Suicide, Women protest, and Muraro’s call for something beyond equality
“equality is as much as is offered to colonized peoples on the level of laws and rights… Nowadays, sexual equality is the cloak in level of laws”
Luisa Muraro is an Italian philosopher who has questioned her freedom and rights, like many of us women. However, she has questioned her own fight for equality and asks shouldn’t we aim for something beyond equality? In the quote above Muraro states that equality is a political gift given to all in order to keep people happy and obeying. However, she says this equality is just a “cloak,” a cover up used by a government governed by men to make women believe they have equality. But do women really not have equality? I mean there are rights written on a piece of paper that we pledge to every day growing up in the United States, we pledge to our flag and say, “with liberty and justice for all.” But seriously, let’s ask ourselves is equality really given to all? Of course not, this word is used to calm the masses, because those who give you “equality” are already superior than you, because just like they give it they can choose to take it away, and you must be grateful to them for this “gift” that is supposed to be a basic human right.
Muraro argues that we should no longer strive for equality but something beyond it. This is so, because asking for equality would be asking to be the same as our “colonizers.” In this case the colonizers are men who treat and see women as inferior to them. However, these colonizers have the power to change, so every time we are about to reach there level they can set the finish line further and further, ultimately making it impossible to reach the goal of equality. So now I ask you, have women been protesting correctly? Is marching down a street with a poster which states “I want equality” correct? In Muraro’s perspective it is not. She believes it can be perceived as a step towards equality, but in reality it is simply chasing something you will never catch up too. However, there are examples of modern day women’s protest that I believe Muraro would say have pushed beyond the search for equality.
The 20 women in Aleppo whom decided to commit suicide rather than being raped are a group of protesters who can be seen as representing this movement of a search for something beyond equality. One of these women that committed suicide left behind a note stating her reasons for doing so. She wrote, she’d rather die than “give Assad’s troops the opportunity to “savor” raping her.” Rape in wartime has become so popular, that women are already expecting it and rather take their life than experience it. However, this woman explains in her suicide note that she takes her own life not only to not satisfy a man but also as a form of having a choice to her own destiny. She chose to die along side these other group of women to serve as a voice for her people and a cry for help, because she knew that men and women alike would be more willing to feel pity and listen about a dead women than to care about the needs of their own female relatives. I believe killing yourself to prove a point must be something that requires a tremendous amount of courage and power, more so than the power to oppress people. So, these 20 women in Aleppo did the unexpected and killed themselves, but by doing so they gained a worldwide voice which did not make them equal to men, but gave them power over their own lives which is something way beyond equality.
The Galabi Gang from India, is a group of women who come together to help each other and others fight off sexual, physical, and political abuse among other issues. This Gang which dresses in all pink, has gained the respect of politicians and village people from their area. They have done so by empowering each other to surpass the limitations men have put on them like the lack of education, and learn to fend for themselves and their children. These women beat rapist and force politicians to help the village people, and although these violent acts may be condemned they do them for a good cause. More so, these women not only fight for people of their same sex, village men accept that they have helped the males as well, they have taught them to respect, work, and fight for their rights. Ultimately, these women like those who committed suicide in Aleppo, have decided to take matters in their own hands and instead of fighting or asking men for equality, they have gone beyond that and got equality for themselves and their village people, an act that even men can admire.
In conclusion, committing suicide or violent acts may not be a good way to search for this sense of respect, equality, and liberty that the oppressed need. But what you should really take away from this article according to Luisa Muraro’s theory is that when women stop asking men for equality or chasing this dream of equality, they will be able to gain something beyond equality. Therefore, when women, or any oppressed people decide to take action, speak up and start making choices over their own lives which are also beneficial to society; their voices will be heard, and they will have gained what they have searched for so long.
