Objectification of women creates emotional problems, cultural harm

Sexy grid girl from Czechoslovakia

While the world is getting smaller and many of us might concede there are a few good things to learn about other cultures, how we treat women in the media should be examined to find a middle ground to ensure that woman is treated as person as opposed to object to sell advertising or to promote the sexual interest of men.

Political debates interrupt expanding provision of protection fordomestic abuse victims

I heard the woman crying across the hall in an apartment complex, watched her hurry through a doorway and down some stairs, her face filled with pain.  On another occasion, a woman stood at a bus stop, as a man, using the foulest language, drove by and cursed her.  Violence is a way of life for many people, both male and female, as organizations look for ways to end the pain and politicians debate over who should be protected under the law.

Domestic violence has been a hot button issue on both sides of the political aisle, although these days some folks associate abuse with women's rights restrictions as well.   There may be a ring of truth to that, as it was in those decades of the 50's we sometimes reflect on with nostalgia, when women often followed the husband's dictates, even to how she should vote.

These days domestic violence comes in many forms.  While it is often thought that the fist is the primary assault weapon, words offer tremendous pain as well.   Rap videos and songs often focus on the woman as an object to be ridiculed or used for sex.  Those are abusive elements in our culture that come through in many ways, including the "bad girl" television shows that accent girls pummeling each other, fighting over fellows or just fighting to be the "baddest."

The scars of abuse come in many forms.  While we may think of the abused person with the black eye or the torn garments, it is often the more subtle signs experts tell us must be looked at as a sign that someone is being victimized.  Often the victim of abuse has serious problems with self-esteem and avoids conflict in order to protect himself or herself from further abuse.  Isolation is another characteristic of the abused; friends and family are left behind as the victim lives a type of closeted lifestyle that keeps out those folks who could help.

With the discussions recently on the rights of women and gays, Democrats and Republicans were torn over the expansion of the Violence Against Women Act.  Republicans were opposed to expanding the bill to include gays and lesbians, immigrants and tribal communities.  Although most Senate Republicans voted against the expansion, enough were in favor of it to allow the bill to be passed in the Senate.   Presently the  House is debating the bill, with Republicans putting forth their own version of the bill to eliminate protections for immigrants, tribal members and same-sex couples.  The Republican version of the bill takes away the confidentiality protections for immigrant women as well.   Folks are concerned that a bipartisan bill in the Senate is turning into a major political battle over the issues of immigration and same-sex relationships, specifically with regard to expansion of protection to these groups.  It also removes the ability of people to keep confidential their report of abuse.

The issue of domestic violence remains a controversial one, with most folks agreeing that a man should not hit a woman nor a woman hit a man, but the definition of abuse, what type of relationships might be included and whether folks should open themselves up to retaliation from the abuser after reporting a dispute remains a political debate.  And this hits many people particularly hard.

Women's Rights and Honor Killings

[caption id="attachment_15053" align="alignleft" width="300"] National Women's Rights demonstration[/caption]

Editor--While Republicans and Democrats attempt to score points with women following Hilary Rosen's statement that Ann Romney, wife of Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, had never worked outside the home, and women's groups continue to champion what they maintain are important rights from hard-fought civil rights battles, around the world women remain the target of violence, including honor killings.

Honor killings rise from deep-rooted prejudices against women. These crimes are not just confined to Muslim countries, but are part of the male culture in some countries that dominates women's rights in general. Women are subjected to horrific torture, beatings and killings for asserting themselves in ways far less than American women asking for equal pay for work outside the home and the freedom to have both a career and family or to simply make the choice of staying at home with their children. The issue of the stay-at-home mom vs the working girl may be the controversy in the United States, but in many countries, women are often forced into a form of slavery from which many are unable to escape.

According to Amnesty International, honor killings are on the rise in many places around the world including Ecuador, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The United Nations reports 5,000 women and girls are killed by their families each year in what is called "honor killings".

In January 2012, a jury found an Afghan family guilty of honor killings in a case that astonished Canadians. Mohammad Shafia, 58, his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, and their son Hamed, 21, were each found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder of sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13. Their crimes? Dishonoring the family by going against the strict rules regarding dress, dating, socializing, and using computers to access the Internet. Their bodies were found in a submerged car in a Kingston, Ontario canal.

While women in the United States examine their roles of working while raising a family or becoming a stay-at-home mom, other women face terror for the simple act of wanting to express themselves independently. Women's rights, while considered a basic human right in America by most citizens, remain only a daydream by women trapped in family relationships where violence is the answer to the quest for independence.