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Found on the Women’s Liberation Front Feed. :)
Nice to see more people who get it.
“Nour-The latest songs for the famous Egyptian rapper Zap Tharwat featuring for the first time the renowned Actress Amina Khlail. The song was developed under the leadership of the National Council for Women in collaboration with UN Women Egypt Country Office with the generous support of the Embassy of Japan”
A loud alarm clock startled me awake
The interview day reminded me of my first job
Many competent engineers are striving for this position
All of which have minimal life experience
The last CV remaining belongs to “Nour Abdel-Karim”
An old page from his diary fell from the application file
Nour is the eldest among his two sisters,
He never complained for taking their responsibilities
Among other pressures, his friends always criticized him:
“What will you do with knowledge? What will education add to you?”
He always had an answer, and never lost focus of his goal
His mother constantly supported and encouraged him
But, his father’s sudden illness caused a great burden
He needed to find a way to support his family,
So he worked in his father’s car shop and said he will forget about his studies,
In a few months he gained the title “Boss”, just like his father
In secret, he continued his studies with the support of his professors
They considered his situation and understood his constant absence
His graduation was like a dream come true,
Finally he is a Mechanical Engineer
Then, the news of his father’s passing hit him like a bullet
Because of his constant struggles, he had learned how to be patient
As I turned the page of the diary, I had made my decision
to hire him, he seems to be like the perfect candidate
I will not be marginalized, nor will I accept being idly shelved
This world progresses, because we are both equally walking the same line
I lead and challenge circumstances you don’t go through
“His” role will never be completed without “Her” role
It is time for the interview, I am excited to meet him
To hear more about his life, his dreams, his circumstances
But the reality is that “Nour” did not turn to be a man,
There is a girl standing in front of me and saying “hello”, I do not understand
I astonishingly asked “Is your name Nour Abdel Karim”?
She nodded with a smile “Hello, and you are?”
I asked again, “Do you have siblings?” She said, “Yes, young sisters”
And I’ve been responsible for them since my father’s death
I was shocked that her answer was the same as what I’ve read
A thousand voices in my mind echo: It’s unbelievable, how can this be?!
How did she work at a car shop?
How was she the backbone for her family?
How did she overcome those hardships? She’s a woman, not a man.
How will male workers address her and call her “boss”?
How will I say that I chose a “female” Mechanical Engineer?
Voices in my head condemning the question and the answer
The voice condemns the hesitation and orders me to agree
My conscious reminded me that I had long made my decision
Will I change my mind because she is a woman?
Shame on me! for thinking that way. I must apologize to her.
How can I let myself be influenced by these sick and outdated thoughts?
I came back to my senses and gave Nour back her diary page
I told her: “I know a lot about your life”;
“Congratulations on the new job, I am sure you will succeed,
And I wish this will be a happy experience in your life”
I will not be marginalized, nor will I accept being idly shelved
This world progresses, because we are both equally walking the same line
I lead and challenge circumstances you don’t go through
“His” role will never be completed without “Her” role
Unsurprisingly women suffer under patriarchal religious dogma. We don’t have time for that anymore.
The Female Version:
And then there is male date preparation:
Wearing pants? Don’t smell? Check! Good to go!
Men worry that their date won’t measure up to their aesthetic preferences. Women worry that they’re going wind up dead.
The disparity is RIDICULOUS, and the fact that dudes get offended when women try to protect themselves is hard proof that way too many guys Do Not Understand how dangerous it is to be a woman. (Not to mention it’s fucking insulting. “How dare you not trust your life and safety to a complete stranger whose intentions you have no way of knowing”?)
The point is, “WE HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING A NICE GUY FROM A SERIAL KILLER.”
It’s not like they fucking wear nametags, okay? Moreover, the most awful people with the worst intentions often put on the nicest face or deliberately make themselves seem harmless and likeable, to lull potential victims into a false sense of security. (Read up on Ted Bundy sometime. It’s horrifying shit. Or read any thread on the “Let’s Not Meet” subreddit.)
In order to protect ourselves, we are forced to assume the worst of every man we meet, because statistically speaking, the biggest danger to women…IS MEN. Saying “not all men are out to get you, you’re just being paranoid” is like saying “not every car you ride in is going to crash, so buckling your seatbealt is stupid.”
When dealing with an unknown situation, in the absence of absolute proof of safety, exercising a little extra caution can be the difference between life and death. Shaming women for being what you may view as overly cautious is every bit as horrid as blaming them if something goes wrong later on.
[Source]
When the government really isn’t on your side… Excerpts taken from here.
“Between 1971 and 1991 in Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic and Slovakia, the “reduction of the Roma population” through surgical sterilization, performed without the knowledge of the women themselves, was a widespread governmental practice. The sterilization would be performed on Romani women without their knowledge during Caesarean sections or abortions. Some of the victims claim that they were made to sign documents without understanding their content. By signing these documents, they involuntarily authorized the hospital to sterilize them. In exchange, they sometimes were offered financial compensation or material benefits like furniture from Social Services – though it was not explicitly stated what this compensation was for. The justification for sterilization practices according to the stakeholders was “high, unhealthy” reproduction.
[…]
While human rights can be violated by individuals or by institutions, they can only be defended by institutions. The European Court of Human Rights does not deal with single individuals who have committed crimes. Rather, it focuses on why the government in question could not take action against what happened. But where are the doctors, politicians and all the people who personally contributed to or carried out such surgeries, and when they are going to take responsibility for their actions? In order to take action against this human rights violation, blaming the Communist regime is not enough. The practice continues today and forcibly sterilized Romani women are still a long way from receiving true justice.”
-Written by: Galya Stoyanova, Romani intern at Romedia Foundation
A Houston grand jury investigating undercover footage of Planned Parenthood found no wrongdoing Monday by the abortion provider, and instead indicted anti-abortion activists involved in making the videos that targeted the handling of fetal tissue in clinics and provoked outrage among Republican leaders nationwide.
Yeah. Dudes rallying to deny women their rights. Shocking, I know.
This is what happens when your platform is based on lies, deception and intimidation of women and those who support them. You get your shit called out in court, one of the few places in America where evidence and facts still matter.
Planned Parenthood vindicated:
“This is absolutely great news because it is a demonstration of what Planned Parenthood has said from the very beginning: We follow every law and regulation and these anti-abortion activists broke multiple laws to try and spread lies,” said spokeswoman Rochelle Tafolla of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.”
Ah, the noble crusaders for life are in for a legal drubbing.
“Despite the lofty name of the Center for Medical Progress, public filings suggest only a small number of people are affiliated with the non-profit, none of whom are scientists or physicians engaged in advancing medical treatments. The people named as its top officers are longtime anti-abortion activists with a history of generating headlines.
Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood sued the centre in a California federal court, alleging extensive criminal misconduct. The lawsuit says the centre’s videos were the result of numerous illegalities, including making recordings without consent, registering false identities with state agencies and violating non-disclosure agreements.”
Isn’t just amazing the array of bullshit brought into play when women get close to being treated a full human beings. Let’s hope the court, seeing the vast swath of anti-choice malfeasance, nails these bastards to the wall.
A small taste of the historical basis for the shit-deal women have gotten from patriarchal society through a small sampling of history. This sort of bias lies at the very root of how our society is structured. So please dudes stop declaring that the sexes are ‘equal’ and the job of feminism is done. It isn’t equal and it isn’t your call to make.
bleatmop
Mystro
The Arbourist
Dead Wild Roses 
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