Better off not being a woman.

Apparently I was very sheltered as a kid. I truly believed that we lived in a world where good was the overwhelmingly normal outcome and that evil was an outlier of human behavior. Maybe all of those Disney movies where good always triumphs over evil went to my head. Or maybe it is just in my nature to always try and see the positive in any situation, no matter how messed up things may be. I'm not turning into a cynic, not yet anyways, but when I come across news stories like this one, it's hard to swallow, impossible to rationalize, too horrible to comprehend.

Domestic violence has always been one of my few unforgivable sins. Whether it's the hopeless romantic in me that just can't fathom acts of violence against women or the fact that several people close to me that I love deeply have been the victims of men who talk with their fists and not their mouths, it has always been an issue that struck me at my core. Seeing the personal side from the eyes of the victim is truly heart-wrenching. Seeing from the eyes of politics or cowardly bystanders is maddening. But that is exactly what happened in these two news stories.

The first article is about the changing role of women in Saudi Arabia. Thankfully the majority of the article is positive. It details the progress that Saudi Arabia has made in incorporating women into the workplace. Much of this progress is thanks to the ruler of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, and his decision to replace conservative Islamic hardliners with clerics who will emphasize the tolerance of Islam, something that radicals like the Taliban in other countries conveniently choose to ignore. Women are finally attending univeristies and gaining employment as educated professionals, working alongside men in important fields like government, law and medicine.

Many Saudi men are unused to these changes. Saudi culture is still very misogynistic despite all of the wonderful gains they have made towards equality in the last couple of years. It is still against the law for women to drive cars, or to even leave the house without the permission of a male member of the family. Those that do could face harsh punishment. King Abdullah appointed his daughter, Princess Adelah, to spearhead the effort against domestic violence. They succeeded in passing legislation that made it illegal for husbands to beat their children and wives. My question is, what kind of society needs to have these kinds of laws passed in the 21st century? The royal family actually sponsored PR campaigns encouraging husbands to "satisfy their wives emotionally and to protect their marriage". Isn't that common sense? I honestly didn't think that people had to be told to cherish the one that they pledge to spend the rest of their life with. But this is a culture that for the longest time has had absolutely archaic views towards women, placing them on the level of human property if not worse. It was normal for Saudi husbands to beat their wives for any kind of offence, real or imaginary. Even something as simple as spending too much money at the market could lead to a socially sanctioned one sided boxing match. The American equivalent would be Jimmy giving his wife Karen a black eye because she just couldn't say no to the 30% off sale at Kohls. Up until recently no one would have batted an eye had such events transpired in the Kingdom. Fortunately all of that is changing and domestic violence is becoming socially unacceptable, like it should have been all along. Women in Saudi Arabia have a long way to go, but it is promising that the country is taking steps in the right direction.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091010/wl_time/09171192915200

Before we as Americans get on our high moral horse and proclaim that inequality and abuse are problems in other cultures but not our own, we should take a look at another story from California. Very rarely do I find myself at a loss for words, but this time I really didn't know what to say. All I know is that before I read the news article I was having a good day, afterwards, I was sad, angry, and questioning the very nature of humanity itself. We all remember high school. For some it was good, for some it was bad. But the bad very rarely get this bad. Like nearly everyone else in America I went to homecoming and prom. My worst fears were embarassing myself in front of my date on the dance floor or spilling something on myself at dinner. I'm notorius among my friends for being clumsy. For my parents, their worst fear was that I would miss curfew and be too tired for church the next mroning, (or maybe that us kids might sneak off to a party or somewhere else for some extra fun, they never really told me). But no teenager or parent would expect what happened recently at California's Richmond High School.

Saturday night, while a homecoming dance was taking place at the school, a fifteen year old girl was gang raped and beaten by as many as ten guys. For over two hours she was molested in the school courtyard, while police officers and school faculty were watching over the rest of the students at the dance that was taking place in the school gym.

Details are fuzzy as to how the incident started. Thankfully the girl is now out of the hospital and is at home making a full recovery. Or at least as much of a recovery as is possible from such a traumatic event. This raises three questions, the first two of which are obvious, how did this happen and what steps were taken to prevent it? Apparently the student was for some reason separated from the rest and attacked by this group of guys, who range in age from 16 on up. So far only 6 of the suspected ten have been arrested. I can only hope that the rest are caught as well and sentenced to the maximum prison sentence that the law allows for that crime. As far as preventive measures, the school knew that only 7 of their 16 security cameras actually worked. They had lobbied for years to get additional lighting, cameras and security fences. Some of this equipment was supposed to have been installed over last summer. It was not, and now an innocent girl has paid the price for the district's cost cutting measures.

Obviously there is something wrong and evil about the men who attacked her. There is no question there. I hope they get everything they deserve and more for such a heinous and cowardly crime. But the saddest part of this ordeal hasn't even been mentioned yet. Not only was the girl attacked by the gang, but there were several bystanders who watched the attack. They made no move to help or intervene in any way. No 911 calls were reported for this incident. She was found naked from the waist down and barely conscious sometime the next day. The police estimate that as many as 20 unknown people stood by while this girl fought for her life against a bunch of thugs and criminals. How do they know there were bystanders? Because these perverts took pictures of the rape with their cell phone cameras. Nice to know that we as Americans don't call for help when someone is in trouble, we sit by and watch and use technology to document the event for future recollection. There really isn't much left to say. Everything is just as bad as it sounds, no exaggerations or emotional pitches needed. Whoever watched this brutal attack and did nothing to stop it are just as guilty as the thugs who actively participated. My heart and prayers go out to the girl and her family.
http://www.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2009-11-03-column03_ST1_U.htm?csp=34

All of this leaves me thinking that this world is messed up beyond repair. If we live in a place where such atrocities are possible then what else is left to say? My sister turns eleven in less than a week. As she matures into a young woman is this the kind of thing I have to worry about happening to her. After all the girl at that homecoming dance was only four years older than her. Still a child, yet these guys, (I refuse to call such cowards men) used her for their own sick pleasures and fantasies. What if it had been their daughter or signifigant other that was attacked? Would they even care? Apprently not if they are willing to treat someone else's loved one so cruelly. I know if I had gotten the phone call and she was related to me then someone would have hell to pay. At what point is enough truly enough? What does one do when the world seems to have lost its mind and there is nothing you can do about it accept read about it and slowly become more and more depressed and angry? I know one thing is for sure, it is time for all the real men to stand up and put a stop to this nonsense. Until that happens, you're probably better off not being a woman.