Spring Break
Domestic violence: A worldwide issue
Furrah Qureshi
Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: Ed-Op
One of the catastrophes of our time, Darfur, has deep roots in this issue as well. The "Janjaweed" (loosely translated to mean "devils on horseback") is a blanket term to describe the armed gunmen responsible for the genocide and violence in Darfur, and now even eastern Chad. These gunmen have gained control over civilians, not merely by killing the able-bodied men of the area, but by using rape as a terrorist tactic to silence the women of Darfur. And so young girls, their mothers and their mothers' mothers', live in fear for their lives not solely because of their ethnicity, as the quickly declining male population does, but also for their sex.
And so I, a young female, am burdened with thoughts of my own identity.
This is an issue that affects women from different countries, and of different races, all coping with the same brutality. It's not about class, culture, ethnicity, geography, intellect, capability, vulnerability, money, drugs, poverty, post-colonialism, socioeconomics or even gender. We can't ignore it. And we can't dismiss it - because it is a reflection on our value as a species. Think about how many things differentiate you from anyone in Calcutta, Seattle, or Darfur. Language? Skin color? Climate? Do you want to go on knowing that what we all have in common as individual societies is an acceptance of violence against women?
Too often, from too many respectable sources and respectable people, I have heard the idea that women's equality is no longer an issue. They think the 19th amendment settled that.
To these people, I say that history has shown us all one thing: that change is always slow. In the never-ending struggle for civil rights we have seen - from the 13th amendment (1865) all the way to Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954) - that it took 89 years to validate the ideology of equality. And it should be noted that the 1954 landmark case may have changed the law of the day, but the individuals of the day ignored the law. We should regard women's rights the same way we regard civil rights, because in reality, aren't they the same thing?
We do in fact live in a world that is unequal.
We live in a world where social commentators think it's appropriate to mention Sen. Hillary Clinton's menstrual cycle as a hindrance to her campaign. We live in a world where domestic violence is a pervasive and strikingly common issue. Isn't it fitting that we also find this world fit to live in?
Furrah Qureshi is a freshman majoring in English. She can be reached at ed-op@thetriangle.org.
And so I, a young female, am burdened with thoughts of my own identity.
This is an issue that affects women from different countries, and of different races, all coping with the same brutality. It's not about class, culture, ethnicity, geography, intellect, capability, vulnerability, money, drugs, poverty, post-colonialism, socioeconomics or even gender. We can't ignore it. And we can't dismiss it - because it is a reflection on our value as a species. Think about how many things differentiate you from anyone in Calcutta, Seattle, or Darfur. Language? Skin color? Climate? Do you want to go on knowing that what we all have in common as individual societies is an acceptance of violence against women?
Too often, from too many respectable sources and respectable people, I have heard the idea that women's equality is no longer an issue. They think the 19th amendment settled that.
To these people, I say that history has shown us all one thing: that change is always slow. In the never-ending struggle for civil rights we have seen - from the 13th amendment (1865) all the way to Brown v. Topeka Board of Education (1954) - that it took 89 years to validate the ideology of equality. And it should be noted that the 1954 landmark case may have changed the law of the day, but the individuals of the day ignored the law. We should regard women's rights the same way we regard civil rights, because in reality, aren't they the same thing?
We do in fact live in a world that is unequal.
We live in a world where social commentators think it's appropriate to mention Sen. Hillary Clinton's menstrual cycle as a hindrance to her campaign. We live in a world where domestic violence is a pervasive and strikingly common issue. Isn't it fitting that we also find this world fit to live in?
Furrah Qureshi is a freshman majoring in English. She can be reached at ed-op@thetriangle.org.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Lynn
posted 5/11/08 @ 8:37 AM EST
Excellent article. Accurate in many areas and delivered succinctly and passionately with wisdom. The author has done her homework.
Well done.
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