The Latest (En)rage(ment) in Keeping Women Oppressed

I was relieved to read in the New York Times about Pope Benedict XVI meeting with some of the sex abuse victims from the ongoing scandals in the Catholic Church. Finally, after so many years, this Sunday, he came face to face with the people whose suffering he tried to keep a secret. It gave me hope that the religious figures of our time are not without (ironically) souls...

...but, then my friend forwarded this doozy:
An Iranian cleric believes promiscuous women cause earthquakes.

And once again, instead of using its great influence for positive change, this cleric is using religion to keep women oppressed. And what's the latest update? Young women in Iran dare to wear form-fitting coats and scarves instead of the traditional burqa, which leaves only a slit showing their eyes. These rebellious Iranian women showing their faces (and hair...whow) in public rather than hiding behind a cloth causes...yes, seismic activity.

The cleric in question, Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, was quoted by Iranian media, "Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes." It appears Tehran, Iran's capitol city, is located in an area of increased seismic activity and many fault lines. But I suppose cleric Sedighi saw this as a great opportunity to try to shame women into wanting to dress in something other than a head-to-toe blanket.

Upon reading the story, Shanna Bolden, a George Mason University graduate student, commented, "This prayer leader is basically saying that men are animals, react only by instinct, and have no control over their own actions? In that case, women should have taken over Iran by now!!!" Excellent point, Shanna.

On a related subject, a poll was recently taken, following French President Nicolas Sarkozy's announcement of potentially banning the burqa. The poll showed that 70 percent of French respondents supported the ban, 65 percent showed support in Spain, and 63 in Italy. Furthermore, even 57 percent of UK voters were in favor, and 50 percent of those from Germany wanted to see this head-to-toe women's garment banned.

However, only 33 percent of Americans who took the poll were in support of its riddance. We claim to be such a liberal country, with freedom of choice and expression. So what's the issue here? Perhaps it has to do with our idea that church and state should be kept separate, as James Joyner of the Atlantic Council brought up.

But at the end of the day, the women of Iran were not demanding a ban of any sort. They simply want to dress in a way that allows them to move more comfortably and to feel more free in their daily lives. It is disheartening to think that the men who control these women's lives are coincidentally too weak to control their own sexual urges. So who should be ashamed?

Photo credit: Associated Press

What we can learn from UCSD

This is a great post from Kat.

The events that have taken place at UC San Diego have been atrocious. Kat’s first hand account of what has happened is a real privilege for us to read. It is important as feminists that we continue to understand why these events happen, and what we can do to prevent them. This is not just an isolated incident, but evidence of oppression still common to women and people of color today.

In the words of our UCSD's VOX & Choices affiliate leaders:
"This is flat-out intimidation and HATE at work.

While this situation targets black students, it is NOT just a black issue. The undercurrents of violence are ones that can be felt by ALL PEOPLE.

Ending one oppression means ending ALL oppressions. The battles against sexism, racism, homophobia, classism, ableism, and so on, cannot be fought individually. They are all intrinsically connected, all a part of the same struggle."

In 1997, civil rights and women's rights leaders lost the battle to save affirmative action in California and Proposition 209 was passed. Since then the state's public university system has become more and more intolerant and hostile towards people of color and women.
Racism still persists. The hateful actions taken by students at UCSD highlight the structural racism in the UC system. On top of harvesting an environment where these events can happen, the campus also lacks a diverse student population. According to the Examiner, San Diego enrolled the fewest number black freshmen last fall and black students make up about 1.6% of the student body, which is comprised of about 23,000 students. These numbers are what need to change in order for these events to stop happening.

Losing Affirmative Action was devastating to California and its future, our future. We need to hold public institutions accountable for creating equal opportunity and ensuring a diverse, safe, vibrant campus communities. If UCSD -- and all UC's -- made serious commitments to creating rich diverse learning environments, these events could have been avoided.

Students at UCSD, women's rights and civil rights student groups and a broad coalition of other student groups, have engineered walk-outs, sit-ins, and other actions to condemn these actions and demand real systemic change to create long-term diversity plans and guarantee an end to the hostile environment at UCSD and campuses across the state.

Student leaders statewide are taking solidarity actions -- walk-outs and demonstrations -- with our sisters and brothers at UCSD to demand a statewide inventory of campus diversity -- or more importantly, a lack thereof in student, staff, and faculty populations and policies.

As a student not to far from UCSD this behavior worries me…I will continue to follow what is happening and stay in contact with Kat and affiliates.

You can read UCSD’s black student unions statement and list of demands here.