WOMEN IN INDIA

Nisha Pahuja's The World Before Her (2011) is a remarkable documentary on the diverging and contentious reactions to female advancement in India, as seen through the lenses of the Miss India World beauty pageant and a couple of the contestants, and a strident believer whose work in support of Hindu nationalist extremism at the same time undercuts her desire for control of her life (and the irony as well of Hindu girls being harangued to follow the traditional paths while teaching them to fight). The strain of radical conservatism is not unlike that found in the Taliban or the Tea Party. I was shocked to hear that 750,000 female fetuses are aborted yearly, and unknown numbers of female newborns are killed. You cringe as a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl spouts religious hatred. You feel anger at the adults who actively warp their minds against others. You are appalled as a father describes the intentional branding with a hot poker of his daughter as punishment for lying, of his bragging of physical abuse meted out. I wish more women could physically stop their tormentors, that many male-dominated societies would shatter.

BINDERS

A really funny, sarcastic, and cutting commentary, lifted from Amazon.com (by Ellie Robins of MobyLives), which I reproduce here, and hopefully no one decides to put me in a legal bind, HA!

"As a woman, I’m not adept at making decisions that concern me. So when I need the right choice, I turn to the presidential candidate that KNOWS. One with prideful experience in this department. I don’t want to be filed away in an inferior & confusing electronic doohickey that I couldn’t possibly understand. Or heaven forbid, have a man ask for & listen to my ideas! I’d much rather rely on this top of the line, 1980s style, Avery Durable binder. It’s the choice America can trust. My education, my ideas, my opinions, my choices, please PLEASE keep them safely stored away here and far away from the men that might fear them (I mean, want to use them to hire me somedaynever). I’d write more about this most useful product, but it’s time I hurry home to make dinner. . .

Maybe it’s just my women, but they don’t seem to want to fit into the space I’ve designated for them in this binder. They keep sticking out over the edges, even getting away in some cases. I thought using clear, glass-ceiling page protectors would help, but it doesn’t seem to slow them down anymore.

I’m going to have to resort to more severe three-hole punching, to keep my women in line. And maybe switch to the Trap Her, Keep Her.

I have recently discovered that my small six-ring binder, especially when I remove all the people from it, works as a great defense against both legitimate and illegitimate rape. I carry it with me at all times–it’s so small that no one can tell that the little metal rings are actually left open (or “cocked” as it were). When jumped by friend or foe, I just snap those little suckers shut. The whole clamp/pinch action…talk about shutting that whole thing down. And the six little holes are always good for the lineup later. Cannot recommend enough."

MALALA

Pray for Malala Yousafzai, a fourteen-year-old Pakistani girl who since the age of eleven has written a blog advocating for education and freedom for girls and women in that blood-soaked and religiously reactionary corner of the world. Taliban members ambushed a van she and two other girls were riding to school in and sprayed them with machine-gun fire. She was hit in the neck and throat. Luckily she survived and has undergone several surgeries to repair the damage and remove the bullets (one, I think, is still lodged in the neck). No doubt the assholes will try again. Although Pakistan needs more females (and men) to stand up against advocates of darkness, intolerance, and anti-feminism, I hope someone in the United States can help get her out of that country, help her recover, enroll her into a great school, and then let her continue her fight. The world needs more brave people such as her. Especially in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia. . .do I need to mention them all? Of course, we need advocates for progress and education and common sense throughout the world (even in the United States), but some areas need it far more than others. I grow sicker with every report of a girls' school attacked, schoolgirls doused with acid, minors forced into marriages (especially with aged men), women excluded from many courses of education (as is currently happening in Iran), women kept down economically and socially, women snatched and traded as slaves on the sex market, and a whole host of crimes carried out against women while officials and men turn blind eyes. It is time for these travesties to end. Sad to say that the world would be a much better place if the Talabani and their ilk simply disappeared, died off. Efforts must be made to protect the truthsayers (such as Yoani Sanchez in Cuba), the rabble rousers.

UPDATE: Apparently three of the Taliban attempted assassins have been detained and have revealed the individual who set up the hit. Malala seems to be doing better and was moved to a better facility. She still has a ways to go. And opinion in Pakistan has opened even more debate on the role of the Taliban in their country. I would love to see some violent push-back against these religious reactionaries.

UPDATE II: Little Malala has been airlifted to Britain and reports are she is responding well. I hope they keep her out of Taliban clutches and she gets to continue her education and crusade.

UPDATE III: Reports are she is standing and communicating, much very good news.

TODD AKIN

The Republican Representative and Senate candidate from Missouri stepped in it this week, when he asserted that "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." What an idiot---both because of his sexist attitude toward victims of rape and his ignorant understanding of biology. I know that in part, it is a result of the anti-abortion crowd not wanting to give any ground in their crusade, but I think the comment speaks to many issues the far Christian right (which I call the Tea Party Talibanis) advocates. They generally distrust women (I am waiting for them to call for burgas and stoning). They hate education and science; for them being able to read the Bible is just about all one needs. They are inflexible in their views and often unfeeling and, well, un-Christian, in their treatment of and attitude toward anyone they do not approve of. How ironic that this complete doofus sits on the House Science committee! How could that be? Clearly it appears he wasn't listening in high school; or, perhaps, actual science was not part of the curriculum at his college (although his views probably were formulated later when he attended a ministerial college). Now many Republicans, even those like Paul Ryan, who basically toe the same line as Akin, are scrambling to distance themselves from him. Whether he drops out of the race or not, this too will blow over and be forgotten, but his mentality is actually much more widespread than some believe and must be actively countered. I believe there is room for both religion and science, but not orchestrated ignorance. And. . .rape is rape, no means no, and women should be the only ones to make decisions about their own health.

It also makes me wonder, because Akin is apparently fixated with the thought that rape is too often reported (and also was part of the group who tried to tighten definition of rape as well as shield husbands from being charged with rape), that when someone doth protest too much, there is some reason for it. I wonder if Akin was ever accused of rape?

I later saw this CNN opinion piece by a doctor and professor of pediatrics, and thought he said it much better than myself, so I provide this link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/20/opinion/carroll-akin-rape/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Also, in an editorial on Slate, by Eliot Spitzer, he summed it up far better than I could do: "We should not be fooled that Akin's statement, merely because it is so offensive and quickly retracted or clarified, is a mere slip. It actually represents the worldview of Akin and many like-minded Republican colleagues. His comments are part and parcel of a view of civil rights, women's rights, and science that should be antithetical to a modern society. It reflects a worldview that has held up progress on too many serious issues, a form of know-nothingism for the modern era, a rejection of the very notion of learning."

AMBASSADORS FOR CHANGE?

The Taliban, buttressed as well by the general misogynistic attitude of a large percent of men in Afghanistan (not to mention most of the Islamic world), is highlighted recently (again) for the killing of a woman falsely accused of adultery because she had some sort of relationship with two rival Taliban commanders (who apparently were later killed by a third leader). A large number of men attended the slaying and were caught on camera laughing and jeering. President Karzai claims he wants to bring them to some sort of justice. It is an outrage the treatment of women in Afghanistan (and many other countries)---where they are made into little more than chattel slaves and objects, although strides have been made for many, in such groups as the Hazara. Afghani women now can vote and work, but they are frequently attacked (even schoolgirls have been poisoned and sprayed with acid) and harrassed. What I wish is that an American general would bravely get a couple of hundred female volunteers (and I stress, volunteers) and seed them generously amongst ground troops in the most Talabani regions and let them do foot patrols through the villages alongside their male colleagues. Maybe even a few female sergeants and higher officers could be included, who would have a visible leadership role. A message for the men? Yes. But even more so, a clear message for women and girls, who would see that they were capable of anything, even being soldiers carrying weapons and protecting themselves and serving their country. What a message that would be! Even better if the NATO troops from several countries did the same thing. I would wager hundreds, if not thousands, of female American soldiers would jump at the chance (even noting the resistance that they would probably face from males in our military) to show the flag and their strong femininity. I have three beautiful nieces (who I would never want to be endangered) who would be kickass soldiers and damn fine officers if they ever chose to join the military! In fact, I bet their mother, my sister (in law) Patty, would have made a great soldier too. They are all tough and smart, and I know there are many women just like them, willing and capable of serving in almost any role if given the chance. If I had a daughter I would want every door open to her, and I want every door open to all women of the world.