Tag: Women

Women Respect Yourselves

 

We talk about women rights and we say that men should show more respect to women.  However it is apparent that some women have no respect for themselves.  Some feel there is nothing wrong with stripping or selling their bodies.  They feel it is okay to do these things to make a living.  Of course this type of behavior is nothing new; the difference is that in times past women engaged in these activities would keep it a secret from their friends and family.  Now it is as if it is something to brag about.

The thing is that society is accepting and rewarding this kind of behavior and therefore women feel it is not something to be ashamed of anymore.  Porn stars are becoming celebrities so what’s the big deal?  But does this make it okay?  Maybe given all the publicity young girls now think it is okay.  There is s case of a young woman who came to this country to attend college.  She started college but have dropped out and now she is working as a stripper.  She keep posting about her newly found profession on face book.  It is as if she has gotten a degree and she wants the world to know about it.

Recently there was a video by Justin Timberlake on YouTube.  In this video called ‘Tunnel Vision’ there were girls performing in the nude.  They were naked while he remained fully clothed throughout the video.  The video was banned briefly from YouTube but is now back on it. I see no reason for nudity is this video but as long as women put themselves out there as commodities which can be bought these kind of things will continue to happen.

Women if you want to get respect it has to begin with you respecting yourselves.  Stop allowing men to use you in this kind of degrading manner because of the end of the day they will consider you cheap and they will have no respect for you.  You have the power to say I will take part in your video but I will not degrade myself and I will not strip. In Times Square on the fourth of July two women were seen in wearing nothing but body paint.  Was this really necessary?  There is a time and a place for everything.  Women if you want men to respect you start respecting yourselves!  You are not commodities; therefore do not give men the impression that you can be bought!

 

 

Stop Abuse of Women

Abuse of women is a form of human rights violation that affects women just about every where in the world.  Ironically one of the thing which contributes to   abuse is the lack of unity among women and the fact that in some societies women actually take part in abusing other women.  In places such as India and Pakistan mother-in-laws and sister-in-laws often beat and torture a new bride if they are not satisfied with the dowry that the family receives.  There is no unity among the sisterhood and they see nothing wrong with hurting one of their kind.

In countries where Female Genital Mutilation is practiced, it is often the women who carry out this gruesome operation.  In the Cameroon and other places that practice breast ironing it is the women who hurt their daughters and inflict physical as well as psychological scars.  Women disfigure and hurt their daughters in what they say is an attempt to protect them from rape and harassment by men.  These women fail to grasp the understanding that what they are doing is just another form of abuse.  It is a no win situation for many young girls; if the men don’t hurt them, their mothers will.

One of the biggest obstacle in eliminating abuse against women worldwide is the fact that in many countries women have been conditioned to accept abuse as a part of life.  Women suffer abuse in forced marriages and do nothing  to protect their daughters from experiencing the same fate.  So the vicious cycle of abuse is allowed to continue.  For many young girls there is no escape, no way out.  There is no one to stand up for them and no one to protect them.

The change must start with women taking responsibility for protecting their daughters instead of hurting them.  Women must unity in the fight for equal rights for women.  Young girls must no longer be denied the right to an education and they should not be forced into child marriages for which they are not prepared physically, mentally or emotionally.  Women must understand that abuse of any form is not acceptable.

Stop Abuse of Women

The world is full of chaos and people with twisted minds.  In some countries the laws that ought to be enforced are ignored and people impose other rules to satisfy themselves.  They have rules which make it acceptable for a man to torture and kill a woman.  On the other hand if a woman refuses to comply to a fixed marriage or wear clothes considered as being inappropriate, it is seen as a sin for which she is punished.
In some cultures women are seen as replaceable commodities.  There is no value placed on the life of the woman.  She is looked upon as being inferior to her male counterpart and is treated accordingly.  Brothers think nothing of killing their sisters to uphold what they call ‘the family honor‘   The question is, what kind of honor does a murderer bring to any family?  What is honorable about killing your own sister?
Love to these people mean nothing and family honor means everything.  It is a kind of sick twisted mentality.  They do not understand the concept that unity is strength and that a family divided against itself will come to naught.  They are so busy trying to protect their public image that they are blinded to the things that should be more important, that of a brother looking out for his sister and families uniting to protect family members.
The fact that brothers see nothing wrong with killing their sisters highlight the fact that in these societies men in general have very little respect for the lives of women and the laws if there are any is not sufficiently implemented to be a deterrent.
If women in these countries should turn the tables and say enough is enough and start to seek their own justice, I wonder if the laws will then be implemented or will they be able to get away with committing atrocities against men in the same manner that men commit atrocities against women? Interesting thought isn’t it?  What do you thing?

 

Stop Abuse of Women

Honor Killings

An honor killing is the killing of a member of a family or social group by other members who believe that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or the community.  In countries such as India where there is little respect for the lives of women, a woman can be killed for simple things such as dressing in a manner which is deemed in appropriate, wanting to terminate or prevent an arranged marriage, desiring to marry by her own choice or engaging in sex outside of marriage.
Women’s rights activists say India’s police are not doing enough to tackle the problem of ‘honor killings’.  Many times the police do not take complaints by the victims seriously.  They do not provide protection for the victims and this boosts the morale of the culprits; they take the law into their own hands.
What is ironic is that simple things that women do are considered sins but the murdering of women is not.  Apparently in the eyes of these perpetrators killing is okay if the victim is a woman.
 The public beheading of a woman by his brother in Kolkata last December highlights the lack  of respect for the lives of women in India.  This incident on December 7, 2012, was another honor killing.  Nilofar Bibi 22, at the time of her death was only fourteen years old when she left home in an arranged marriage.  Bibi alleged that she was tortured by her in-laws and returned to her parents on November 28 but disappeared days later.
Her brother Mehtab Alam 29, found his sister living with an old boyfriend.  He stormed into the house and dragged Bibi into the street in broad daylight.  Passersby watched in horror as he cut off his sister’s head while saying  she had sinned  and had to be punished.  He left his sister’s body in a pool of blood on the road and calmly walked to the police station with her head in his hand to surrender himself.  He walked into the police station and placed the head of his sister and the butcher knife he used to decapitate her on a table in front of the police officer.
The sibling’s family expressed support for Alam saying they were proud he upheld their honor.
I am at a loss to understand what honor this young man upheld.  Honor is protecting and defending the women in your family.  Honor is defending and protecting your sister when the man who  should love and protect her is abusing her.  There is nothing honorable about killing a defenseless woman especially a member of your own family – your sister.  It is a shameful and dishonorable act which must be condemned.  There can be no honor in taking a human life.

Happy International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day to all the women around the world. As we celebrate this day let us all stand in solidarity to put an end to abuse against women. We must say no to Female Genital Mutilation, Child Marriages, Dowry Killings, Breast Ironing, Rape, Domestic Abuse and all other forms of abuse against women.  It is time for governments around the world to properly enforce the laws to protect women.  It is time for not just talk but for action as well.

 

Say No to Child Brides

Child Brides in Niger

She is just eleven years old, she has yet to get her first period and already she is  a wife.  Adulthood is forced upon her.  She is not prepared for this physically, mentally or emotionally.  Her hopes and dreams of staying in school and getting an education is shattered.  Her dreams does not matter nor does her happiness.  Her parents have received a dowry and now she is married to a man older than her father.  Still a child, afraid and confused knowing nothing about sex or marriage and the duties of a wife, she will be forced to have sexual intercourse with a grown man.  She will suffer the agony of having her childhood stolen from her and suffer even more through pregnancy and childbirth and there is a possibility that she will die giving birth.
Stripped of her freedom she lives at the mercy of her husband and in-laws.  She is often treated like a domestic slave, ill treated by her in-laws and raped by her husband if she resist his advances for sex.  Her tears goes unnoticed, her eyes mirrors her pain.  For her there is little hope, she has nothing to smile about, all she can do is try and endure the life that has been forced upon her.  All of this seems like something from a movie, but it is not, it is real.  It is the daily life of child brides around the world.  In cultures of ignorance and poverty the children suffers.  One such place is Niger
Niger has one of the highest rate of child marriages in the world; 75 percent of girls are married before the age eighteen and many are subjected to a life of domestic and sexual slavery.  In Niger the  problem is not just the fact that there are child brides but that some of these brides are in fact sold into slavery. ‘Wahaya’ is the term used for girls and women who are sold as fifth wives to men.   In Niger men are allowed to have four legal wives and any number of fifth wives.
For these girls and women who are bought as fifth wives, no marriage ceremony takes place and girls do not benefit from any of the legal rights and protection that legal wives have.  They are treated as domestic and sexual slaves but are still referred to as wives.  They are used for free labor  and sex by their masters who are mainly dignitaries or wealthy men.
The legal age for the marriage of a girl in Niger is fifteen years old but as the country struggles with severe drought, failing crops and mass starvation girls as young as seven years old are being sold as child brides.  Parents have told activists that although they are unhappy about selling their daughters to men, the food situation have left them with no alternative.  Families are using child marriage as a survival strategy  to deal with food insecurity.  Marrying off a daughter means one less mouth to feed and the dowry she brings in goes to feed the others.  Fertility rate is high in Niger with the average household  having at least seven children.
The practice of child marriage comes with serious consequences.  It impacts negatively on the health of young girls.  Having children at such a young age, they are at risk for fistulas (vaginal or anal rupture) which can lead to incontinence.  Girls with fistulas are often abandoned by their husbands and scorned by society.  The majority of child brides are denied an education. Only 15 percent of adult women in Niger are literate and less than one-third of girls are enrolled in schools.
For places like Niger change will only come when families understand that educating their daughters instead of marrying them off will be more beneficial in bringing economic growth to this starving nation.  In a 2001 study UNICEF found that women with seven or more years of education marry an average four years later and have 2.2 fewer children than those with no education.
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) wants the age of marriage to be changed to eighteen years .  It says this would give the girls longer time in school and give their bodies time to develop and allow them to reach adulthood.  This move will also help to curb the birth rate which is the highest in the world.

Stop Abuse of Women

Until the rape and subsequent death of a young woman in India last December, I was somewhat unaware of the atrocities taking place against women in that country.  I was unaware of the fact that India was considered as the worst place to be a woman.  I was not aware of how badly Indian women are treated or that rape was a part of ever day life there.
Incidence of rapes and other crimes against women is of epidemic proportion in India.  It appears that not enough is being done by the Government to protect the rights of women.  This is not surprising since every major political party has fielded and continues to field candidates facing criminal charges of rape harassment and other crimes against women.
It has been reported that in the last five years India’s leading political parties have offered tickets to 27 candidates accused of rape and 260 candidates facing charges of assault, harassment and other crimes against women.
Rape is not treated as a serious crime in India and even the police whose job it is to protect the innocent is a part of the problem.  The women have no one they can trust.
People should lead by example and in a situation where those who lead and those who are to protect becomes a part of the problem what message is that sending to the general population.
To bring about change in India it is going to take a whole cultural change, starting with equality among the sexes. Girls are groomed to be good wives, not independent women with their own careers.  Their most important role is to produce children.  They are often treated as objects who should remain pure and be controlled.
Many girls are forced into marriages and some are even murdered by their own parents.  Mothers often make excuses for their sons when they commit heinous crimes against girls.  The change has to begin with women raising their sons to have respect for women instead of making excuses for them

Stop Abuse of Women

Let us cease women to be subdued or allow ourselves to be boxed in by a wall of silence.  Let our voices be heard.  Let the stories of rape and other atrocities against be told.  Throughout the world women are being abused.  The disparity in the treatment of the sexes is real.  The heinous crimes of rapes, murders and other forms of abuse meted out to women are real.  The killing of babies because they are girls is real.

In the beginning God created woman as a companion for man.  He did this because He thought man was lonely and needed another human like himself to relate to.  I am quite sure it was intended that man would take good care of that woman.  The heart of some men seem to be desperately wicked.  They have no concept of what it is like to care for a woman.  They are emotionally barren, devoid of the ability to love her unconditionally.

It is from the womb of a woman that new life enters this world.  For nine months she carries a child in her womb, going through morning sickness and all the other things that comes with pregnancy.  All she hopes for is a healthy child whether it be male or female.  She does not hate her child because he happens to be a male.  Her love is unconditional.  She goes through labor and suffers excruciating pain to bring this child into the world.  She spends many a sleepless night caring for her child, putting his or her needs before her own.  At the end of it all how is she repaid?

Cursed is the man who lays his hand on a woman except to show his affection.  Cursed is the man who inflicts pain on a woman.  Cursed is the man who rapes a woman, violating the very place from where he made his entrance into this world.  Shame unto the man who has no understanding that without a woman there would be no man because it takes both to reproduce.  Men and women are of equal importance; if one become extinct in due time the other will cease to exist.

It is time for changes. It is time for stronger laws put in place that will protect women globally.  The atrocities against woman must stop.  Women across the world must stand together and demand equal rights and justice.

Every man on earth is born of a woman and men ought to respect that.  A nation that fails to protect its women is a nation that in spite of all its achievements, has failed humanity.  It is like a pig wallowing in its own filth, no matter what it does at the end of the day it is a disgrace to the human race.

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Thought For Today

“Some people use any and every negative event to justify their doing nothing,

while others use these same experiences as motivation to effect changes and

make a difference for their families and by extension, to humanity.”

Michael Williams

Inspirational Story

Why Women Cry

 A little boy asked his mother, “Why are you crying?” “Because I’m a woman,” she told him.
“I don’t understand,” he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, “And you never will.”

Later the little boy asked his father, “Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?”

“All women cry for no reason,” was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, “God, why do women cry so easily?”

God said, “When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world,

yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up,

and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife,

but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfaltering.

And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed.”

“You see my son,” said God, “the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,

the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart – the place where love resides.”

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