Being a Woman - Spotlight #17

As the 8th of March does closer I would like to dedicate my article for this month to the women all around the world.

First let’s remember what International Women’s day is about. This day is a global day celebrating social, economical, cultural and political achievements of women.On March 8, 1857, 40000 weaving workers in New York, USA seeking better working conditions started a strike. But as a result of workers being attacked by the police then being locked down in factory which caught on a fire. And that followed by 129 workers being not able to escape and burned to death in there. And from that day as for their memory , 8th of March now celebrating all around the world as International Women’s Day.

As a woman who lives in todays society I would like to talk about what it’s like to being a woman in today’s world. Discrimination against women starts at birth for a girl and continues for the rest of her life in many aspects. From the first steps until the last, we always feel less important, not smart or not strong enough to survive.

Women all around the world faces all kinds of social, economical and cultural injustices. But I wish this was the only problem. Every year nearly 150 million women experiences sexual or physical assault in some kind of way. Nearly 30% of women’s first sexual experience was forced. Over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides. Worldwide, up to 50 percent of sexual assaults are committed against girls under 16. Every day we see images of male violence against women in the news, on TV shows, in the movies, in advertising, and in our homes and workplaces. It is a fact of life for women of all ages, races, and classes. The world we are living in do not value women because of the thoughts we were raised in.

In the broadest sense, viciousness against women is whatever violation of a woman's personhood, mental or physical health. Violence against women ranges from sterilisation abuse to prescription- drug abuse, pornography, stalking, battering, and even rape. Every form of violence threatens all women and limits our ability to make choices about our lives.

50 years ago, most forms of violence against women were hidden with silence or acceptance. As more and more women talked with each other it became clear that violence against us happens on a enormous scale; that no woman is okay with it; and that family, friends, and public institutions have been cruelly insensitive about it.We must realise our strength and help the ones who lives through this experience. Being a women is really hard, I know, but we are the ones to change that!

Leo Simru Goven,
President,
Agora Leo Club,
Turkey.

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