I wept when I read the story Saving the World's Women and others published in the special section of The New York Times Magazine this weekend.
I cried not because the stories are so terribly sad, which they are; not because of the heartfelt response by other countries, which is fantastic; and not because it was the first time I had learned about the plight of these women and girls, because it wasn't; but because a major newspaper is finally covering women's issues as a serious problem that we can't just accept as status quo anymore. Because The New York Times is reporting that sexual slavery, rape as a tool of warfare, marrying off 12-year-old girls who are raped and then die in childbirth, honor killings, and genital mutilation are horrifying truths for millions of women around the world, to say nothing of the financial subjugation and lack of education that keep women "in their place."
I wept because I felt the kind of heart-jumping-out-of-my-chest elation that I felt when Barack Obama was elected president: joy, relief, gratitude, and restoration of my faith in humanity. Thank you to all of the journalists and authors who participated and made women's issues news worth reporting.
I promise to do my part by volunteering for organizations that address women's and girls' issues. I pledge to make a difference in one girl's life by sticking by her and showing her that there are options beyond pregnancy and dropping out of school at 15 or 16.
What can you do, what can you pledge, to keep the momentum going?
1 comment:
Excellent post, as usual. I pledge to be aware of my male privilege and disable that privilege whenever I sense that it is subjugating anyone, especially women. I also pledge to implicitly make other men aware of their own male privilege
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