WOMEN IN SOCIETY
We have seen an uprising of women movement around the world (Western), where women are starting to speak up. I’ve noticed that even if this is truly inspiring, it all comes from the western hemisphere. Now, I want to be clear that I wish this was a worldwide thing and that I’m proud of all that crazy effort we are making and for all the battles that some of us are wining already.
But… I would like to say a couple of things, and I hope you read till the end because there’s more to the eyes.
It’s easy to speak about feminism in a room full of feminist people (primarily women). It’s easy to speak up of sexual misconduct in a western world country. It’s easy to speak of equality in a capitalist country. I can simply continue with a list of how “easy” (note my rhetoric here). It’s not easy, and it’s never been; but can you imagine how difficult it must be in other countries where men are fully open on their misogynist mindset?
I remember in my 20s feeling genuine indignation when hearing from someone’s mouth how “women are truly a disease in society”. I felt horrified, but at the moment, that was all I could do: feel. In my mid-20s, I remember hearing someone saying to me, “too bad you are a woman because you’d be a great boss otherwise”. I also remember a personal attack on my professional career when denying sexual conduct in exchange for fame. And again, the list goes on.
I’ve experienced all kind of intolerances in different parts of the world; from racism, cultural shock, underestimation, misappropriation and all sort of ignorance in general, including immigration illiteracy, but it all got me thinking about girls (and boys) that are growing up in countries where not only men are misogynist but also the same women (or better said, the complete system). I know that the systems in different countries condition people to have some sort of behaviour; in these regions, women mainly adopt a survival approach in which they teach their girls to adapt to human rights’ worst conditions. And I feel we can’t blame them at all. Some countries teach women to use their sexuality to be taken care from men; otherwise, they may perish because they will hardly find a job on their own; and more importantly, educated women seem to be a threat for these kinds of societies. Even in first world countries, we see successful women adopting a manly mannerism to grow professionally; when it shouldn’t be necessary if we lived in the Utopian world. Women should behave like women and should be equally respected for that.
Today, I would like to speak to all women (and men supporting our cause) who are in the fight to help each other. Speeches and representations are great, but we also need to develop an educational strategy to protect those who can’t defend themselves and those who can’t speak up. Some women had been given only two choices: live under such regimes or speak up and die. Dying shouldn’t be an option, especially when speaking about children and minors. We should radically improve (change) the educational system, from courses references from history to sciences where most had been attributed to men; we all know how women have been part of it from the start. And let’s remember taking into consideration the different cultures, the same lesson can be given to all countries, but they need their perception of it.
Thank God I’m surrounded by men that respect women from A-Z. Including my brother and my dad (R.i. P), whom I admire because both are clear of our fight and support us till the end. The world is waking up, and I feel happy about it, but this is just the beginning. We have a long way to go.
LIDIA AVILES 