My 395 Page Lifesaver

Researching and finding laws for foreign countries is actually harder than I thought it would be. Then, on to of that,finding topics from countries that are different every week is even harder. I do not want every single one of my blogs to be the same: describing the laws, culture, and outlining how hard it is to be a woman. So, I try to find an issue or media phenomenon that is interesting instead. However, I need the laws, culture, and information on how hard it is to be a woman before I can write about the hard hitting issue, and that is exactly what I did this week.

Every year the World Economic Forum releases a Global Gender Gap Report. This report is a whopping 395 page pdf file of statistics, charts, and lists. It is boring and repetitive, but contains most of the information I need for the background of my project. There is everything from the wage gap and domestic abuse to legislative equality and education. Men and women are put side by side for each individual country, entire regions, and the whole world. All the top issues have rankings within them. These rankings consist of the 141 countries that participate in top global economics.

With this resource, I can easily compare countries to see where they fall on certain issues and women’s rights as a whole. I can use it to underline the rest of my projects and research. It is a file that I have spent a few good hours looking at this week, and still cannot fully comprehend everything it says. The report just puts everything in perspective, when it comes to America vs. the world and I am very excited that I found it.

So until next week, when I have an issue to write about and have fully digested this resource, here is some Beyonce, because why not? 

***Flawless ft. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Turkish Epidemic

Epidemics break out every year. To many they mean disease and sickness, but to the women in Turkey, it means domestic violence. Violence against women is a public and private societal norm in this country. In fact, about 40% of females will experience some type of abuse or violence in their lifetime. That is almost 1 in every 2 women. In contrast, the probability here in the United States is 1 in 4, which is still high, but double what it is in Turkey. Domestic violence in Turkey has grown into an epidemic that is having little resistance.

From 2003- 2010, the amount of murders of women skyrocketed up 1,400 percent. This rise happened right after the Islamist AKP political party took over. The party stems from the Islamic religion, and therefore practices highly conservative values. Some of these values made the country lean towards having it’s women being second class citizens. In the courts, a woman’s testimony has half the validity and worth of a man’s. This makes it extremely hard for women to take their abuse cases to court. Once it even gets to court, the punishment for the perpetrator is given on a case by case basis and is at the discretion of the judge. Because of these two factors, the punishments fluctuate and are not set in stone. A man could get away with murder or be set free to abuse again and again.  

The violence most often comes from the and of a husband, father, brother, or other male family member. Men are seen as the head of the house and what they say goes. So it is not surprising that the most severe cases of violence, including murder, occur when a woman indicates that she wants a divorce. This want and need would bring dishonor to her family, causing hostility and anger. Social image is an important part of Eastern culture that our Western one does not have. Individual actions mirror and reflect their entire family. This honor system is taken extremely far, as seen by honor killings.

(A video further explaining the idea of honor)

The honor system and second class females are just two things that are accepted in Turkey’s culture. If a woman is seen or heard being beaten in the middle of her neighborhood or in public, people turn the other way. They will listen but not act, then go on about their lives once it is over. Society has accepted domestic abuse as something that has and always will happen. It is normal.

However, even though it is extremely bad and the violence is only rising, there are groups that are starting to fight back. In early 2014, the Kadin Partisi (Women’s Party) was founded. This political party works towards putting women in places of power. One problem with the domestic violence is the government's acceptance of it. With women holding governmental power, their voices can be heard to change the countrywide opinion about the hushed topic. In addition to the party, social media is playing a role in helping the cause. The more an issue is talked about, the better the chances are of their being a change. Media outlets and news reporters are starting to pay more attention to the growing problem and throwing it to a worldwide scale. These two things, a new political party and expanding exposure, can help the women of Turkey stop the domestic violence epidemic and bring peace to the country.  

Gulabi Gang

Imagine a world completely different from our own, well for women that is. The illiteracy rate is 47% and infanticide, child marriages, and domestic violence is something of the cultural norm. Being a woman in this foreign world is a battle no would would ask for. This alternate reality is Uttar Pradesh in India. Last year alone there were 1,963 cases of rape, 7,910 cases of kidnapping and 2,244 cases of dowry death, which were all against women.

A woman by the name of Sampat Devi Pal has been working for the last 35 years to change all of this. Sampat, who goes by Devi, founded the Gulabi Gang, an all-women vigilante group. Their target? Rapists. Their weapon of choice? Sticks. Their costume? An all pink saree.

"Yes, we fight rapists with lathis [sticks]. If we find the culprit, we thrash him black and blue so he dare not attempt to do wrong to any girl or a woman again," says Devi.

~Sampat Devi Pal~

The group was started in response to the alarmingly large amount of crimes against women and the astonishing low amount of court and lawful punishment. With a broken law system, women have been taking matters into their own hands. The movement is now backed up up by over 400,000 women in 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

However, these women do not immediately resort to beating the perpetrators with sticks. First they try to gain justice for the crimes through dialogues, rallies, and hunger strikes. When these and all else fails, they take action in the same way the criminals did, with violence.

By founding this gang, Devi has started a revolution. She brought a subject that was ignored for so long into the spotlight. The fight for women’s rights is now somewhat in the spotlight of the country’s problems. The group has gotten country and world wide recognition, and in turn, is empowering women across India and the rest of the world to stand up for themselves and each other.   

Project Direction

This project and my anxiety have an inverse relationship. As the deadline for this project comes closer and closer, my anxiety over the presentation is raising higher and higher. I have finally gotten over the doubts of my topic, but now I’m moving into the stress over what I’m going to have to say. It seem like everyday I have a different idea on how my presentation could go, but I think I have finally found a winner.

When I am researching and looking for things on feminism, I am drawn to the stories about women in foreign countries. To me, their lives are so much different than ours and they are normally different in the worst ways. It does not seem fair that women, and people in general, in America can complain about their almost superficial, social level problems, when women in other countries cannot even leave the house by themselves or have a right to an education.

So that is what I’m going to focus on. I think I am going to look at the rights and cultures of other countries (mostly 3rd world, or high poverty), and see how they differ from America. In my presentation, I am going to pretend I am a women from each country and show how my life would be different. Somehow I am going to see if there is a way that I can potentially help the women I am researching. If I could do that, I would consider my project a success.

This is essentially the direction I want to go in. Now that I have decided, I can really work on my weekly blogs and continue on with everything.