Monday, August 5, 2013

Some Kick-Ass Women...My Favorite Kind

Do you guys remember Malala Yousafzai?  Well, incase you don't remember, she was the woman giving the speech on how women should have a better education system going for them.  Her thanks for this enlightening speech?  Getting shot in the head.  The amazing thing is though that she survived this fatal wound and just recently gave another stirring speech to the U.N.  She was celebrated on July 12 (her 16th birthday) and July 12 is now called Malala Day.  She told the ecstatic crowd that women used to ask for men's help in the fight for women's rights, but obviously it's now time for women to stand up for themselves and we will not be silenced.  In her honor, a news team came up with 10 other women from the Muslim world that are as awesome and, well, kick-ass as she is.  Here is the list that they came up with:

1.  Haifaa Al-Monsour
This woman is directing a film called Wadjda, which is about a girl wanting to own a bike even though women are banned from riding them in public.  Al-Monsour not only directed this- she directed the entire film on Saudia-Arabian land.  One of the top ten most dangerous countries for any woman.

2.  Syria's Female Rebel Fighters
As the days go on, the war in Syria grows more and more violent.  The women have decided to take a stand and are now breeching cultural borders and joining the ranks of rebel fighters.  More than 5,ooo religious women have now joined in the fighting, and one woman was quoted saying, "We are fighting for our honor and for our religion and for revenge."

3.  Raha Moharrak

Not only has Saudia-Arabia had it's first female director, but now they can add Moharrak to the list of firsts for women.  She recently achieved her goal of climbing to the very top of Mount Everest, and she hopes to inspire others in following her tracks.

4.  Dana Bakdounis

She actually had the guts to post a picture of herself on Facebook.  And if that weren't dangerous enough, she left off her veil.  She posted that she would not hide herself behind her veil any longer because she missed feeling the wind on her face and in her hair.  Even though this may be a very small, and to some, seemingly simple gesture, I think that this woman will have more balls than any man I will ever meet.  She recieved a lot of hate through that one small, simple gesture.  However, she also gained many supporters, and she pushed the women's rights movement to even greater hights.

5.  Riham Said

Riham Said is an Egyptian journalist who had a guest on her show, Sheikh Yousuf Badri.  He had no qualms talking to Said, however when the cameras started rolling, he was appalled that she refused to wear a veil on her head.  She pointed out this hypocracy later on and stated how disappointing it was to have men like that being at the head of the Muslim religion, and that is why she decided to have no part in it whatsoever.

6.  Egyptian Women Fighting Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment.  This is the main issue that I actually created this blog.  Nothing disgusts me more than this.  Not one single person has the right to force another to give up something that only they should have the right to give away.  The fact that people take advantage of others simply because they are physically weaker, smaller, or of the "fair" (in other words, female) sex.  Just because our sex organs are on the inside does not mean that we should be objectified and subjected to such cruelty.  And that is why these women right here right now mean so much to me.  They are grouping together, despite any consequences that may befall them and despite their intense fear, to fight against the skyrocketing number of women being sexually harassed.  Even though they are beaten up when they speak out against it, or they are blamed for being an adulteress even though they are the victims, these women are being extraordinarily brave and standing up for themselves.  They even created a video of these rape victims talking about their experiences, and you can watch it here.

7.  Amina Tyler and Her Critics

Tyler is part of a group called FEMEN- a "sextremist" group that fights for women's rights by posting nude pictures of women in a form of confrontation.  I'm not really sure what to think of this strategy to push for women's equality.  Many women could take offense, and several Muslim women did and held a protest against this group, believeing that these nude pictures were not helping them and that they were not represented by these pictures.  Tyler earlier this year had posted nude pics of herself with the words, "My body is my own" and "Fuck your morals" written on her bare chest.  She was then detained by Tunisian authorities, and to protest this, the FEMEN group stood completely naked in front of a Tunisian court.

8.  Parkour Practitioners in Iran

As some of you may know, parkour is a type of sport that involves a lot of flipping yourself in the air and using yourself and objects around you to seemingly fly through the air as you perform these difficult physical feats.  In Iran, parkour is becoming extremely popular among the girls.  This may be because girls are not allowed to play in other sports, whereas parkour just requires yourself, your own strength and speed, and an area in which you can practice.

9.  Tawakkol Karman

"The Iron Woman."  Right off the bat, you know she's cool, seeing as that is one of the names that people know her by.  She was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her outstanding efforts in advocating for women's rights in a nonviolent fashion.  She was quoted saying, “The world needs to look beyond stereotypes and dress code. In our hearts, we are just human beings who want to live a dignified life. Is that too much to ask for?”

10.  Humaira Bachal

Basically, she is Malala Yousafzai Number 2.  She lives in Pakistan and preaches for women's education to become more realistic and for women to have the opportunity.  Atleast 26% of women in Pakistan are illiterate, and she hopes to change that.  A documentary called "Humaira the Dreamcathcer" is a stunning piece in which she talks about her own personal experience with men trying (notice the key word trying) to get in her way.  Infact, it was her own father who forbade her to go to school.  When her mother stood up for Humaira, she recieved a bloody beating from the man.  This documentary was filmed by yet another amazing woman of the name Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who was the first Pakistanian woman to recieve an Oscar for her short film "Saving Face", which was about the acid attacks on girls on their way to school.  Because heaven forbid we actually learn something.  We can't get too many ideas in our brains!!  It could hurt our vaginas.  (This is heavy sarcasm of course)

So as we can see, there is still hope for equality among the genders, and plenty of it!  These women, and several others that were not named, have laid down tracks for us to follow in.  We just might reach equality worldwide.  Who knows? The world is full of surprises, and we can always help the cause.


This information was gathered off of a Huffington Post article; here's the link.

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