This is a picture I took yesterday at a rally I attended on women's rights. The rally was held on "Begum Rokeya Day." Begum Rokeya is one of the earliest Bengali feminist writers, and her birthday is celebrated every year by feminist activists in Bangladesh. I have gotten to know a number of the women who organized the rally through a feminist reading group I've been going to. We have a really good time talking and sharing ideas. The woman holding the microphone is Lima, who is the key organizer of the group. She has become a good friend of mine. She feels shy about using her English with me because she doesn't practice it with anyone else, but her English is very good, and we share alot of the same passions so we enjoy talking to each other. Anyway, the group asked me to come to the rally to support their efforts, so of course I agreed to go. All of the speeches were in Bengali, so I had a hard time following much of it, but the general message of equal rights for women was clear enough! And they talked about a number of issues that women in Bangladesh are facing, including domestic abuse, various forms of violence against women, acid throwing (which is something that turned-away suitors sometimes do to women--literally throw acid in their face to disfigure it so no one else will think they're beautiful), and other forms of oppression. Anyway, I felt honored to attend and be a part of their rally.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Rally for Women's Rights
This is a picture I took yesterday at a rally I attended on women's rights. The rally was held on "Begum Rokeya Day." Begum Rokeya is one of the earliest Bengali feminist writers, and her birthday is celebrated every year by feminist activists in Bangladesh. I have gotten to know a number of the women who organized the rally through a feminist reading group I've been going to. We have a really good time talking and sharing ideas. The woman holding the microphone is Lima, who is the key organizer of the group. She has become a good friend of mine. She feels shy about using her English with me because she doesn't practice it with anyone else, but her English is very good, and we share alot of the same passions so we enjoy talking to each other. Anyway, the group asked me to come to the rally to support their efforts, so of course I agreed to go. All of the speeches were in Bengali, so I had a hard time following much of it, but the general message of equal rights for women was clear enough! And they talked about a number of issues that women in Bangladesh are facing, including domestic abuse, various forms of violence against women, acid throwing (which is something that turned-away suitors sometimes do to women--literally throw acid in their face to disfigure it so no one else will think they're beautiful), and other forms of oppression. Anyway, I felt honored to attend and be a part of their rally.
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3 comments:
My god, that acid throwing is really crazy stuff, hard to imagine the pain of rejection pushing you to that extreme. Very sadistic.
Yikes, acid throwing!
The rally sound's awesome. why don't we celebrate audre lorde's b-day or someone else and have a rally and speakers. Maybe we can do that when you get back!!! by the way, what does the sign say that they are holding in the picture?
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