Women 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 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“The key to success is effort. The bigger the goal, the greater the effort” (Michael Josephson). To what extent has the society idealized the idea that with effort the impossible becomes possible? Is effort truly all that is needed to thrive in our societies? A woman with the same level of experience as a man, wins only 66% of the salary of her counterpart (Ortega, 2018). Only one out of 10 members of each executive committee is a woman (OIT, 2012). Only the 37% of the total entry-level charges within companies in Mexico belong to women (Bolio et al, 2019). The list of statistics continues, and the trend remains the same: women in Mexico do not have the same presence in the working sector as men. Is lack of effort the explanation to this phenomenon?
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 MoreThe situation downstairs was almost surreal: my mom, balancing her laptop in one hand and a spatula in the other, calmly discussing a system failure with her manager while preparing lunch on the stovetop. As I watched this balancing act, I marveled at the grace my mother employed to manage her career and housework. However, as the pandemic continued and the effect of this double burden on her became apparent, I began to realize the hardships American society has caused her and all employed women.
Read MoreA fashion trend can be toxic. When Kendall Jenner snaps a photo of herself wearing low-rise jeans flaunting her size 00 waist on Instagram, every girl who looks at it is rarely satisfied with herself. That induces unhealthy workouts to build abs to look like hers and girls skipping lunch so they can pull off the same trendy look. It doesn’t help matters that relatives and friends offer unsolicited advice about our physique—so we continue to struggle with negative body image as the celebrities and female influencers we desire to become set unrealistic standards while we live on water diets. The biggest challenge facing women and girls in the U.S. today is body image.
Read MoreThe hot beams of summer struck my face as I happily strolled to the train that sunny Thursday morning, wearing my new baby blue skirt with little yellow flowers to cool down from the oppressive heat. However, my glowing smile quickly faded as I caught an old man staring at my thighs. My stomach suddenly rumbled with a discomfort so sickening I wanted to throw up. My sweaty hands pulled down my skirt hastily, trying to cover up as much skin as possible. I shifted my eyes, hoping to ignore him, even as his low voice grumbled, calling my young body sexy. I was 13. When I was 14, a speeding car rolled down its window so a man inside could call me a skank. When I was 15, tears rolled down my face after a sweaty, glittery hand reached up my skirt at a music festival.
Read MoreWelcome to the rebirth of 20th century gender norms, where women belong in the kitchen yet both men and women bring home the bread. Picture this: A woman. She has two children at home learning virtually who consume a large portion of her time. She has a state job, and her income is vital. Not only does she have to work more than before, but the domestic work falls on her shoulders. Her husband has a very time consuming job and is responsible for the majority of the family’s income. He doesn’t have many household responsibilities, largely because he has too much on his plate. His children rarely see him. This scene can undoubtedly be observed in households across the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic is not only a threat to our health, but, perhaps even more importantly, to the progress made for and by feminism, specifically the expectations of women in the home. As stated in an article in the Atlantic titled The Coronavirus is a Disaster for Feminism, “Across the world, women’s independence will be a silent victim of the pandemic.” (Lewis)
Read More“The key to success is effort. The bigger the goal, the greater the effort” (Michael Josephson). To what extent has the society idealized the idea that with effort the impossible becomes possible? Is effort truly all that is needed to thrive in our societies?
Read MoreIn Afghanistan, like most Middle Eastern countries, women are often under-estimated and approached with condescending comments and jokes. Fear from men has been injected into their veins from childhood. Most importantly the sense of communication, empathy, action, helping and uplifting of each other has been stripped away from them by stoning them to death, killing them, sometimes even burying them alive. The thought of helping out each other has not dared enter their minds due to the toxic atmosphere in the society.
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