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THE BELOW (updated 12 MAR 2022)
When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi
figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da
qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so
called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali
Read all about the Zan, zendagi, azadi!> (Women,
life, freedom) women revolution in Iran by clicking here
The Guardian
28 Oct 2022
By Amrit Dhillon in Delhi
<<Young girls being sold in India to repay loans, says human rights body
Young girls in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan are being sold as
<repayment> for loans their parents cannot afford, the national body
that protects human rights has said. The National Human Rights
Commission has issued a notice to the state government demanding a
police inquiry and answers within a month to what it called an
<abominable> practice. People living in many rural areas in India often
have to borrow money from fellow villagers when a family member falls
seriously ill and needs medical treatment. Local media reports say that
in half a dozen districts around Bhilwara, if a family cannot repay a
loan, the aggrieved creditor has complained to the <caste panchayats> or
caste councils. By way of <settlement>, the councils have ordered the
family to hand over their daughter - sometimes more than one depending
on the size of the loan - so that the creditor can sell her to a
trafficker to recoup his money. In its notice, the commission said that
if the family refuses to sell their daughter, <their mothers are
subjected to rape on the diktats of caste panchayats for the settlement
of disputes>. Among the cases highlighted by the commission is that of a
man who borrowed 1.5m rupees (£15,800) from a neighbour who was forced
by the panchayat to sell his sister and 12-year-old daughter to settle
the debt. In another, a man who borrowed 600,000 rupees (£6,300) when
his wife fell ill and needed hospital treatment was unable to repay it.
The panchayat compelled him to hand over his young daughter to the
creditor, who later sold her to a trafficker in Agra. From there, <she
was sold three times and became pregnant four times>, the commission
said. The commission has sent an official to Rajasthan to investigate
the cases. The Bhilwara district collector, Ashish Modi, said the crimes
were the first of their kind. <They are total illegal. The police are
investigating and we will make sure the victims get justice and the
guilty are punished,> Modi said.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/28/young-girls-sold-india-repay-loans-human-rights
The Guardian
21 Oct 2022
By Sangeeta Pillai
<<I was supposed to grow up to be a 'good Indian woman'. I chose freedom
instead.
As a young girl growing up in a very traditional Mumbai family, I knew I
was expected to grow up to be a certain sort of woman.
Here's what I was taught. A good Indian woman is obedient and lives the
life her parents and society tell her to live. A good Indian woman gets
<married off> early and becomes a mother quickly because that is her
primary purpose. A good Indian woman doesn't reveal any part of her body
or her sexual desires. A good Indian woman ignores her own needs and
lives her life serving others. My mother, my grandmother and many women
before them had lived exactly this life. I was pressured to marry the
first man who was interested, an <arranged marriage> where I knew next
to nothing about my <future husband>. I was taught to cook all the
traditional dishes, because, in my mum's words: <What will your
mother-in-law say if you can’t cook well?> I was told I should never
reveal my legs or upper arms, to cover up and not tempt the gaze or
hands of men around me. I tried to become the woman my family wanted. I
stu-died hard in school, received good grades. I was a quiet girl, eyes
downcast, too shy to speak to boys. I didn't go to any parties, wasn't
allowed to stay out after 7pm. But I was born with a fire in my belly.
With a voice in my head that questioned everything I was being taught by
society and family. That voice in my head soon turned into a loud voice
that came out of my mouth. I said things to my family like: <Why should
I always be quiet?> Or: <Why are men allowed to do such and such and not
women?> Obviously this didn't go down very well. I had multiple aunties
and uncles warning my close family that <this girl will ruin you>. But
that didn't silence my voice. Because I saw how badly women in my
culture were treated. It was always the women cooking, cleaning and
serving others from dawn until dusk. It was always the women told to
<adjust> to everything, from a husband who beat you up, to a
mother-in-law who treated you badly, to being groped by men every time
you left the house. Women were told that this was their lot and they
just had to shut up and put up with it. I didn't want to shut up and put
up. There was no single moment when I decided that I was going to give
up on being the <good Indian woman>. Instead, a series of mo-ments and
days and years led to me giving up on conforming to that traditional
ideal. I suspect seeing how unhappy my own mother's life was (a woman
who had a literature degree but now spent her days endlessly cooking and
cleaning) had a lot to do with it. I remember when I was 18, I decided
to get my hair cut very short, right under my ears. This was
unforgivable in my mother's eyes, because an Indian woman's beauty is
her long, dark tresses. I also remember going to college in a short
skirt that exposed my legs, and my mother's thunderous face as I left
our home. I realised that giving up on being the <good Indian woman>
meant I could finally become the woman I was meant to be. That was the
beginning of a long journey, of many battles. I found myself a job in
Bengaluru, about an hour's flight away. And I remember stepping into my
new rented flat, reli-shing being alone for the first time in my life. I
recall vividly pouring myself a small glass of Baileys (my drink of
choice then) and sitting in my shorts (something I was never allowed to
wear at home), and feeling as if I had won the lottery. And from that
day, I went on to make so many changes in my life, eventually moving to
the UK in 2005. The sweet taste of Baileys always reminds me of my first
taste of freedom.>>
Read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/21/i-was-supposed-to-grow-up-to-be-a-good-indian-woman-i-chose-freedom-instead
France 24
France in focus
18 Oct 2022
By: Sonia Barritelo - Delano d'Souza -Julia Guggenheim -Stephanie Cheval
- Pierre Lemarinier
<<The French porn industry is facing its moment of reckoning. A two-year
police investigation has blown the lid off widespread abuse of
vulnerable women. A Senate report is now aiming to improve condi-tions
by bringing about stricter controls. In this show, we meet three women
who are trying to change the way the adult film industry in France
operates. First, we speak to an adult film star who opens up about her
experiences and the abuse she has faced. We then meet a senator who
co-authored the report <Porn: Hell behind the scenes>. Finally, we speak
to an adult film director/actress who is offering an alternative and
more inclusive vision of pornographic films.>>
Watch the video - 12.22 min. - here:
https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/france-in-focus/20221018-french-porn-industry-in-turmoil-following-shocking-revelations-of-abuse
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