Don't keep it to yourself

Dear all,as you may have already noticed,I haven’t written for a long time, . It seems that my muse has deserted me for too long. In addition, I have to admit I’m pretty busy with lots of topics to prepare for a competitive exam next year. But a few days ago, I recalled something that happened when I was twelve years old and, although I had stored it in a dark corner of my mind, it started to trouble me again.

We have to go back to the late eighties, imagine a twelve-year-old girl that wants to dress herself as a very popular singer. This singer had a particularly striking image that deviated from the mainstream one. She challenged stereotypes, she pursued her own dreams and was strongly determined to behave as she wanted and not as she was expected to do, thus she was and advocating for liberty of expression and claiming the right to act as her real self. Furthermore, one of her songs was to become a gay anthem in the following years. Taking into consideration these words about her, I guess you may know what I wanted to dress like her. But let’s go back to that moment.

It was Carnival 1987, still winter, so my mum allowed me to wear mini skirt not too short with black tights, and a jacket as it was winter, although it wasn`t too cold. My mum was a bit conservative, so she allowed a bit of make-up but not too much, and I combed my hair up in a ponytail. That was me, that day. Just a normal twelve-year-old girl with a bit of make-up, a mini skirt not too short and a pony- tail. My mum asked me to go to the supermarket, which I did as usual. So I left my house in a good mood. But then something unexpected happened. As I passed by the park opposite the supermarket two boys, I think they were about ten years old, they started to shout out loud “puta barata” which can be translated as “cheap bitch”. I don’t remember what I told them in response, what I do remember is how embarrassed I felt, although I knew I had done nothing wrong. They were the ones who were trespassing a limit, not me. They were laughing, I guess they didn’t know the implications of their words.  I entered the supermarket in a hurry, hoping no one had heard what they said in case they thought it was all my fault, which it wasn’t.

As the time has passed, I came to realized that it wasn’t my fault, as I did nothing to provoke them, in fact, I hadn’t even noticed that they were there until they started to insult me. They were kids, that’s right, but the fact that they were under age doesn’t change the fact that they thought that calling me a bitch was funny. It makes me wonder about how they were being educated at that time. Did their male relatives used to refer to other women in the same terms? Did they actually understand the implications of what they were saying?

As I did that day, women had to endure sexist insults for too long. We had overcome many gender issues, however, in the public sphere women are still insulted and called unpleasant sexist names. This is something we all must repudiate, exposing those who think they have the right to refer to us in these terms. 

Those kids violated my fundamental rights, so we
need to teach young children to respect young girls

Let me explain you how the twelve-year-old me felt at that time: it was embarrassing and humiliating. I felt vexed and angered at the same time as I hadn’t done anything to deserve those comments. They had no right to humiliate me, and above all I think they are the ones that should have felt embarrassed as their behavior was unacceptable and despicable. Now I’m a secondary teacher and I think if the same thing happened in my classroom, I would supported the girl and punished the perpetrators. As an English teacher I guess I would asked them to write an essay about their actions with the aim of getting them to understand the impact of their words on a girl their same age. Unfortunately, no one was there for me at that time, and this is something that I hope it has changed. Now I'm a grown up woman who has overcome many difficult moments and despite all those troubles I have achieved wonderful things. The past is over now, but I still needed to write about it so if the same thing happens to a young girl my words can be of help. Remember it's not your fault, you should be allowed to wear any clothes or make up and no one has the right to insult you, and if they do it just seek for help, don't keep it to yourself as I did. Expose those who have humilliated you, as they are the ones that must reflect about their behavior. They must learn that insulting women is unacceptable and despicable. 

About My Stealthy Freedom

Dear all,
Today I would like to talk about My Stealthy Freedom, a movement I've been following both in Facebook and Twitter. If you have seen their Facebook web page, you then should know about their struggle to overcome compulsory hijab in Iran. They wear white clothes on Wednesday and they remove their veils. In doing so, they're advocating for their rights and they become champions of the Iranian feminist movement. I've just started to follow Masih Alinejad in Twitter who has become the most visible person of this movement. She is the person who prompted the  "white Wednesdays"initiative, and she is the one who shares the videos these brave women send her from Iran. This might sound quite innocent to you, but it's quite risky for these women, as they might be arrested by the "morality police".
I have seen lots of videos from different women in Iran who have dared to send their videos to Masih Alinejad. I have to say I normally watch them without commenting, and I don't normally share them. However, once I've learned that some of these brave women have been arrested as a result os their innocent actions, I've felt impeled to write openly about their ordeal.

Saba Kord Ashari is one of the women who sent a video to Masih Alinejad, who warn her she might face arrestment if her video was released. However, this young girl was more than willing to take the risk. As a result she got arrested and authorities forced her to confess after her own mother was also detained. She has been sentenced to twenty four years in prison, which at the young age of twenty must be really distressful.
I can't even imagine what this young girl must be feeling, but I guess she must feel extremely anxious and very lonely. I have read about the terrible events going on in the infamous prison of Evin in Iran. In 2003 Zahra Kazemi was brutally raped and murdered there. Consequently, this young girl who now faces a very gloomy future in an Iranian prison must be fearing for her life too.
For women like me who have been born just before the Spanish dictator Franco passed away, freedom might be something we often take for granted. However, as you've just read, for many women freedom is no more than an illusion. They don't have their own voice, and that's the main reason why we have to speak out loud for them. Alinejad has stated that we need to share their stories in order to become their voice. In adittion, she has also complained about the lack of response from the global feminist movement, as they have failed to support Iranian women.  Therefore, I want to state that I am a feminist and I do want to share their stories and become their voice. I don't write a very successful blog, I have to admit that few people share my entries. Nevertheless,  I still want to give voice to the women in Iran who have risked their freedom to denounce the lack of  women rights in their country. I believe that if we all share their stories and combine our voices to support them we'll become a very strong force.
I would like to share a video in which Masih Aljinedad recounts her own story and how she has challenged compulsory hijab.

World Day Agaisnt Trafficking in Persons

I have stayed away from my social network as I needed some time for myself and my family. Consequently, I haven’t published a single thing in this blog for quite a long time. However, I have to admit that I did miss it sometimes but it seems that I could not find a muse to inspire me for a while. Yesterday I was told that July 30 was The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, and I realised that I had to write about it.

The figures said that most of the victims of human trafficking are women, especially immigrant women. They are offered a better life somewhere far away from home and they truly believe that all their dreams are about to come true. They dream with a job that could provide the means for them and their families. However, once they get tho their destiny everything is taken away from them: their ID, their money, and overall their freedom and their dignity. They are enslaved and forced into prostitution; they do fear for their lives and for those they love, as a result there is no room for hope. Sometimes they are rescued either by the police or some organization who struggles to find a solution to their plight. Unfortunately, there are still many women trapped in this terrible situation, waiting to be freed.

Nevertheless, human trafficking does not only affect women but also children. Some of them are sold by their own parents to dishonest people who exploit them in factories or plantations. Others are seized and taken away from their parents who love them and desperately search everywhere for them. They all lose their innocence and their childhood forever, and even though they could be rescued what they have lost can’t be recovered.

We all are born free and equal and no one has the right to sell or buy another human being as our lives are priceless and we belong to nobody.

I think it is already late to join the #igivehope campaign, however, I would like to send some hope to those affected by this crime.