 |
| Manal al-Sharif Image from www.TED.com |
I recently watched a TED Talk by Manal al-Sharif. Manal al-Sharif is a Saudia Arabian woman who, in 2011, started a revolutionary campaign in her country to give women the right to drive. As part of the campaign, she posted a YouTube videoof herself driving a car in her country, an act that at the time was considered an outrageous violation of social norms for women. For months, she faced brutal persecution from people within her own country, and was even imprisoned for her actions. (See this 2011 BYUWSR blog post written around the time of her campaign.)
In the 2013 TED Talk that I watched (click here for the video), Manal al-Sharif begins by asking us which we think is harder—battling oppressive governments or battling oppressive societies. She then goes on to describe the opposition that she faced as she fought to chance the societal restriction that kept women from driving. At the time al-Sharif started her campaign, it was not against any written Saudi Arabian law for women to drive. She wasn't breaking any laws by taking the wheel! Driving a car was, however, a violation of society's “rules” about how women should act. As al-Sharif describes in this talk, the no-driving rule placed on Saudia Arabian women was based on the premise that women are weak and need protection from males, and that doing something like driving a car required permission from these male “protectors.” In reality, the no-driving rule was not about protection; it was about oppression, and Manal al-Sharif decided that, because of her love for her country, she would do something to change society's perspective. And so, despite the opposition, she took the necessary steps to make monumental changes in her country.
In the United States, both men and women are fortunate to enjoy many freedoms that we sometimes take for granted (for example, the right to drive a car). Not all countries experience the same type of gender issues as Saudia Arabia. However, gender issues still exist in every society. Manal al-Sharif's experiences should make us all think, regardless of the society in which we live.
While we might not have to worry about whether or not we will be arrested for simply getting behind the wheel, there are still many issues to consider. When a woman feels that she can't speak out about being physically, sexually, or emotionally abused because she's afraid of victim-blaming, we can be sure that something needs to change. When women are publicly mocked or shamed because of their body weight or body shape, we know that something needs to change. When women and girls feel such intense pressure to look or act a certain way that they start to engage in self-harming or risky behavior, we can be positive that something needs to change. The same goes for situations in which men feel pressured to participate in degrading conversations about women because it's “guy talk.”
My favorite quote from this TED Talk was, “A society will not be free if the women of that society are not free.” Al-Sharif got a standing ovation from the audience for those words, and she nearly got one from me as I watched her talk from the comfort of my living room sofa. Her statement is absolutely true. So much of a society's success depends on the success of the women within that society. In a 2009 First Presidency message, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said,
Sisters, you are an essential part of our Heavenly Father’s plan for eternal happiness; you are endowed with a divine birthright. You are the real builders of nations wherever you live, because strong homes of love and peace will bring security to any nation. I hope you understand that, and I hope the men of the Church understand it too.
Our Heavenly Father's plan requires equality for both His daughters and His sons. He sent us here as members of His divine family not to compete with or degrade each other, but to work together toward our eternal destiny of inheriting all that He has. While we cannot choose the social environments we are born into, we can choose to uphold the divine birthright that President Uchtdorf talked about and do our best to be “builders of nations.” Programs like WSR's Voices of Courage or Recapturing Beauty can be a means by which we can make a difference. Our personal movements for building nations on correct principles of equality might not be as monumental as those of Manal al-Sharif, but they can lead to big changes.
A few questions to consider:
Are there traditions, customs, or attitudes in our society that oppress men or women?
How can you recognize these traditions or customs?
Which issues are the most important to you?
What will you do to change them?
Article by Jessica Croft
ADSENSE HERE