This week's must watch: Rap Against Rape

This is the BEST thing I've seen on the internet in a very very long time!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3iwXGGGYGY 

Pankhuri Awasthi and Uppekha Jain, two women from India are speaking out about rape culture and sexism with the hashtag #RapAgainstRape. In the epic video the duo rap about the country's attitude towards women while holding up placards with words written on them, such as #domesticviolence #shame #objectification #criminalsinparlimant and #rape.

They covered every issue, from the country's current state:

"We're now known as the land of rapes 

But did you ever wonder, how this took shape 

Don't shy away now, you're a part of this culture 

Of lawyers who will kill 

and politicians who ban our will 

and all the other Blood-sucking vultures 

We're a land of ironies 

and of rampant misogyny 

Stop that tweet 

And actually get on your feet 

And help reform this mindset 

That for years has been preset 

That our women are nothing more than objects 

To be controlled, shut-up and used for sex"

to the crimes committed against women every single day:

"When a girl who's been raped, has to hide her face 

And then that same society 

makes a porn star their celebrity 

To teach women obedience there's domestic violence 

But no one will report it 

They're meant to absorb it with silence 

On that crowded train today, are you sure – you didn't see the man 

Who thought that under my tee-shirt he would rest his hand 

Didn't it boil your blood enough for you to take a stand 

Or did you just let it be 

Because I was stupid enough to be akeli?"

to how the consent and clothing choices of the women doesn't mean s_it:

"I'll wear what I want – even if its mini 

It's only a dress 

Don't for a second think it's a yes"

and how we should carve a new way:

"I'll work at home or outside, tackling misogyny with pride 

Gone are the times we stayed abused and broken 

And behind closed doors we cried

It's about time to change the tide and for you to get on our side 

Help us bring in a new day – for you, for me, for us 

Let's carve a new way"

The video has already gained over 50,000 views!!

But the big question is - Do these videos actually help?

I think yes, sure it doesn't bring a massive change but it plays a part. The use of social media plays a huge part as it helps give people a voice, a voice to speak up and make a difference.

And that is exactly what Uppekha Jain says, "Doing something is better than doing nothing about women's safety in India." 









credits: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-31938381 
http://www.abplive.in/incoming/article528450.ece/alternates/FREE_768/RAP%20AGAINST%20RAPE.png

Özgecan Aslan (22 October 1995 – 11 February 2015)

On Wednesday, February the 11^th twenty year old Ozgecan Aslan was burnt and beaten to death with an iron bar after an attempted rape in Turkey. It has been reported that minibus driver Suphi Altindoken had killed and mutilated her body after she pepper-sprayed him. He has been arrested alongside his father and a friend.

Gone, a young girl with a bright future.

Case like this is very common in Turkey. The number of sexual harassment and violence in the country is shocking. In 2014, 56% of the 281 women murdered in the country were killed by a husband or partner. The number of deaths has seen an increase in the previous year by 31%.

 The case has sparked many street protests in Ankara, Istanbul and Mersin. A week ago, about 15,000 protestors took to the streets to march near Cag University, where she was a psychology student. It also caused an uproar on social media, women took to twitter to share their own stories of sexual harassment and violence. Not only that, the hashtags #Ozgecanicinsiyahgiy (Wear black for Ozgecan) and #Ozgecanicinminietekgiy (wear a miniskirt for Ozgecan) began to trend as a form of protest. Women posted selfies while wearing black clothes, while men in Turkey and Azerbaijan tweeted images of themselves wearing a skirt as a symbol of solidarity.

 “If a miniskirt is responsible for everything, if wearing a miniskirt means immorality and unchastity, if a woman who wears a miniskirt is sending an invitation about what will happen to her, then we are also sending an invitation!”, wrote one protestor on Facebook  in regards to the campaign. http://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwarren/rest-in-peace-ozgecan-aslan#.wfQ0lKZqa2

For those who are thinking - what good does protesting do to help - it helps, alot. To live in a country where human rights and freedom of speech is limited, it helps to rise your voice to be heard, even if its through protesting. 

This case is a political issue that represents the fear women live with in Turkey. The constant fear that has been put in place by the Turkish president Erdogan who believes that men & women are not equal so therefore shouldn’t be treated equally. “What women need is to be able to be equivalent, rather than equal” he said last November, while addressing the Women & Justice Summit in Istanbul, an international conference hosted by the Women & Democracy Association, a Turkish NGO.

Everybody that knows me or reads my blog knows my problem against Erdogan, for those that don’t, well I hate the man. I hate his political views on gender equality and the fact that he has done no good for women’s rights.  Many times he has stated that he sees women no more than “mothers”, he refuses to accept that men and women might be different biologically but nevertheless women deserve equal rights & opportunities. For me it is obvious to see that Erdogan’s attitude and disregard of gender equality plays a huge part in the increase of sex crimes and violence against women in Turkey over the recent years.

Even though Erdogan’s hate crime against women is clear, it is time for him to take domestic violence and sex crimes seriously. It is time for him to do more than tweet the words “the responsible ones deserve the heaviest punishment”. It is time for him to put his foot down and protect all women. It is time for him to honour Aslan and bring a different outcome to the same sad story.

I just hope in the memory of Aslan the case be a turning point for all women in Turkey.

Image credits - http://image.cdn.haber7.com//haber/haber7/photos/ozgecan_aslan_nasil_ve_neden_olduruldu_1423917510_5239.jpg

-http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article10047082.ece/alternates/w460/AN63004367epaselect%20epa0461.jpg

https://twitter.com/Guy_Moussi/status/567337134605205505/photo/1http://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.2247790.1424742604!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/image.jpg

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/24/turkeys-president-recep-tayyip-erdogan-women-not-equal-men

10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman

Hi guys!

Sorry for being absent for some time, been so so busy!

Soooooo yesterday I was reading the news and an article made me so angry! An article about a video, a video that went viral few days ago, a video of a young woman named Shoshana Roberts walking around New York City for ten hours. Which at first sounds harmless and you may ask 'what is wrong with her walking around for 10 hours?Why is it newsworthy?' Well this young woman got verbally abused 108 times within 10 hours of walking! A pure example of street harassment women face all the time! 

In the two minute clip she was told to smile and many disgusting comments were made, such as “Somebody is acknowledging you for being beautiful – you should say thank you,”. 

For the video actress Shoshana Roberts partnered with Rob Bliss of  Rob Bliss Creative and Hollaback, a non-profit movement launched by activists to end street harassment, to help bring awareness to the big problem. Bliss's aim is to show an unbiased look at what women experience in the streets daily.

"I felt like no one had ever really shown what it's like to experience street harassment, more or less," Bliss told The Huffington Post. "No one has -- from a third-party perspective, on the outside looking in -- been able to step back and look at it and watch it happen in front of them."

 I just love how the actress is wearing just a simple plain t-shirt and jeans and challenging the whole "Ooo she wore this oh she wore that so she wanted attention blah blah blah" crap talk. The point is, sexual harassment verbal or physical does NOT come down to what the female is wearing! As Bliss explains: "I didn't want to give ammunition to anyone who may detract from this video. If she wanted to wear something that showed more skin, I definitely think that guys would have been louder and more vocal about this."

Here, take a look: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1XGPvbWn0A

PS. I dedicate this post to that ignorant asshole on Facebook a few weeks ago who asked why we still need feminism... here is your answer...!