Saving Women and Girls.

 

 

Saving Women and Girls.

A heyday for the media and I wish it was also for the farmers, but it’s not. In a normal year, the news media is happy to have one or two major events and look now. Disasters are competing with each other for news coverage. Haiti again devastated, snap elections were called, a pandemic is regaining strength, a pipeline is not even on the news, oil prices are up and Albertans are getting nothing for it, past and present abuses of First Nations exposed, food prices rising, housing situation across the country is critical, education and healthcare threatened, fires next door and everywhere else, caused by global warming.

In a world like this, what should we talk about first? I look at the news and in the last few days, the situation in Afghanistan is the most eye-catching. Twenty years ago, the US and NATO nations, Canada included, invaded the poor far away backward country. We went to destroy terrorist training camps but ended up officially fighting for women’s rights. Thousands of lives and trillions of dollars were invested, and the girls amazed us with what they could do. Out of the blue burqas emerged girls who became doctors, lawyers, business leaders, judges, politicians, teachers, scientists, Nobel Prize winners, you name it.

Now the West was beaten, leaving the country and evacuating people. Out of all the pictures on the news, one sticks to my mind. A bearded brute was chasing a woman in front of the airport, beating her with a stick. The Taliban calls it crowd control. The West leaders said that they will evacuate Afghans in danger, especially women and girls. I am not good at believing in politicians’ promises. I judge by what I see.

The women and girls that we are airlifting or rescuing will come here. What will be their fate? What about the families with children? Over there they were the Intelligentsia, the Afghanis who could speak English. Here they are arriving with a suitcase to beat the bottom of the bottom of the social order. I remember the feeling. They will work hard, live cheaply, and hope for their future generations to do well. Some people will call them “refugees” or worst while others will tell them to go back where they came from.

As they will assimilate into our society, the old horrors will fade from memory and they will face our realities. Here legally women are equal, but we value many only for their labour or looks. We don’t force them to wear a blue or black tent, but most will be “working people” catering to “rich people” whom they may never see in real life.

Women and girls will find themselves in a much more advanced society but still a society that exploits them, some for having darker skin, some for being a religious minority, and others for being female. They will witness us debating how and when the laws should force restrictions on what they may do with their bodies. The debate is ongoing in many states across the border, as we speak.

Here, girls are not covered but compete with each other for a sexy look. (Not all.) They will use much of their income on makeup, fashions, and perhaps a sporty car or a bigger, fancier home. Some may be trafficked for sex work, others will join the competition to appear like our high class. I remember an interview I saw a few years ago. An Iranian father was asked why his daughters were not allowed to choose who they will marry or which crowd of kids they could hang out with. After a long talk, out came the truth. “We don’t want our daughters to turn out like Britney Spears,” he said.

Our girls may try to use their charm to get a better life for themselves and their future children. “Marry up” is the idea. There was a conversation recorded secretly between George Bush and his brother before they became known political figures. In it, one was saying something like this. “Go to a trailer court, tie a $100 bill to a fishing line and start pulling it, and see what you will come up with.” The rich boys know that the poor girls will give them what they want, hoping to advance through the ranks, and a few may do.

Now I watch the “Me too” movement and wonder how come all those cases of sexual abuse were not reported or investigated many years ago. Often it was our way of life. The generals, movie tycoons, politicians, and others who are now being demoted or even jailed were doing what then was acceptable. Taking advantage of their high class and using what we call (Mistakingly?) Gold Diggers. There are stories in the Bible about the same happening many years ago.

Our society is now struggling with a new identity. The equality-seeking group is competing with those who view women as baby-making machines. We can’t win unless we change the whole social order that includes great inequality in society. It may end up with a revolution, God forbid. In Afghanistan, now the more conservative group won, but here we are trying to reach a consensus democratically. The disasters I named are pressing us to take decisive action.

I look at the peaceful valley I live in and see our towns growing. New people moving into new and renovated homes. There are lots of visitors and we can’t find a table in a restaurant. The fires are staying away and the weather map shows us to be a bubble protected from the worst. The pandemic cases reduce on the way here from all directions.

I don’t want to brag, but I thank the invisible hand that protects us. I notice calmness between the genders instead of the competition in other places and I wonder. Are we here doing something better than most of the world? Could we become an example of true equality while we are at it?

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.