I Am Woman. Hear Me Roar. 👊🏽

Intentional killing of females. Femicide. Not a common term, yet a hateful and worldwide occurrence. Femicide also refers to the manner in which governments are passive to these killings. Systems of patriarchy that subjugate women, failure of the police and justice system to act on behalf of such crimes -- cruel intentions that give weight to this truth.

The origin of the recent #ChallengeAccepted movement is unclear. Certainly, it is tied to raising awareness of females killed by male partners in Turkey -- where the femicide rate is shockingly high. So-called “honour killings” such as that of Pinar Gültekin last month, are not unique to Turkey. Violence against women, because they are women. A universal and tragic reality. Systemic blocks by Conservative governments compound the issue. In too many cases, all over the globe, administrative and public officials openly make derogatory statements to women, with no stop. Therefore, it is more correct to go so far as to call these “political killings”. In male-dominated cultures, the general spirit of discrimination is then exacerbated by this encouragement. Case in point, women, and children if there are any, are often relocated to shelters in protection from a threat. The very restraining order issuing that safety is then found in the purse of the murdered woman. The alleged murderer then dons a suit and tie for court, thereby presenting well, and receives a lenient sentence in a regular occurrence now named “tie reduction".

Some of the women are killed by males they know (boyfriends, husbands, brothers, fathers) and then blamed -- wearing provocative clothing, their choice of job, their appearance, whether they are married or not -- for the murder. A mentality deeply ingrained in many societies justifies these deeds. Gültekin’s alleged murderer in his own mind, seemingly felt it was her fault: “She threatened to let my wife know about the relationship. She was asking for money.”

Circling back to #ChallengeAccepted, victims worldwide need leaders. And while change is slow, forward movement is still forward movement. Any effort to put a spotlight on a cause is a good effort. And in today’s world, where social media dominates so much of our lives, over 6 million women accepted the challenge to post a black and white selfie on Instagram. Against femicide. I didn’t even know this was a word until a good friend enlightened me last week. Raising daughters and sons, whether we like to believe it or not, none of us lives in a bubble. Enlightenment, as a duty, is what brings awareness.

And the great women I know feel gratitude for their place in the world, and compassion for those who are not. We have taken our own black and white selfies this month.

Women supporting women. Social media communication at its best.

Sources:

Femicideincanada.ca

Eski, Beril. “The murder of a ballerina”, New York Times, February 4, 2020.

Helen Reddy, I Am Woman. Universal Music Publishing Group, 1971.