Timothy Mubhawu, Zimbabwe: “I stand here representing God the Almighty. Women are not equal to men. This is a dangerous bill, and let it be known in Zimbabwe that the rights, privileges and status of men are gone.”
What Bill could he possibly talking about you may wonder. One which allows for the takeover of the world by women perhaps? Well, the Bill, being debated in the Zimbabwe National Assembly is the Domestic Violence Bill. Mubhawu believes that men have an inherent right to beat up on their wives and lovers because they are superior.
In a country where 60 per cent of all murder cases are linked to domestic violence, women’s rights activists are outraged. More than 200 people from the Woman’s Coalition, an umbrella organisation for 35 women’s groups protested outside parliament.
Meanwhile, in India, another country where violence against women is all too common, a group who have called themselves “The Blank Noise Project” is attempting to reclaim the capital, New Delhi from street harassment. In India, it’s called “Eve Teasing” and is thought of as harmless fun but this group of women is attempting to call it for what it is, sexual harassment. They organise reclaim the night marches and actions where they stencil their message over Delhi streets and they hope that their movement will catch on in other cities in India. (Via)
However, it’s not just the “eve teasing” they have to contend with- there were 18,000 reported rapes in India last year and it is estimated that a woman is raped every 30 minutes.
Speaking of Street Harassment though, has anyone thought of setting up an Australian “Hollaback”? Hollaback started in New York City, as a project trying to empower women to do something about street harassment. It’s something we often experience, and I don’t know about you but I try to avoid confrontation, mainly because of that lurking fear of violence, but much to my chagrin after the fact. This project allows women to do something that seems to have less of a potential to turn ugly (providing you have a camera or camera phone handy). And that is, take a photo of the ogler/ lurker/ lech/ sleaze/ harasser and post it on the internet with an explanation of what he did. Kind of like a name and shame board but it also provides a platform for women to share their experiences of sexual harassment too, without necessarily having to have a photo of the perpetrator.
Is anyone interested in starting a “hollabackoz” page? If so contact me (editor@wo-magazine.com). I’m willing to be involved but not in any co-ordinating role, merely a, perhaps, helping with the upkeep of the blog part.
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