I can't tell you the number of times I have had conversations (read arguments) with people (read men) about why Feminists focus on women. A few days ago a friend said to me ' Why don't feminists work with humans...soon the script will flip...'
Well guess what I found when I was sorting through my files from my days at LSE's Gender Institute? Answers to this very question in the form of fantastic quotes which I will share below:
' What women are challenging is something everyone can see. Men's grievances, by contrast seem hyperbolic, almost hysterical; so many men seem to be doing battle with phantoms and witches that exist only in their own overheated imaginations. Women see men as guarding the fort, so they don't see how the culture shapes men. Men don't see how they are influenced by the culture either; in fact, they prefer not to. If they did, they would have to let go of the illusion of control.' (Susan Faludi, Stiffed: The Betrayal of the Modern Man, p.14)
'(I)t has become commonplace to see powerful and successful men weeping in public - Ronald Reagan shedding a tear at the funeral of slain U.S. soldiers, basketball player Michael Jordan openly crying after winning the NBA championship. Most recent, the easy manner in which the media lauded U.S. General Schwartzkopf as a New Man for shedding a public tear for the U.S. casualties in the Gulf War is indicative of the importance placed on styles of masculine gender display rather than the institutional position of power that men such as Schwartzkopf.'(Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo and Michael A.Messner 'Gender Displays and Men's Power: The 'New Man' and the Mexican Immigrant Man,' in Theorizing Masculinities)
'There has also been, alongside the survival of what we might call routine popular misogyny, evidence of the partial reversal of the traditional evaluation of stereotypical masculine and feminine traits...This is not evidence of the arrival of sexual equality in material or ideological terms, but it is evidence of dramatic change...This suggests that popular discussion of the 'crisis' in masculinity and changes in the prospects that face men, or the popularity of appeals to rediscover 'the deep masculine' proferred by Robert Bly(1991) are more than anti-feminist backlash. They are evidence of the material and ideological weakening and collapse of patriarchy. It is a bad time to be a man, compared to the supremacy men have enjoyed in the past - and this is a thoroughly good thing. (John mcInnes, The End of Masculinity, p. 55)
' The feminine mystique's collapse a generation earlier was not just a crisis but a historical opportunity for women. Women responded to their 'problem with no name' by naming it and founding a political movement, by beginning the process of freeing themselves. Why haven't men done the same? This seems to me to be the real question that lurks behind the 'masculinity crisis' facing American society; not that men are fighting against women's liberation, but that they have refused to mobilize for their own-or their society's-liberation. Not that traditional male roles are endangered, but that men are in danger of not acting.' (Susan Faludi, Stiffed: The Betrayal of the Modern Man, p.41)
What are your thoughts on the quotes?
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communication
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Feminist Quotes at the African Feminist Forum
I was reading through some of the notes I took at the 2nd African Feminist Forum recently held in Kampala, Uganda and just have to share some of the great quotes which struck me (some funny, some spot on, some simply controversial...' Enjoy!
‘Feminism is like Christianity, you have to convert people.’ Hope Chigudu quoted by Dr Hilda Tadria
‘Retired, still not tired’ Dr Hilda Tadria
‘Many of us have learnt to settle for the world as it is, not the world that ought to be’ Michelle Obama quoted by Dr Hilda Tadria
‘Integrity is what you do when no one is watching’ Rotary speaker quoted by Dr Hilda Tadria
‘Have you ever heard of inviting your oppressor to join you? In every sense of the word they have screwed us up’. Solome Nakaweesi Kimbugwe
‘If someone hasn’t felt how it feels to eat last, to work more and to earn less how do you expect them to support you…’ Solome Nakaweesi Kimbugwe
‘Arguments below the waist beads…a kick in the ovum’s’ Zeedah
‘Patriarchy is a system so men are not the enemy’ Pregs Govender
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
‘Feminism is like Christianity, you have to convert people.’ Hope Chigudu quoted by Dr Hilda Tadria
‘Retired, still not tired’ Dr Hilda Tadria
‘Many of us have learnt to settle for the world as it is, not the world that ought to be’ Michelle Obama quoted by Dr Hilda Tadria
‘Integrity is what you do when no one is watching’ Rotary speaker quoted by Dr Hilda Tadria
‘Have you ever heard of inviting your oppressor to join you? In every sense of the word they have screwed us up’. Solome Nakaweesi Kimbugwe
‘If someone hasn’t felt how it feels to eat last, to work more and to earn less how do you expect them to support you…’ Solome Nakaweesi Kimbugwe
‘Arguments below the waist beads…a kick in the ovum’s’ Zeedah
‘Patriarchy is a system so men are not the enemy’ Pregs Govender
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Sexual Violence in the DRC: Part 2
As my colleague Rissi said to me ‘We can be blogging about our mission to DRC for years’. We really could do that but rather than blog for years we shall blog for the rest of the month on the DRC and our experiences from undertaking a Mission to the DRC with colleagues from other donors including OSISA and Global Fund for Women as well as women’s rights activists from Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Guinea.
Personally one of the visits that will forever stick in my mind will be the one to ‘Hopital de la Muya’ where we met a doctor and nurse working with sexual violence survivors who gave us very detailed information on the challenges with sexual violence in the Mbuji Mayi province.
Hopital de la Muya has been supported by donor agencies particularly the UNFPA to provide free services and medication to survivors of sexual violence. Nurses and doctors have been trained to provide basic treatment to survivors of sexual violence. Survivors come from a variety of backgrounds. Child victims are brought in by the police or their parents and street children come in by themselves or with a delegation. 95% of the victims are female with victims sometimes being as young as 3 years old. A 2007 report by the hospital cited the following statistics for sexual violence.
Ages 1 – 9: 105 cases
Ages 10 – 17: 515 cases
Ages 18 – 24: 127 cases
50+: 6 cases
On the day we visited the hospital, there had been 7 survivors of sexual violence who had attended the hospital the previous day. Being fully aware that our delegation was visiting the hospital the doctor had asked the 7 patients and their parents whether they will be willing to meet with the delegation. The youngest survivors we met were 3 and 5 years old. There are no words to describe how one feels when you come across a 3 year old rape survivor. Just think about any 3 year old you know…As the doctor explained, many of these young girls end up with collapsed vaginas as a result of the assault they have endured. For some women their uterus becomes damaged after rape. We were told about one such case of a woman who had been so severely raped that her uterus was damaged but only came to the hospital 2 months after the incident. She refused to admit that she had been raped by several men as traditionally raped women are divorced by their husbands.
The Doctor cited attitudes towards women in the Kasai region as the cause of the high levels of rapes and sexual violence. In his words:
‘Violence happens because men in the Kasai regard women as objects. I can say this because I am Kasai…families want dowries replaced when girls have been raped’.
The hospital has been doing some sterling work on sexual violence apart from providing free services and medication to sexual violence survivors. A commission has been set up and part of what they have been doing includes trying to explain that a raped woman has not committed adultery (which is the traditional view). Traditionally if a man decides to ‘take back’ his raped wife, the dowry will have to be repaid to the man. The belief is that the man will die if he doesn’t take back the dowry.
The room in which we met with the Doctor and Nurse working on sexual violence, was the same room where survivors of sexual violence are seen and on the wall is a poster which shows the various punishments for committing sexual assaults. As was pointed out to us, the laws are not upheld and several aggressors are released after being held in jail for a day or two. We were all emotional after we left the hospital and one of the (two) a male member of our delegation was so angry that he was advocating for the penises of all rapists to be chopped off! That reminded me of a previous post by Bisi on the Ugandan woman who had cut off the penis of a man whom she had caught red-handed in the process of violating her daughter. What are your thoughts?
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
Personally one of the visits that will forever stick in my mind will be the one to ‘Hopital de la Muya’ where we met a doctor and nurse working with sexual violence survivors who gave us very detailed information on the challenges with sexual violence in the Mbuji Mayi province.
Hopital de la Muya has been supported by donor agencies particularly the UNFPA to provide free services and medication to survivors of sexual violence. Nurses and doctors have been trained to provide basic treatment to survivors of sexual violence. Survivors come from a variety of backgrounds. Child victims are brought in by the police or their parents and street children come in by themselves or with a delegation. 95% of the victims are female with victims sometimes being as young as 3 years old. A 2007 report by the hospital cited the following statistics for sexual violence.
Ages 1 – 9: 105 cases
Ages 10 – 17: 515 cases
Ages 18 – 24: 127 cases
50+: 6 cases
On the day we visited the hospital, there had been 7 survivors of sexual violence who had attended the hospital the previous day. Being fully aware that our delegation was visiting the hospital the doctor had asked the 7 patients and their parents whether they will be willing to meet with the delegation. The youngest survivors we met were 3 and 5 years old. There are no words to describe how one feels when you come across a 3 year old rape survivor. Just think about any 3 year old you know…As the doctor explained, many of these young girls end up with collapsed vaginas as a result of the assault they have endured. For some women their uterus becomes damaged after rape. We were told about one such case of a woman who had been so severely raped that her uterus was damaged but only came to the hospital 2 months after the incident. She refused to admit that she had been raped by several men as traditionally raped women are divorced by their husbands.
The Doctor cited attitudes towards women in the Kasai region as the cause of the high levels of rapes and sexual violence. In his words:
‘Violence happens because men in the Kasai regard women as objects. I can say this because I am Kasai…families want dowries replaced when girls have been raped’.
The hospital has been doing some sterling work on sexual violence apart from providing free services and medication to sexual violence survivors. A commission has been set up and part of what they have been doing includes trying to explain that a raped woman has not committed adultery (which is the traditional view). Traditionally if a man decides to ‘take back’ his raped wife, the dowry will have to be repaid to the man. The belief is that the man will die if he doesn’t take back the dowry.
The room in which we met with the Doctor and Nurse working on sexual violence, was the same room where survivors of sexual violence are seen and on the wall is a poster which shows the various punishments for committing sexual assaults. As was pointed out to us, the laws are not upheld and several aggressors are released after being held in jail for a day or two. We were all emotional after we left the hospital and one of the (two) a male member of our delegation was so angry that he was advocating for the penises of all rapists to be chopped off! That reminded me of a previous post by Bisi on the Ugandan woman who had cut off the penis of a man whom she had caught red-handed in the process of violating her daughter. What are your thoughts?
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Kinshasha to Mbuji Mayi
My colleague Nana (Communication and Fundraising Programme Officer) and I had been in Kinshassa for 2 days as part of a mission organized by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) in partnership with AWDF, Global Fund for Women and Women’s Rights Activists from Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Guinea. As part of our mission and together with other members of the delegation, we were to travel to the province of Mbuji Mayi, a mining town in the Democratic Republic of Congo to witness the appalling working conditions of women in the mines. Our flight was scheduled for 10 am and because of the heavy traffic on the road to the airport it was advisable to leave for the airport at 7 .15am. When we arrived at the local airport, policemen dressed in light and navy blue welcomed us with “Montrez votre billet” which translated into English means “Show me your ticket”. I asked myself ‘when will security personnel ever stop intimidating innocent civilians'? We were allowed in the main hall where there was a huge gathering around 2 or 3 people who were the check out staff. It looked as if there was a commodity of high demand and low supply being sold and everybody wanted a share of it. After the long, drawn out check in process, all members of the team were directed to the passengers’ lounge, where we were all required to produce our passports (as if it was written on our foreheads that we were foreigners in the country) although this was a domestic flight. I could see from the face of the immigration officer that he was just looking for the slightest mistake to start drama. This whole scene reminded me of the revolutionary period in Benin, where one had to apply for an exit visa before traveling. Luckily for us everything was ok and we went to our boarding gate to wait for the flight, which eventually landed around 1pm and we took off around 2.45pm. All appointments scheduled for 2pm in Mbuji Mayi had to be postponed as we had no control over the flight schedule. Once on board I noticed the presence of an intimidating body guard with a huge gun and my mind started wandering again. So many scenarios crossed my mind but I remained optimistic. Then I was told that the governor of the province was on the flight. Well, all I wanted was to reach my destination without having to go through any complications.
As the plane was about to land, I noticed to my surprise some men in uniform lined up as if the Head of State was landing. I thought such grandiose welcomes for governors stopped when African states achieved their independence. At least this is what I know of in the Republic of Benin. My colleague Nana could not believe what she saw and confessed she had never seen such a spectacle in her life.
We were also given VIP treatment as from the plane we were ushered through the VIP lounge by members of the local organizing committee of the mission. We were also considered as important personalities after all. As we were about to enter the car to go to our first meeting in Mbuyi Mayi, people started running from all corners. I said to myself,’I hope this is not the beginning of public unrest in the province’, then we realized that security personnel dressed as civilians as well as other people had to run into their cars to join the convoy following the Governor to his residence. All this was part of the ceremony to welcome the Governor of the province. I wondered what it would be like if it were the President of the country visiting the province. I have seldom seen such protocol given to even Prime Ministers. Unbelievable!!!
From the airport the delegation paid a courtesy visit to the President of the National Assembly of Mbuji Maye, Hon Xavier Kabala Ilunga who was really impressed by this solidarity initiative taken by sisters from other countries and who expressed concern about the plight of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I was quite impressed to see that the Vice Chair of the provincial Assembly and the Treasurer were both elegant and eloquent women. However women’s representation in the provincial assembly structure was quite low and personally I still hope that one day our struggle for women’s liberation will yield sustainable results including parity in political structures.
Rissi Assani-Alabi
Francophone Programme Officer/Executive Assistant
AWDF
As the plane was about to land, I noticed to my surprise some men in uniform lined up as if the Head of State was landing. I thought such grandiose welcomes for governors stopped when African states achieved their independence. At least this is what I know of in the Republic of Benin. My colleague Nana could not believe what she saw and confessed she had never seen such a spectacle in her life.
We were also given VIP treatment as from the plane we were ushered through the VIP lounge by members of the local organizing committee of the mission. We were also considered as important personalities after all. As we were about to enter the car to go to our first meeting in Mbuyi Mayi, people started running from all corners. I said to myself,’I hope this is not the beginning of public unrest in the province’, then we realized that security personnel dressed as civilians as well as other people had to run into their cars to join the convoy following the Governor to his residence. All this was part of the ceremony to welcome the Governor of the province. I wondered what it would be like if it were the President of the country visiting the province. I have seldom seen such protocol given to even Prime Ministers. Unbelievable!!!
From the airport the delegation paid a courtesy visit to the President of the National Assembly of Mbuji Maye, Hon Xavier Kabala Ilunga who was really impressed by this solidarity initiative taken by sisters from other countries and who expressed concern about the plight of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I was quite impressed to see that the Vice Chair of the provincial Assembly and the Treasurer were both elegant and eloquent women. However women’s representation in the provincial assembly structure was quite low and personally I still hope that one day our struggle for women’s liberation will yield sustainable results including parity in political structures.
Rissi Assani-Alabi
Francophone Programme Officer/Executive Assistant
AWDF
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