Women Protest Through Sex Strikes, Suicides, and Marches
Women who were faced with oppression used various forms of protest to speak out against injustice. Alison Bailey states that it is when one is flattened, molded and reduced until they are restricted from mobility. To protest is to take power away from the oppressors. The similarity shared between these forms of protest was that the women used their bodies to send their message.
In Kenya, a group of women stood up against violence using a sex strike to speak their message. The violence was due to the conflicting powers of President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The Women’s Development Organization coalition urged the wives of Kibaki and Odinga to join the sex strike to force these leaders to create peace. Multiple lobby groups joined the protest as well as sex workers who were paid for their participation. This form of protest successfully delivered it’s message. Odinga and Kibaki agreed to share power and put an end to the violence. These women faced oppression before the protest when their voices weren’t being heard. By using their bodies to deprive their husbands, their message became unavoidable. The Women’s Development Organization coalition’s protest was powerful because these women united and had the courage to stand against violence.
In Aleppo, twenty women commit suicide to avoid getting raped by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s soldiers. When the soldiers arrived, they used barrel bombs to slaughter civilians. People were being burned alive or were trapped under the debris from the explosions. These twenty women were trapped an had no way out of this nightmare. Before the soldiers could get to them they all decided to take their fate into their own hands. They weren’t going to let the soldiers take their bodies. They weren’t going to let the soldiers gain pleasure from their pain. A woman in the group left a suicide note stating that her suicide was not the soldiers defeating her, but was her taking the power away from the soldiers. Their message was delivered strongly because they not only took their bodies, but they took their lives. This is a form of protest because they used their bodies to go against the oppressor. In the note she states that their action will be viewed as a suicide of women who others are not concerned about. After taking their lives they became more than that to the many people who heard their voices.
According to statistics, seven women are victims to murder in Mexico every day. The news is flooded with stories of sexual violence, kidnappings, and harassment towards women that occur each day. There is injustice when violent acts occur without consequences. So many victims had their stories ignored. Sexist violence oppresses women causing them to live in fear. How can these women live freely when they are feeling unsafe? On April 24, forty cities in Mexico gathered to stand up against the violence and to fight for the victims. The protesters spoke out for those who were silenced. The protest did not end in the streets. Thousands of people used social media to share their stories of times when they were harassed, sexually abused, or victimized in any way. By sharing their stories, they were able to reach out to victims and let them know that they weren’t alone. Although it is devastating to see how so many have been subjected to sexist violence, it is beautiful to see the strength of these victims. It is beautiful to see how they are willing to speak out, not only for themselves, but for those who have struggled in similar ways. Those who had not experienced sexual violence were also joining the movement. The stories that were shared through social media made the statistics seem more real. People who were oblivious to the frequency of sexual abuse were able to see that it occurred to those that they knew. Meztli Yoalli Rodriguez stated, “These voices and stories gave a face, a personal voice, to a structural, continuous violence that we women, as a collectivity, have lived in the quotidian with the hyper-sexualization of our bodies in private and public spaces.” The women who had the courage to gather in the streets on April 24th used their bodies to make a statement. They physically showed how they would not let themselves be oppressed and that they would have their voices heard.
Another example of women protesting is of these Turkish women who were against the war in Aleppo. These women gathered and painted dolls to represent the children that have died due to the violence in Syria. Their form of protest made the deaths impossible to ignore. They brought the violence into an image that others could see and empathize with. Their protest is powerful and reveals the severity of the situation in Aleppo.
The women who had the courage to protest are the women who are going to change the world. They are bringing matters into their own hands and are standing against injustice. When the system is oppressing us, we rise above and fight the oppressors. The women in Kenya brought peace and saved lives with their sex strike. The women in Aleppo took their lives to fight against rape. The women in Mexico gathered to speak out against sexual violence and to fight for those who suffered through it alone. The women in Turkey spread awareness for the children who were being killed in Aleppo. These women serve as examples of what we should all strive for. We should all try to be courageous and stand up to make change happen.
