Almudena Serpis
A Spainish Activist
This song by James Brown, which was played for the first time in 1966, never expires. It is certainly a man’s world, in India, in the North and South, in every nation…it is a man’s world.
Here in Spain 54 women died in the hands of their partners or ex partners last year. Sadly, this is just the tip of a huge iceberg.
-Honor killings of women continue to take place, however they are not regarded as such and are rarely prosecuted. Each year 5000 honor killings take place internationally, 1000 of them occur in India, according to Honor Based Violence Awareness Network.
-Genital mutilation of young girls still exists. A World Health Organisation report states that this practice exists mainly in 29 African countries and also in Middle East countries like Yemen, Kurdish communities and Saudi Arabia. According to the UN, Islamic extremists in Iraq ordered it back inside their country this year.
-In Afghanistan woman have to wear burqa and find it hard to study or even learn how to read or write.
-It is illegal for women in Saudi Arabia to drive, they also need a male guardian to travel, for medical procedures, to ask for permits and even walk in the streets.
-One-third of the girls in developing world are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15, according to the International Centre for Research on Women.
In modern nations women are now starting to work and have power in big companies, in the media, in government etc. But we are becoming more and more enslaved inside our bodies as the prototype of ideal woman starts getting thinner,our skin has to be radiant, all hair removed, etc. Women nowadays not only have to be clever and successful, we have to be stunning.
All this happens under a world wide regime: patriarchy. This begins at an early age when women are told to wait, to play with dolls, to be gentle, patient, to not be too slutty etc. We can see this in every Hollywood or Bollywood movie. We have to be aware of this issue, both men and women. Men have to understand that they have a privilege over women, just for being men. It is like that everywhere, because roles are
always present. Thousands of years of mistreating, torturing, insulting and killing women is not solved in one day, not even in one lifetime.
When speaking in public, who is taken more seriously? Who are the people behind most big companies? Who are the great sports starts? Who cooks when you visit your parents house? What are the differences between you and your partner when one of you has a men’s role and the other a women’s one? When a man and women have sex, what normally happens after a man has finished? The game is over for both… Why do we remember Nelson Mandela and not Rosa Parks? Why do all monotheist religions follow a male messiah? The list of such questions is endless.
This is just the psychological and social context. According to the United Nations, 70% of women worldwide have suffered physical or sexual abuse from their partner. These are official figures.Extra officially things always get tougher. But not all is lost. Everywhere we see women who are changing history. Feminist women who want to put an end to this and be treated and regarded as they should be.
Right now, the Kurdish women’s resistance army, fighting against Islamic fundamentalism in Iraq, is a great example of this. We can also have the famous Pussy Riot collective, who fight forwomen’s rights in Russia or the Gulabi Gang, Indian women in pink saris armed with sticks (there are now more than 400.000).
Here in Spain there are groups of women who divulge feminist ideas, carry out direct actions, demonstrate on the streets, organise workshops, support groups and many other activities. An example of this is the initiative taken by a group of feminist women in a district of Madrid, the Spanish capital.
They have put up banners on the streets with strong messages directed to men who harass them when walking past.
Regarding transsexuals, lesbians and gays, they too have had it hard, and will still do, because society needs to preserve the imaginary of men and woman united together. This way they can conform a traditional family to keep all citizens of society controlled, each assuming their gender role and
identity. Using this social structure it is easy to target consumers, it is easier to manipulate every one’s thinking because we all relate to the privileges and struggles of our imposed roles.
So, every gesture counts. Here in Spain we take pride in the two Indian women who recently defended themselves from men harassing them inside a bus. No society can be just without women being free and empowered. This is a long process, but it is not only up to us women. Men have to become feminist too, realise that they are oppressors without even noticing it if they don’t defend women’s voices, and rights, if they do not let them become strong. If they leave them space to grow, break stereotypes and sum up to their efforts, certainly that would make society civilized.Because with woman treated like this, it is not.
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