Do you remember the story
of the girl whose husband decided to cut off her fingers just because
she decided to go to college?
If you do, you should be
glad to hear that she has recently started to write again.
 |
|
Hawa Akther writing again
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"The fact that I can
write again has given me lots of hope and confidence. I have slowly
started practicing. I will continue my studies and achieve my aim of
becoming a lawyer," she said while sitting in her parents'
one-bedroom house.
- What do you think is the
cause of domestic violence? Is it related to education?
- Can you
think of any kind of solution?
- Do you think Hawa Akther's
personal achievements will encourage other women to reconsider their
life?
if you want to read the article explaining her story and recovery, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16796198
From my point of view the problem is the culture they have in these countries. It hasn’t been that long since woman started to fight for their rights, but since woman and men’s right have been almost equitable in developed countries it is easier for woman: to get a job, decide and be listened by man. We could say that fighting is the first step, and I bet all woman who know Hawa Akther are proud of her because although her dream was almost taken away from her, she is still fighting to achieve her objective in life: become a lawyer. The same happened to Noyud Ali, a Yemeni girl who is only 10 years old who married a 50 year old man because her father needed money and could not feed all his sons. The 50 year old man gave the father 1.100 Euros. Noyud is now divorced and is studying to become a lawyer with the objective to help other girls who have the same problem as she had (You can have more information herw:http://foro.univision.com/t5/Strawberry-Shortcake/Noyud-Ali-POR-FAVOR-LEAN-ESTE-TEMA/td-p/383127494#ixzz1uHeH8U6H).
ReplyDeleteFrom where I sit if man would not believe they are so superior they could be able to encourage woman to be more independent, and that’s the present problem in the southern countries.
It is hard to judge without knowing from experience what live in countries such as Yemen is like for woman. On one hand education could be related to this, but on the other hand they choose to follow the religion which tells them who has to have the control in their society.
I would say that only the girls who have domestic violence know what it is like to not be able to decide or even be listened. But if I were to find a solution I would say money, because If families had money they would be able to decide whether to sell their daughters or not (hope they don’t…). But another solution could be making this woman live for a period of time in countries such as the USA, Spain or even in the north of Europe with the objective of making them know what freedom really is like, that would make those woman fight for their right and encourage others to keep it up.
I believe in a day where somehow the rights for man will be exactly the same ones for woman all around the world.
Alejandra Séculi
Domestic violence in southern countries is, in my opinion, the first thing that governments should deal with in the present time. It is clearly unacceptable to be living in a world which seems rather developed socially, but there are still plenty of countries such as the Middle East or Egypt on where men feel superior to women, and act accordingly.
ReplyDeleteDespite the fact of being immoral, it is also a matter of justice. It is clear that men can’t live without women, so, why do they feel superior? Physical strength is one of the main causes which provokes that men take advantage of women, which is something totally unfair, and is very cowardly on their part. Men also feel very superior to woman because of the fact that they work and women don’t; but, why don’t women work? Because men don’t let them do so, so it is the men in those countries the ones who move society and have the power, and this must change.
In this specific case, Hawa was completely in her right to study law, and she should have been able to do it. The reaction that his husband had when she told him is absolutely shameful, but in my opinion, it is even more shameful the fact that his husband hasn’t received any kind of punishment for it.
In conclusion, these disgraceful acts will continue happening until the governments do something, and the governments will not do anything unless other governments which have more power than them tell them to do so. We have in our hands the future of women in these countries, and we must help them as we are part of the same society and we all have the same rights.
DAVID VILALTA
I was not aware of this atrocious fact which caused so much damage to a poor girl whose aim in life was to have a good education, and I am glad to know that this injustice she has had to suffer has not ended with her dream of becoming a lawyer.
ReplyDeleteFrom my point of view, I do think that this horrible treatment women receive from their husbands is often found in developing countries where arranged marriages are legal. So, in this case, I do believe this cause of domestic violence is related to education as lots of families decide with who their daughter should marry with.
Although I do think that finding a solution to stop this violence should be stopped as soon as possible, we have to be realistic and see that it is really difficult to do so. I imagine that these cases would start to decrease when arranged marriages are prohibited and people have the liberty to decide with whom to marry, and to have the right to marry because they feel they have a bond with that person, they are in love with them.
I hope that Hawa Akther continues studying and aspires to become a great lawyer!
Marina Segura
Yes, in my opinion domestic violence actually does have a lot to do with education. A person that receives a proper education will be taught what respect, rationality and equality are. Therefore, I believe that those who have been educated are less likely to act in such violent and aggressive ways. Mr Islam – her husband – certainly did not receive a proper education when he was young, or he wouldn’t have acted in this way simply because of the fact that he was not happy with his wife’s decision. By education I also mean the way parents educate their children. Because, for example, if a child is educated in a way that he/she is repeatedly exposed to violence and aggression, this child as a grown-up will be more likely to reproduce this violent behaviour later on in life.
ReplyDeleteSo a way to decrease domestic violence would be education.
But there isn’t a simple solution to domestic violence, as it is a very complex matter and to avoid it would imply massive changes in society. And as long as people don’t develop a sense of respect for those around them, domestic violence and other forms of aggression will keep on taking place.
Although there actually are some other ways of reducing it.
For example, sanctioning those who have acted inadequately will serve as a model for others who are likely to act aggressively, as they will probably not want to get punished and therefore will start looking for ways to control their behaviour, in order to not have to put up with the negative consequences of sanctions. Therefore, if an abuser seeks help to control his/her behaviour, this help should be available. Because, as a matter of fact, sometimes abusers do consider the fact that they have a problem, but if they seek help and don’t find it, cases of violence will difficultly be avoided.
In addition, I believe that everyone should be able to contact with associations that can interfere in situations in which violence is taking place. In other words, if a woman feels that for one reason or another she is going to be aggressed, she should be able to ring or to get in contact with an association which could help her, in order to avoid another unnecessary case violence.
Finally, I think that economic independence is very important. If a relationship starts to get violent and a woman depends economically on her husband, she will probably remain in the relationship. This portrays how important economic dependence is, because if she had been economically dependent, she would have been able to avoid any other violent situation.
In conclusion, what I’m certain of is of that fact that as long as people’s lack of respect for others remains in society, the weaker and less dominant ones will keep on being victimized. So, violence should not be tolerated if this serious problem wants to be solved at last.
Answering the other question:
I do think that her personal achievements will make other women reconsider their lives, as many women nowadays are probably in the situation (or worst) in which she found herself before.
Ana Adán
In the early 60's, in Spain, there used to be a great distinction between men and women; women were told to be kept at home, doing leisure activities, and domestic work, men were the ones who worked and brought money home, so they had this superior standard of: "i'm the one doing the effort here, you submit to my decisions". Not only were men thought as superior physically (which seems obvious) but also mentally! There were some jobs like lawyers, doctors or policemen which only men could take a role in as women were considered incapable of doing.
ReplyDeleteThis, fortunately, has radically changed here in Spain, today, more or less, women have the same consideration has men do and can access to the same jobs we do. But sadly, we're only talking about Spain and there is some countries, specially in the middle east, in which women are absolutely devaluated and they are considered no more than a sexual object.
Furthermore, as if they didn't have enough in thinking women are useless in society, more than half the feminine population in some countries like Egypt claim to admit having been beaten at least once in their life's. How can this be tolerated in a 21st century society?
Reading Hawa's history made me flesh crawl. When coming across with those kind of stories you really understand the cruel world we live on, and I personally interpretate that any kind of problem I can have will we minimum in comparison to what Hawa is going through, we sometimes protest for something we really want but has no importance, when this happens we should think about Hana's history: she wanted to be a lawyer, but because an inconsidered men thougt she didn't have the right to go to school Hawa's dream will be even more complicated to achieve, and I say even more, because she's know starting to write again after this as**** chped her fingers off.
To conclude, the only thing i'd liked to be remembered is that; nothing can we do to stop this from happening in those countries, but what we can do is make sure this never happens here, and that if we notice it happens, do whatever is in our hands to stop it. "Women are human beings, let them be".
LUIS CALSAPEU BONDIA
Domestic violence is not only limited to some countries, it is worldwide spread. It is clearly related to education, people should be educated, but I’m not talking about having a degree, I’m talking about educating people to respect women, to consider them as important and worth of respect as men. But I would go further, I think people should be educated to respect human beings in general, animals and our planet. We see plenty of news of old people being abused, kids being bullied, women being battered, animals being tortured and nature being contaminated. In general there is a lack of respect for life, and someday this will take its toll.
ReplyDeleteThis education should start at home and be carried on throughout our whole life. It is difficult, but hopefully not impossible, to teach a boy to respect women if each day, when he comes back from school he sees his father shouting and humiliating his mother. It is a long path to take but we must start now if we want to see a change.
It is true that some cultures, countries, leave women unprotected, laws are quite permissive with batterers. Many of these countries use religion as an excuse to degrade women, but, as I’ve said, it is only an excuse. It is therefore important to also teach women to respect themselves, to fight for their rights, to learn to be independent, and that is what Hawa Is trying to do. She wants to go to college, be a lawyer and, not only be self-reliant but also make a change in our world, even if this costs her her hand. This is a great way of giving hope to those women who feel incapable of fulfilling their dreams, and I admire her for this.