Blog Against Sexism Day 2007

Today marks International Women’s Day. You can read about its history here, visit the official website here, and read the UNIFEM statement here.

Today is also Blog Against Sexism Day, which started last year here. Today is the day that bloggers unite to voice our objections to the continued marginalization of women and girls worldwide.

so, why am I writing today?

I am writing to speak out against violence against women and girls, in all its forms. Domestic violence, girl-child abuse, FGC, and rape are serious problems, and happen as a result of not placing enough value on the lives and bodies and experiences of women as well as reinforce inequitable gender roles. Millions of women experience gendered violence every year, because they are women. This is unacceptable. It creates a culture of fear for women. Violence against women is a threat to women’s citizenship and equal participation in society. Women must be protected against gendered violence by their governments, their friends and neighbours, their families, their societies. Men must be taught that abusing and raping women and girl children is unacceptable, criminal, immoral, and violence against women must be taken seriously by legal systems in every country in the world.

I am writing to speak out against human trafficking and sexual slavery, victims and survivors of which are largely women and girls. Millions of women and girls are sold into slavery every year, often by their own families, and forced to work in degrading and unsafe conditions, often prostitution, risking their health and chances for the future. Human trafficking has to end. It is absolutely ridiculous that it must be said, but slavery is not acceptable. It is a huge moral problem. And it needs to stop, right now.

I am writing to speak out against the infringement of women’s reproductive rights and in favour of women’s health. State control of women’s bodies continues in many countries across the globe, resulting in unwanted pregnancies, unnecessary health complications, and even unwanted sterilization. Many times this is done in the name of ecnomic growth for the country in question, or in the name of environmental protection - when what would really benefit economic growth is forgiving coercive loans from the developed countries and increasing foreign aid to developing countries, and what would most benefit environmental protection globally is for developed countries to reduce their consumption of resounrces and their greenhouse emissions. The bodies of women of colour in developing countries are being exploited to protect the lifetsyles and economies of developed countries. The bodies of all women in developed countries are used as the battle ground for political struggles for power. Women must have access to reproductive health care and be given a full range of options to control her own choices in terms of fertility, pregnancy, and bodily integrity.

I am writing to speak out against the practice of child marriage. Sanctioning pedophilia through the institution of marriage is a despicable practice that leaves girl children scarred for life and often unable to live a full life even when the marriage ends due to social limitations on widows. Taking away a girl-child’s opportunities and choice before she even know what those choices are is a deep form of gendered oppression.

I am writing to speak out against the practice of dowry, which places a monetary value on the lives of women, encouraging the objectification and ill-treatment of women both in the family and in the larger societies in which dowry is practiced. The very idea of paying someone to take your daughter off your hands denotes the disvaluing of women in deeply problematic ways.

I am writing to speak out against education fees, which limit the opportunities of many children, but especially girl children, to gain an education. In societies that disvalue girl-children, many families choose to send only their boy children to school, because that is what they can afford to do, and because girl-children are given limited opportunities to work outside the home anyway so they will not need an education.

I am writing to speak out against the feminization of poverty and economic inequality for women, a major global problem. As I wrote recently this is problem not only in less developed countries, but also in developed countries like Canada. Women are not paid equal wages for the work they do. Domestic labour, largely performed by women due to socially constructed gender roles, is unpaid and undervalued. Women are more likely to work part time in order to care for their families, again due to socially constructed gender roles, and these jobs are more likely to be underpaid and lack benefits like health care. Women are less likely to be able to collect unemployment insurance benefits than men, even though they are required to pay into the system. Women are more likely to take in the dependents of sick or deceased friends and family, which means working late into their elder years in order to provide a home and essential needs. Raising the economic opportunities and status of women is essential for gender equality. We cannot allow women to starve and live in extreme poverty

I am writing to speak out against the gendered problem of HIV/AIDS. The majority of new cases of HIV/AIDS are in women - 60% of those between the ages of 15-24 living with HIV/AIDS are women. This is largely due to, once again, socially constructed gender roles that prevent women in coercive sexual relationships from insisting on condom use as well as make male sexual pleasure the central focus of sexual intercourse. What’s more, women who die from AIDS-related complications often leave behind children, who are then often sent to live with female relatives, adding to the burden of responsibility borne by women. HIV treatment in less developed countries has often centred around pregnant women for the purpose of preventing in utero transmission to the fetus, and when the fetus is born the mother’s treatment is ceased, leaving her health at further risk. Women need protection against HIV/AIDS.

I am writing to speak out against prostitution, the majority of whose workers are women. I protest the current model of prostitution in which power relations between female prostitutes and male customers are unequal. I protest the treatment of prostitutes by states, by the media, and by the public in general. I protest the unequal distribution of opportunity in society for women that make it more likely for women to not gain access to education and skills-training, and more likely for women to live in poverty. I protest the attitude that sex workers are not human being and do not deserve respect and resources to help them either leave the profession or practice it more safely and equitably.

I am writing to speak out against homophobia and heterosexism, which is tied to sexism in intricate ways. All people should have the right to express their sexuality in any way they choose so long as it is consensual (this automatically excludes rapists and pedophiles).

I am also writing to celebrate women. I am writing to celebrate the indomitable spirit of women who live in deeply oppressive circumstances all over the world. I am writing to celebrate mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, aunts, and friends. I am writing to celebrate women’s diversity, vibrancy, and everything that women have to offer this world. I am writing to celebrate the feminist community, so diverse and vibrant, so inspiring and committed to gender equality. I am writing to celebrate the women who have gone before us in the women’s movement and who have won more rights for the women of today then women have ever had, even though those rights are not spread equally across cultures and nations to all women, everywhere, and even though those rights are not complete. There is still much work to be done, but I am deeply grateful for the work that has already been achieved by women who have come before me, and who stand with me now. Thank you.

So, as I write today, in both protest and celebration, I ask you to join me in raising your voice against sexism and in support of women everywhere!

Happy International Women’s Day!