courageous women

Courage - speaking the truth, even at great risk - being afraid and doing it anyway. I remember another saying that I'm going to redo - a display of courage worries the weak and inspires the strong. Be inspired by the courage of Veena Malik

From Archive Fire

What is truly amazing is that, in Pakistan, Malik is probably risking her life not only speaking to a mullah this way, but completely ripping through his illogical rants with undeniable passion and intelligence. What a courageous person:

I agree with Michael.

There are some truths we struggle to accept and oppression of women is one. Patriarchy is insidiously everywhere - here, as well as there. It is so much a part of the fabric of our society that we hardly notice it - men that is, women notice it of course, because they are living under it's oppression every day of the year. How can men support women in their struggle for equal rights? Listen and learn is my advice - don't think that your view is required - I know it is hard, men often believe that it is an expression of empathy to talk about how they feel about it, but that is not correct actually. It is a derailing technique that men often unconsciously use. I find if you read the comments and listen to the arguments you can learn a lot.

This post from QoT on The Standard is worth reading to learn about an issue that, as men we may not have considered and that is - that women have the absolute right to have control over their bodies, just as men do. The absolute right to be equal and make decisions for themselves. It is the bottom line. I recommend  QoT's blog it is awesome.

Of course there is a place for men's views in debates like this, but many of the points raised by men are red herrings and irrelevant - read the post from QoT and see if you can spot men who support the right of women to be equal and those who derail - such as raising the 'tone argument' - "you're angry, you're emotional, you are hurting your cause, you are alienating allies" and so on. I really recommend reading 'derailing for dummies' - it is a must-read for bloggers and commenters.

I cannot half-support equality - it is not my nature. As men we need to front up to the privilege we enjoy as men, in our patriarchal society. It takes women of courage to open our ears and close our mouths.