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Woman only village in Kenya
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
OK so I was reading Marie Claire magazine (yes Klintock feel free to take the piss) the other day and there was an interesting article about a community in Kenya. The woman were making a stand against the abuse they had suffered at the hands of men (and sometimes woman), they created their own self-sufficient village where the live free of men they employ men to work and dance for them.
Heres a link to an article in the guardian clicky
I was just wondering what people thought about it, I feel its so disturbing that a whole society giving women freedom, equality and a life without abuse is even news worthy, it should be what is expected anyway.
Quote:
"A package of new laws has been presented to Kenya's parliament to give women unprecedented rights to refuse marriage proposals, fight sexual harassment in the workplace, reject genital mutilation and to prosecute rape, an act so frequent that Kenyan leaders call it the nation's biggest human rights issue."
The trouble is who is enforcing these laws?
I'd just like to add that it is claimed the women were not only raped by their husbands but also the British army.
Heres a link to an article in the guardian clicky
I was just wondering what people thought about it, I feel its so disturbing that a whole society giving women freedom, equality and a life without abuse is even news worthy, it should be what is expected anyway.
Quote:
"A package of new laws has been presented to Kenya's parliament to give women unprecedented rights to refuse marriage proposals, fight sexual harassment in the workplace, reject genital mutilation and to prosecute rape, an act so frequent that Kenyan leaders call it the nation's biggest human rights issue."
The trouble is who is enforcing these laws?
I'd just like to add that it is claimed the women were not only raped by their husbands but also the British army.
0
Comments
Bullshit!
Cloning
R
R
It's a women's refuge effectively, that's all. I actually think it's a brilliant idea. The bigger and more empowered the group gets the further they can push their aims for equal rights in Kenya. It is about solidarity and protection.
yeah thats right but to distance yourself from society is not the way to unite, it must be done to show the strength of women not the cowardice of being forced into a whole new community.
Take meetings for example... how can they meet up and discuss a campaign to women's rights if they are always oppressed?
They are not running away for ever are they?
Think back to when trade unions began, you don't hold a meeting with the boss present do you?
Besides, I still support the idea. Nobody here has any idea what these women have been through. If you were raped would you want to be around who you see as potential rapists all the time? Would you want to be in a community that hates you because you were raped?
I certainly wouldn't, nor would I want to risk being raped again.
How does humanity benefit from it though? The sole purpose of life is to live and reproduce. I've studied Women in Ireland in the 19th Century for my first year History and there's far better ways of empowering women's rights than making self sufficient women only villages. It's a load of fucking shite. End of story!
I certainly wouldn't, nor would I want to risk being raped again.[/QUOTE]
So living in an all female village makes them immune to rape?
:yes:
And I believe that when they get bigger and more influential, then they can start workingfor women's rights without being disturbed or found out and beaten up.
Again, a women only village makes them immune to rape? Your living in a dream world if you think it does.
Women's refuges are fine for the short term but if the result is a group of women too terrified to interact with men then it's a sorry state of affairs, and actually is rather sexist. The implication is that all men are predatory and dangerous and that women can only be safe if they create communities with no resident men.
Women's rights is a very important goal for almost every developing nation and a lot of effort is going in to empower women to take control of family finances and even to seek employment. However, this is reliant on men also seeking to give women equal rights. Otherwise there isn't much point. To whom would they be equal if there are no men?
The women there do interact with men as I said in my previous post. Men are paid to come into the village and do odd jobs etc. The women themselves go into the local town and interact with men, the teenage girls go to dances and have boyfriends. They have created the village to rid themselves of the abusive life they lead in the original tribe which had a culture of abuse. When the young girls hit puberty they were sold off for marriage, at which point the local women in the tribe cut off the brides clitoris with a razor blade to 'ensure the wife's fidelity'. Surely they have they right to a safe and happy life away from those kind of traditions?
Basically this is the only way these people could keep themselves safe and make a stand against these traditions and values. They didn't have a voice in the tribe but now they are out of it people can listen.
Ha well said. Obviously I couldn't convey the message so eloquently.
That's the idea, of course we know things don't exactly work like that in corrupt 3rd world countries.
I can hardly blame them for wanting to get away after being treated like shit...why should they stand for it? It's a refuge not a way of life.