Every week we see a plethora of shocking news and inspiring reactions to the injustice women face around the world — from how they are portrayed in media, news, politics to how they are treated at home, on streets and everywhere else..
We discuss these pieces within the team and have intense WHAT-ON-EARTH and HOW-COULD-THEY moments. We wanted to share this week jaw droppers with you.
Glamourised Corpses
Yes, you read that right. A shocking article in the Guardian by Kira Cochrane opened our eyes to a trend of glamourising female corpses in the fashion industry. We love feather-head-come-alien-costume runway shows but there is something so deeply wrong about fantasising, critiquing and beautifying murder and death of women – even by the fashion industry. Below, you will find some pictures of Ad campaigns quoted in the article and some excerpts to open your eyes:
“That same year, That same year, America’s N
ext Top Model illustrated this trend with an epis
ode in which the contestants had to pose as if they’d just been killed. This prompted surreal comments from the judges. One woman, posed as if she’d just been brutally stabbed, was criticised for not looking dead enough. Another, posed as if she had fallen from a tall building, was told “death becomes you, young lady”. Still another, covered in deep bruises at the bottom of a flight of stairs, was told: “the look on your face is just extraordinary. Very beautiful and dead.” The show could hardly have gone further in illustrating fashion’s fetishisation of the female corpse.
Read the full article here: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2014/jan/09/female-corpses-fashion-trend-marc-jacobs-miley-cyrus
Sealed Products
We came across this on Facebook and it repulsed us. So, we thought we should share this marvellous piece of insipid patriarchy and sexism.
ONLY GOOD WHEN COVERED UP
A recent Pew report, based on a survey conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research from 2011 to 2013 in seven majority-Muslim nations, reveals just how widely opinions about female attire differ in the region. Check out where Pakistan is in this.
32% of Pakistan feels women should wear a Naqaab (the only thing visible to the world: your eyes).
31% of Pakistan feels women should wear a hijab.
24% would prefer if women wore a scarf in public.
Only 2%, yes only 2% think wearing no headscarf is appropriate in public.
This video by The Young Turks explores this further.
Translation: An uncovered woman is the sign of a dishonourable father, brother and husband.
Yes Rickshaw, that piece of wisdom is absolutely crucial and original. This is exactly the message women need to be reminded of in the street and makes them reminisce what they hear at home:
Khaandaan ka naam miti me mila diya. [Translation: You have thrown mud on our family’s name or honor.]
And this thought-provoking Confucius-type (cue sarcasm) quote dos rally up the under-protective, women-loving, independence-promoting nature of pakistani men.
Job Well Done.
AND LET’S END ON A HAPPY THOUGHT!
Sabia Sabbat of Haripur, Hazara is the national cycling champion of Pakistan. To put this into context – Hazara is the place where most women are expected to stay at home.
Breaking all the conventions of her region, Sabia has a bachelors in Physical Education and travels to Lahore for her training.
She says what got her started was a simple question: “Why can’t women ride a bicycle?”
That is exactly what we want to hear. Beautiful. Now, off to another week… If you hear something that drops your jaw – send it over or comment below!