This 4th of July, as women of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds in America enjoy a three-day weekend in celebration of Independence Day, one can only hope that they also reflect on the many liberties and rights that they ordinarily take for granted.
Almost 90 years ago, women in the U.S. were granted the right to vote and had limited access to education and employment. Today, Women in the U.S. are reaching the height of political power, are working in high-level positions, and are fulfilling roles once seen as appropriate for only men.
American women are among the lucky few. Across the globe, many women wish they had access to the rights and protections that women in the United States view as ordinary.
In Iran, women's rights activists were arrested on June 12th before the commencement of a peaceful assembly to mark the third anniversary of the National Day of Solidarity of Iranian Women. Iranian women live in constant fear of reprisal from their government for merely voicing concern about injustices the regime is imposing on them.
Can a woman in the U.S. grasp being tortured, raped, and beaten because her husband, son, or a male relative was a suspected supporter of a political party? Sadly, this is the case for millions of women in conflict and war stricken nations throughout the world. In Burma, women are raped by the military as a weapon to subjugate ethnic minorities.
Many American women recognize that they are uniquely blessed to live in this country and are working to help advance women's rights around the world. After the tragic events of September 11th, for example, several American women who had lost loved ones in the attacks took the initiative to help Afghan women. Some even moved to Afghanistan because they knew they still had a lot to be grateful for and even though they were dealing with unimaginable grief, knew Afghan women had endured this same sorrow for decades. For example, Deborah Rodriguez, a hair stylist from Michigan went to Afghanistan to give something to Afghan women, a beauty parlor-which may seem insignificant for women in the States, but was a place of comfort and self recognition for women in Afghanistan.
This weekend, undoubtedly many American women will be busy planning barbeques and picnics for their families. This is as it should be - a time to celebrate the joys that freedom brings. I hope they take a moment to be thankful they live in a nation where it can be done and think about their sisters around the globe who wish for the same for their own families. July 4th is a time for celebration and a time to recommit ourselves to the idea that liberty is truly for all.
7 Comments
Glynis | July 2, 2008, 8:12am | #
Halima sounds a little angry. Perhaps a softer approach would attract more women, rather than trying to make them feel like they've done something wrong for being born in America. I notice she doesn't mention women in other countries around the world, only a region that represents her heritage. What about all the other women? Trying to force someone to be grateful gives the appearance of anger and bitterness. Please direct your negative feelings to the governments in the countries where these misdeeds are taking place. There are many women who will support you in your quest. Simply sharing the stories of women in your homeland would suffice and connect strongly with women across our nation.
Debbie | July 2, 2008, 10:27am | #
I appreciate what Halima wrote and fully agree. We, as American women, have so much to be grateful for in our American heritage. Having someone from another point out their heritage helps me appreciate mine. I didn't at all get the idea that we should feel we've done something wrong for being born here, but that we should be grateful for it and appreciate it. It's so easy to complain over little things without recognizing our blessings.
Peter J Oehler | July 5, 2008, 6:04pm | #
I read the article 3 times and I don't see how Glynis and Debbie get the notion that they should "feel we've done something wrong for being born here", but I'm just a male and therefore significantly limited in my ability to cohese due to a physiological impairment.
Personally, I thought the article was quite informative especially for those who may be unaware of such atrocities. I, myself, have been informed of such for a long time now and can't even begin to wrap my head around the mental conditon of those who commit such heinous acts. And, although women in America are indeed "uniquely blessed", I am also aware of the ongoing insanity leveled against them by the Mesazoic meatheads who taut this to be a Christian nation and simultaneously consider women to be maanifestly subordinate.
Don | July 9, 2008, 8:51pm | #
Peter,
It looks like Debbie is defending Halima.
Gylins,
You seem to be the angry one. And, historically America, along with England and a few other places, has been one of the best places to be a woman. Not all places are as bad as various Islamic and African nations, but few approach the US as a place that treats women well.
Terri Wagner | July 11, 2008, 1:53pm | #
I am deeply grateful every day that I live in this country at this time and place. My heart and thoughts often travel to my other sisters and the hell they live in. I try to do what I can to support them. And when things get a bit bad around here, I remember them and offer both a silent tribute to them and soft reminder to myself that it really isn't that bad.
James D. Carmine | July 11, 2008, 9:54pm | #
Superb article. I will be sure my students read this in all my philosophy classes. We have the problem that most colleges and universities with women's studies and social work programs have: faculty and student organizations all suffer a chilling fear of some variety of reprisal if any of us has the audacity to criticise the true horrors women suffer abroad, unless we first pay homage to women's studies and social work programs by pretending American women's suffering is somehow equivalent to the suffering of the women in Iran or Afgahnistan or Darfur.
Janna | July 14, 2008, 4:39pm | #
Articles like this one are a mixed blessing. When I stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance, I am grateful for the soldiers who have died so that we could be a free country. And then I stop and think about the enigma, "one nation under God", and remember that though we have fought for our freedom, we are still not truly free- on many different levels. When I hear how these women are being treated in Iran, I am grateful for where I live, but then I am reminded about how I still don't feel fully free. Though women have won the war here in America, we must continue to fight stereotypes. Whether being burned at the stake, deemed as a witch, used for bartering, raped, beaten, used, trafficked, and a victim of hate; History and current events constantly remind me about the mistake of being born a woman... and yet nothing in the world has motivated me more to fight these injustices nonviolently and be the better person, a peaceful person; a woman.