Διαβάστε το σχόλιο μιας κυρίας από τον Guardian, σε σχετική συζήτηση.
This post will probably upset a number of people, who will accuse me of racism, because they do not experience what I will describe below – either these said people are men, or they are women who really do not notice what is going on around them. I also feel that it is an important point to make, as it is regularly ignored by the usual suspects out of fear of being ʽun-pcʼ. Sorry, but womenʼs freedoms and equality are more important to me than the fear of upsetting someone with a backwards view on women and their place in society.
Iʼve travelled to many developing countries, and spent extensive periods of time in the Middle East, and the way I am treated as a white woman in many countries is absolutely disgusting – in many cultures, women are perceived as being lesser than men, and gender equality is but a dream for many women in many countries – as attested to by the UN, with itʼs campaigns of ending violence against women, stopping rape as a weapon of war etc.
In my experience, white women are simultaneously despised and fetishized as being ʽrich and looseʼ and therefore immoral, and sexually attractive due to perceived availability. This is particularly true in the conservative societies in the Middle East in which I lived (and these were in the ʽliberalʼ, ʽsecularʼ countries!) The constant sexual harassment from 95-98% of males aged between 13-65, ranging from stares to inappropriate comments to full-on groping… all the time, in crowded streets, just because of the colour of my skin and the fact that I dare walk outside without a male companion – in a capital city full of other Western tourists, and wearing culturally appropriate clothing.
As Iʼve said before, I can cope with this in their countries – but Iʼve noticed in the past 5 years of so how much more abuse I get in Britain from men from Middle Eastern and other developing countries (no, not just Muslims, before anyone starts jumping to conclusions – I specify Middle Eastern because I live in the ʽMuslimʼ part of the city). I could understand this if I was walking around in a mini-skirt and stiletto heels, but Iʼm talking normal everyday workwear (ie, not ʽsluttyʼ), with no flesh on display. This is not just directed at me (Iʼm not some kind of stunning goddess) but I see it directed towards many other normal women, and it makes me so angry. I also speak Arabic, so I know exactly what the Arabic-speakers are saying, and how degrading their language towards these women is.
In order to get cheap labour, the government imported hundreds of thousands of people from places which, letʼs face it, are not bastions of championing equality and womenʼs rights, and who tend to look down on people who do not adhere to their moral codes regarding womenʼs sexuality. Their views are not going to change, especially when there is no impetus from official sources for them to integrate, and their daughters will grow up being subjugated, as they would in their parentʼs native countries. How does this help women and the fight for female equality?
I think that it will only get worse as time progresses, and womenʼs rights will start receding further and further.
