In a world where only the most tangible things can be characterised as real, as existing, we often forget that challenges can also come from within, from places which we easily ignore. In China, the greatest challenge that women and girls face is the language formed through the ancestral ideology: 「三從四德」1.
Read More“You are the dancing queen. Young and sweet. Only seventeen.”
Amidst the cacophony of off-key singing and crackling party poppers, I gently blew a gust of air towards the enormous cake, snuffing out the flickering candle in an instant. A great eruption of applause filled the room as beloved friends and family flooded towards me to exchange their congratulations. It was another momentous day for me — I finally became a dancing queen.
Read MoreIt was a normal day after school, and she had gone to the train station with her friends. 5 girls in a circle, they were just casually waiting for the train to arrive, and chatting about how one of them had been followed several times while heading home and what self-protection measures they should adopt if the situation calls for it. Ironically, during that conversation, a man approached from behind her. She had not realised what he was doing, until her friend chased after him and told her that he had been filming her under the dress.
Read MoreMy family and I are always exhilarated whenever the Olympics play on television, gluing our eyes to the screen no matter what we are doing - brushing our teeth, eating lunch, playing card games, etc. Squeezed onto our too-small sofa, my family and I anticipated the next contestant - Gong Lijiao, China’s Olympic shot putter, with an impressive track record to step up to the plate. My sister’s eyes sparkled looking at Gong’s well built and muscular body, as she aspires to become a great athlete just like her. That day we witnessed Gong throw her best shot yet, 20.58m (China's shot putter Gong Lijiao wins her first Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020, 2021), winning gold in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Read MoreWithout a question, humanity has made staggering social progress. We have entered an era where women’s rights have made it to the spotlight, and gender equality is an issue people are both willing and eager to discuss. Yet what is happening here in China tell us that women and girls in the country still face obstacles when voicing out any “feministic” views or simply sharing their experiences regarding issues like sexism or sexual harassment. This, I would say, is the biggest challenge women and girls in the country face as of today.
Read MoreAs the title says, I will be explaining what the biggest challenge women and girls face in my home country – Nepal. The Himalayan country is known for its summits and is also the birthplace of the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha. But behind this façade is an underlying horror of mistreatment of women and girls in Nepal. I will be looking into the biggest challenge Nepali women and girls face from the perspective of gender discrimination, gender-based violence with an example of a deadly custom.
Read MoreA modern fusion of western diversity and Chinese traditions, Hong Kong is known as one of the most progressive cities in the world. As "Asia's World City", Hong Kong prides itself in the significant advancements made toward creating a diverse and accepting society. However, beneath the acclaimed surface of statistics, the unconscious solipsism that led to age-old prejudices such as gender preferences continue to plague Hong Kong's society today.
Read MoreKnown as a city with a multitude of languages, Hong Kong houses 7+ million citizens of diverse cultures. Home to a treasure trove of traditions, our city has always been proud of its status as ‘Asia’s World City’— a place of sustainability, prosperity and advancement. Yet, discrimination and marginalisation of queer women persist; no matter in the field of education, institution, representation or legislation. Women in the LGBT community, irrespective of age, continue to be stigmatized for what they believe in. Then why, if this city proclaims to be progressive, prevails its silence on the injustice queer people carry on to face to this very day?
Read MoreTo this day, I remember.
I remember when the world was pure and white, when I would hold dear to my parents’ hand -- colossal, warm and sturdy -- to walk the streets of hawker food stalls, go out for Dim Sum and pay Chinese New Year visits. I remember the praising gazes and compliments I was met with, about how beautiful I looked in flowery dresses, stylish shorts and fitting attires, which made me so fond of dressing up -- once.
Read More“What in the world are you thinking?”
My mother began her tirade.
“There is a reason I never let you cut your hair short—it accentuates your round face and brings out your unattractive features. Looks are important, especially for women! You’re lucky you don’t have any interviews for universities at the moment—I can’t imagine how you can face others with an appearance like this.”
Read More‘Mom, where are you?’ I was sobbing since I was witnessing my classmates leaving the kindergarten one by one. At that time, I was merely five years old and I was the last kid leaving the kindergarten. ‘Why couldn’t you come pick me up earlier? What caused the delay?’ When I finally saw my mother, I questioned her anxiously. ‘It’s all because of work. You should know I have to work hard to make a living. I have been occupied since I was back in the office this morning so I came late.’ Mom stared at me and said tiredly. ‘If so, why didn't dad come instead?’ I asked perplexingly. ‘That’s because your dad is a man. Men are born to focus on building their careers instead of taking care of household chores.’ Mom said involuntarily. Looking at my exhausted mother who is obviously drained by her work and roles as a working mother, I cannot help but to reflect upon women’s status in society. The seed was sprouted in my heart - why are men allowed to be career-oriented but not women?
Read MoreWhat is your first impression of Hong Kong ladies? Astute? Sober? Dogged? Elegant? Or amiable? Seems like females in Hong Kong are so glamorous and exquisite. Incontrovertibly, they have a higher quality of life in Hong Kong compared to others megalopolis, but they still face a myriad of predicaments nevertheless. In this article, the deplorable situations that females need to defy will be stated out in three dimensions: Society, Kith and Kin, Individual.
Read MoreWomen and girls in the United States struggle with many issues, from misogyny to sexual assault to domestic abuse and so much more. But now that the U.S. Supreme Court might possibly overturn the case “Roe v. Wade,” the threat to the right to abortion is the single biggest challenge facing women and girls in my country. When it comes to legislating women’s reproductive healthcare, it genuinely terrifies me how one human being can believe they have jurisdiction over the body of another human being. What’s equally terrifying is that the government abdicates responsibility for its life once a child is born. And while the father should remain accountable, it’s often the mother who is entirely in charge of her offspring. She’s probably the one who will have to find a way to feed them, bathe them, and earn money to take care of their every need. For a variety of reasons, I understand why women, including teenage girls, undergo the process of abortion.
Read MoreRoadmen. Lads. Chavs. Birds. Britain is home to our own dictionary of descriptors for teenagers, ways to describe both females and males that categorise and label people into narrow confinements, used daily in secondary schools nationally without a second thought. Seemingly harmless to outsiders, this lingo holds more weight than its appearance on the surface, and ingrains a culture in the UK; a culture of toxic masculinity, of female belittlement and of strict, rigid gender definitions.
Read MoreFebruary 17, 2022, social media users would open their phones, check their messages, then go on Instagram. Below the various stories of users they follow, they face a disturbing post from 19 hours ago. The post would contain the photo of a smiling girl with a horrendous text overshadowing half of the photo, translating to '16-year-old girl murdered cruelly by having her throat slit by Hüseyin Can Gökçek. Upon reading about her story on news sources, the users would soon realize that she was a teen bride and coerced into marriage by a man five years older. Sadly, the post explained why Sıla no longer lives with us in this earthly realm. We, as women, no longer want to fear going outside, or to have 155 on speed dial; we no longer want to fear for our lives in our own homes and our trusty neighborhoods, or to fear our fathers, brothers, husbands, coworkers, and teachers. We no longer want to hope to give birth to boys, so we won’t have to fear for their safety every time they leave or meet up with their friends. The anxiety Turkish women experience is a core component of everyday situations we navigate, and this fear has reached its apex.
Read MoreImagine living in a country, where nearly five-hundred women become the victims of femicide each year. Every time you sit before the TV, a gut-wrenching feeling rises from your body; a feeling you are well acquainted with. You know what’s about to come, and you give rein to your foolish hopes; maybe not today. You turn on the TV and encounter a picture of her on the big screen. She looks content and peaceful, juxtaposing the somber reporter standing right before her picture. He looks at the camera, and says “She was only sixteen.” Her friends and family do not seem to be astonished by the frightening news. They say it was her dress, her smile, her failure to be a loyal and obedient wife. It was her fate. No one deems it a necessity to acknowledge her parents who forced their young daughter to marry a grown adult, the police officer who disregarded her desperate cries for help, and the man who stole away her hopes, her dreams, and eventually her life.
Read More‘Woman’s hand chopped of by estranged husband in Busia.’ This was the headline of a Kenyan newspaper this month. During this season, there have been several depressing headlines highlighting abuse of women. Statistics from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey show that 41% of women reported having experienced physical or sexual abuse aggravated by economic hardship, health concerns and increased stress occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many women in Kenya are disenfranchised and seem to have few options when they are the victims of abuse.
Read MoreToday, after hundreds of years fighting for gender equality – from the French Revolution to the waves of feminism in the 20th century – some countries of the world have taken a few steps toward improving equality between sexes. However, despite some progress, there are still many discrepancies and injustices between genders, notably in Australia.
Read MoreThe door groans upon hearing his heavy footsteps returning from work, the chair jumps hearing him yell his wife’s name, the clock winces as it watches his hand delivering a sharp blow to his wife’s face, but she does not groan, jump or wince. She stands there, lifeless; just like the door, the chair and the clock, staring into space with her eyes that were once filled with love and hope. After all, she was just a pawn in the game. She is one of countless women in my hometown, a small town in southern India that I visit yearly, a town with a small library that closes every Wednesday, a lake with fishes the size of my palm and a town where some of the strongest women I know live. It is nearly impossible to go against something that you have been taught is normal your whole life. These women grew up seeing other women in their lives go through the same experiences as them so often, that they are unfazed when they face the same signs of domestic abuse. Whenever I hold a conversation with them, I never fail to notice how their voice gets a tiny bit softer, a tiny bit sadder when talking about their abusers; their very own husbands, men whom they trusted their life with, whom they swore to be with till death does them apart. The worry lines on their forehead, along with the scars in their hearts deepening every year I visit them.
Read More“Huh? Your friend wants to be a nurse? Nurses don’t earn money though… How about being a doctor?”
As a young person in Singapore, this is not an uncommon response to receive when conversing with my relatives about the future. Substitute the word ‘teacher’, ‘social worker’ or ‘therapist’ for ‘nurse’ and one would likely be met with the same answer. Despite the dissatisfaction I might feel with their dismissive attitude toward these forms of care work, I must admit that they aren’t wrong. Care work, defined as ‘the work of caring for others, including unpaid care for family members and friends, as well as paid care for others’, has long been undervalued and overlooked globally, in both economic and social terms. It is no different in my country. The physical, emotional and mental work that goes into care labour has been historically disregarded, ever since caregiving was ‘sentimentalized and naturalized’ and framed as something to be ‘performed for the sake of “love” and “virtue,” as opposed to money’, according to American critical theorist and feminist Nancy Fraser. I see this trivialisation of care labour as the largest challenge facing women and girls in Singapore because of the fact that care work is predominantly carried out by them. If caregiving is not taken up in the public sphere as paid work, then it is probably carried out at home as unpaid labour for the majority of Singaporean women.
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