fact we Americans continue to give our tax money to the Pakistan government, who in turn continue to funnel it into their military. And yet little effort is spent on building their human infrastructure - education, schools in remote villages, domestic industries and jobs, and human rights assessment and legislation, especially for women.
In Pakistan if you even dated a man without the approval of your family, you could easily be scorned by them. And your own family could, by tradition, allow you to be gang raped, or even murder you for it. Your own family. Your own brothers and father would be more than willing to sell you off as a slave, if not kill you instead. This is happening today, right now, as it has happened again and again for hundreds of years. Be glad you don't live there as a woman.
^ This is what could easily happen to you as a woman if you simply wanted to marry for love in Pakistan. ABC News, September 2008. I had tears in my eyes watching this story.
Sajida Bibi is a beautiful young woman who is simply trying to live her life. In The New York Times video above she tells her story. Because she had "shamed" them, her own brothers couldn't even decide whether to kill her or sell her off into slavery. There are many other women like her, surviving and eventually getting on while still existing in the shadow of a vicious and cruel patriarchal society and culture. But there are also other women who aren't as strong and must live in mortal fear, they continue to be subjugated to a tradition that treats women as the property of men.
And isn't it hard for you to enjoy your life and your accomplishments when you live under the threat of abuse, torture, and even death for simply trying to be you?
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1 comment:
Very interesting! Of course here in the states we have our own risks of being ourselves... The problem of families selling their children into slavery is a pressing one and not limited to mideast countries. David Bastone has done some great work around this
www.freetheslaves.net
Thx for sharing!
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