Throughout time, issues with equality have denied groups some of the most basic human rights. A common example of this is the right to one’s own body. The statement that people have the rights his/her own body is broad and rightfully so. It encompasses matters ranging clothing they want to wear, who they have sex with, and even what gender they want to be. In the film Difret, the ideas of gender equality, rape culture, and the right to one’s own body are highly prevalent. Addressed through the use of a documentary about marriage by abduction, rape, and a fight to regain freedom twice - once from the captors and then from the legal systems - these ideas present the viewer with one story about Ethiopian culture.
There are several prominent
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Another concern that is prominent in this film is the initial unwillingness to hear what a female has to say about her situation, especially in a court setting. Fighting gender-based obstacles within the justice system was a large part of this film as Meaza worked to free Hirut. She pushed the idea that women have the right to a voice and justice just as much as men do. While Hirut shot a man, the act was self-defense. Before this case, it seems as if no woman had ever been able to convince a judge of that. An article by Arming Women Against Rape and Endangerment discusses the importance of being able to defend oneself because often times there is no one else there to help or who will help. The article also mentions a few cases where women tried every possible route to prevent violence, but the majority of the women ended up dead. This is because when put in a situation where there was no other choice except to fight, they were not able to. In addition to this, when women are in locations where equality conditions are similar to that of Hirut’s village, they do not fight back for fear that they will be reprimanded rather than their assailant. In this film, Hirut and the other women that worked with her proved that self-defense is an option and everyone should have the right to practice it. This was a great demonstration of how perseverance can pave the way for countless people to come, providing incredible changes to social
Throughout our experience, we have encountered so many challenges when it comes to gender in the society. Gender is being used as a basis for stratifying people in the society. In this article, the racial caste system that used to exist in the United State is depicted. In that the black women were denied the access to justice because of their status. They were perceived to be people who do not have any right within the society and no one could believed them when they were raped by the white men because all the court judges were white men according to this article. The women were classified to be from poor background and they should remain at a low class in the society.
Many individuals might wonder, what is rape culture? “Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women’s rights and safety.” Most women limit their behavior because of the existence of rape. (Marshall University)
Women are not absent minded as some may have thought, they came fully prepared to expect the worst, but that did not mean they knew all the consequences soon to come. All in all, any type of protester or demonstrator are fully controlled by fear, whether their controlling fear or it is controlling them. “Reem, a Yemeni girl, was only 11 when her father forced her to marry a cousin almost 21 years her senior. Three days after her marriage, Reem tried to commit suicide by slitting her wrists. Eventually, she ran away to her mother, who helped her try to get a divorce” (Glazer).
Even though, Kristof realizes the complexity of the problems, the authors still develop on practical ways to aid women. The authors stress the involvement of individuals in human rights matters. To emphasize their point, Kristof interviews a light-skinned black girl from Ethiopia, Woineshet. Woineshet tells the authors that she lived in a rural area where if a young man wants to marry certain girl, but does not have the “bride price” at hand, or the family won’t accept him, he could just kidnap the girl, and then rape her – it is the tradition, says Woineshet. Because women are raped, they will have difficulty marrying anyone else. To make matters worse, Ethiopian law
As kids we were taught about “stranger danger;” we were taught to protect ourselves from strangers and as we got older, females were told to protect themselves from getting raped. In this paper, I will discuss how living in a rape culture affects women and men, how does rape myths affect society and how we can change the negative effects of living in a rape culture and rape myths. In order to understand this, we must first define what rape is.
It is six o’clock in the evening, a special news segment on world affairs is on the television. The journalist is doing a piece on inhumane practices that occur in third world countries, one of these travesties being rape. The voices of women who have been stolen from their homes and have been taken advantage of against their own will infiltrate the air. These personal stories have an incredulously powerful impact on those listening and make one think “How could such an outrageous thing happen?” Truth be told, these horrors are not just happening in far-off places, but they are happening right now in the United States of America. The very simple fact that one is oblivious to the magnitude of sexual violence in their very own country is an
Currently, a surplus of major issues is disturbing the United States of America. One controversy that I am particularly passionate about handling is rape culture at college, especially in fraternities. A study conducted in 2014 found that 11.7% of students attending the 27 colleges surveyed had experienced nonconsensual sexual contact by force, threats of force, or incapacitation. Females surveyed reported a significantly higher percentage of these assaults compared to men.
The term ‘rape culture’ was coined by feminists in the United States in 1970. The term itself was designed to illustrate the ways in which society blamed victims of sexual assault, and how the normalization of male sexual violence was acceptable. Rape culture can stem from the acceptance of rape as a daily occurrence, manifested as a male prerogative. There is a hesitation by the authorities to go against the patriarchal cultural norms, hence linking nonconsensual sex to the cultural disposition of society. The patriarchal perspective of rape culture, embedded with gender inequality and misogyny are passed through generations which ultimately leads to the extensive institutional and social acceptance of rape. Actions which advocate sexist ideals are utilized to justify and validate normative misogynistic perceptions. Rape culture sexualizes violence inflicted upon women, as it serves as a continuum of a society which views a women’s body to be sexually available by default, deriving from the overall domination and objectification of a female. The underlying cause of rape culture is localized as it based upon the social aspects of culture. For example, countries with a prolific ‘war culture’ tend to emphasize violence and masculinity, and therefore rape is viewed as a normal facet of society. I intend to parallel the element of rape culture to the enforcement of social rules and the conditioning of gender roles. I plan on analyzing the notion that within the encompassment of
Gender roles and rape myths attempt to legitimize rape by blaming the victim as a part of society’s acceptance of sexual violence as a whole. “Boys will be boys” encourages boys to be rough and masculine, while at the same time suggesting girls should be submissive. Although school grounds are thought to be a safe heaven for nurturing the growth and development of young minds, progress is stunted by the shadows of sexual assaults in the background. Society’s tolerance of sexual assault is encouraged by the sociological factors of conflict theory, the bystander effect and symbolic interactionism.The integration of learning opportunities and reporting systems will be fundamental in the future of universities and colleges in order to maintain
A rape-prone culture is one where sexual violence has become common and little action is taken due to these behaviors often being dismissed providing the perfect environment that almost promotes it. It almost becomes a daily part of life and when no consequences are being placed into action to prevent sexual violence the more often it will occur. A rape-free culture on the other hand is one that reinforces sexual equality for example, males are often seen and dominant over women and in a rape-free culture people would be taught otherwise and more awareness of this being an issue would be spread. These topics are often brought to the table in discussion of college environments and safety. In the college atmosphere, fraternities are often accused
All around the globe, women and children are victimized and brutally beaten or even murdered. This issue has existed since the dawn of man and has even become a common tactic in wartimes. According to Akila Radhakrishnam, “There are very few modern conflicts that don’t include rape, because sexual violence against women is an easy way to erode the resilience of a community under attack,” (TIME.com). Zadie Smith brings light to this issue in her short story “Two Men Arrive in a Village,” by using a metafiction format and figures of speech. Although her story may seem uncentered and convoluted with her meta narration, there is still a strong theme of women empowering themselves and abuse of power by the opposite party.
Not too long ago in Canada, a young woman was murdered in the name of honour just for wanting to wear Western clothing. Aqsa, the young women, was only 16 years old when she was “strangled in her family home in Mississauga, Ont” (Batool, 2010, p. 1). Honour killings are not uncommon in the Middle East, and hundreds of women are killed every year. Some women were so afraid of these ramifications that they never stood up for themselves, and were like “Nile water lilies that, rootless, are swept along with the current” ( Rifaat, 1983, p. 261), dragged along with whatever the husband sees fit. On the other hand women gained strength through the strength of other women. Books, magazines, and other stories helped women know they were not alone, they were not the only one in their situation. In a short story, ‘The Leaving’, Elizabeth, the mother, is inspired to take a trip with her daughter to demonstrate how great life can be for women, by reading ‘The Feminine Mystique’. Returning from their trip she is quite disrespected by her husband and decides she has had enough! She was “mocked, between choking guffaws, [as he] slapped his thighs and [held] his stomach” (Wilson, p. 3) but through all this she continued to stick up for herself, and things slowly began to change. Her daughter grew up and is attending university, she has respect and help from both her husband,
Merril Smith’s Encycolpedia of Rape defines the term “rape culture” as “one in which rape and other sexual violence against women . . . [is] both prevalent and considered the norm” (174). Rape is not a new subject in today’s society, its origins reaching far back into history. What causes rape, though? Is it the primal drive of men to exhibit dominance over all women, or do the women share the blame because of the way they dress, act, or do their makeup? Modern American culture would place the blame on the woman who “provoked” the attack; however, a woman should not have to park closer to the building she is entering, nor should she have to carry protection just in case a sexual predator decides that she is his next victim. Men are just as
Most people would agree that as you grow up you learn by seeing, feeling ,touching , smelling, and hearing . Albert Bandura supports this by a theory he created called the Social Learning Theory (McLeod, 2011). Social Learning Theory is a theory that explains that behavior is learned by your social environment, interactions and observations of others. With this theory I would say it supports opinion in which I would say that rape is not something somebody just decides one day to do. I believe that rape is learned throughout time. There are many social and even media factors that sometimes may come off with the intention that rape is acceptable. In some media factors they may even perceive that being forcibly raped is pleasurable. Movies tend to do it often and sometimes movies don 't realize that what people see on television can sometimes influence people to see these acts as a norm. For instance the fact that a college kid is in a frat and he 's in a party there is a good percentage that he would reenact what television had stereotype frats boys to do. Television would label the frat boys as potential rapist and the human mind would consider that when you take on that role as a frat boy. One of the biggest media factors all the way from television to the internet that for so many years that perceive rape as acceptable is pornography.
Rape culture is an environment in which social attitudes have the effect of normalizing sexual violence against women and excusing it in the media and other popular cultures. Rape culture attempts to rationalize a continuum of sexual violence that range from sexist remarks to unwanted sexual touching, and rape itself. Rape culture has become so desensitized by society that perpetrators may not be aware of their wrongdoings and victims may not realize they are being victimized. It is a culture in which victims are suppressed when they decide to speak up about their traumatic attack, because they are seen as being dramatic or untruthful while the perpetrator's actions are left unpunished. While the majority of victims are women, rape culture is not solemnly an issue of female oppression, it is a general disconnect between human beings. It is a culture that many of us refuse to accept exist, however there are numerous examples that normalize rape and sexual assault on a daily basis. Rape culture is not a new topic. The term was first used back in the 1970’s by a group of feminist to raise the awareness of the normalization of sexual violence in society. In recent years the topic has become a popular, controversial issue and has come to permeate virtually every aspect of our lives through media, song lyrics, and everyday jargon.