I wish I could have pin pointed one particular problem that was the biggest that Indian women faced, but instead I found a conglomeration of issues. Issues that manifested as a low buzz in everyday casual sexism, ranging from ‘make me a sandwich’ jokes to rigid mindsets exhibiting as underhanded comments about working after marriage or simply working.
Read MoreThe Philippines was ranked 9th globally and 1st in all of Asia in the Women’s Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report published in 2014. The report was based on women’s participation in the economy, their educational attainment, health, and political empowerment. Despite this, Violence Against Women (VAW) is still considered by the Philippine Commission on Women to be “one of the country’s most pervasive social problems.”
Read More“Honey, can you get me a coffee?” “Mom! Where is my shirt?” “Mom come on! I need you to take me to my academy!” “Mom, what are you cooking tonight?” “Sweetie, you’re almost thirty already – when are you going to have a baby?” Even now, the roles that women are asked to play in Korean society are often rigid and oppressive. Women are asked to simultaneously fulfill the part of driver, chef…
Read MoreThe interviewer peers at the woman seated across from him and asks, “You’re a woman. Do you want this job? Don’t you want kids later on in life?” The young interviewee nervously replies, “I do want this job, but I’m also planning on getting married and raising a family.” The interviewer looks unimpressed as he scrutinizes…
Read MoreOne spring day in 2016, in a public bathroom of the bustling Gangnam area, a young woman was stabbed to death by a man she had never met before. “I did it because women have always ignored me.” Despite these chilling words, the murder was not ruled a hate crime, revealing a disheartening truth about Korean culture: for centuries, women have been considered mere subordinate objects that should serve men…
Read MoreI gazed at her from afar. Her eyes dreamy, her mind floating in her own world. I watched her fingers dancing triumphantly to different keys. The tranquil and tingling music added to her mystery. There was almost an invisible veil closing around her, separating her from me and the rest of the world. I longed to comprehend the stories she conveyed in the music. I stayed there, never advancing for fear of breaking the perfect image…
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