"More recently Qandeel Baloch, who came from a village in Pakistan's Punjab region, used social media to gain celebrity by posting provocative selfies online. Known as the Kim Kardashian of Pakistan, she challenged Pakistani social norms by embracing the sexualised culture of the internet - until she was strangled by her brother in July this year for bringing shame on the family.”
It's not just a non-western phenomenon. The church in Ireland operated a system of forced labour detention for women considered "immoral" known as the Magdalene Laundries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_Laundries_in_Ireland . The last one closed in 1996. There was eventually a state apology and compensation, but astonishingly as far as I can tell nobody has even been properly prosecuted for it.
"Patriarchy" is a word that often seems over-used, but only because violent words and attitudes have so often been the prelude for violent actions with state and social complicity. You can find plenty of cases in the west where women speak up and face death threats. Such as for suggesting that a woman's face appear on some bank notes: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25641941
The line between people sending death threats on twitter and the person who strangled his sister for posting selfies is very thin.
This is sadly not uncommon, it just was a fairly famous case because she had a lot of followers in the west.
Honor killings are sadly the norm in many parts of the world, and are not even that rare anymore in the west at least as far as Europe goes.
I feel very disturbed when I hear all this. I do my part, whenever I hear someone saying something degrading for woman, even as a joke, I object. Because i know, that even if it is said as a joke, if it is being said over and over, you tend to think that's the way it works.
Many a times, things happened not just because someone did something, but because someone did not do what he should have done to stop something from happening.
Do your part, if everyone will do their part to stop it, it will change a lot.
The issue with that is of course not the joking - I'm firmly of the belief jokes can be made on any subject and shouldn't be taboo, so long as both parties (teller and listener) equally know it's a joke. Unfortunately, it's an issue when (whether due to intelligence, naivety or misaligned personalities) the fact something's a joke isn't shared, however I don't think objecting to something you interpret as a joke, and you know is being told as a joke, is the right course of action.
But then, I need to check my own privilege to be fair.
One thing I find ironic is that we talk about bringing feminism to non-westernized countries like Pakistan, when Japan, one of the favored trading partners of Western countries, is full of stigma against the educated and working woman because of their "traditional" cultural views. Where are the feminists and the media for this cause?
One of the things that feminists tend to be aware of is that feminism isn't something you airdrop onto a culture, it has to be changed from within. And the voice of foreigners is often small or even counterproductive. How would "Europeans bringing feminism to America" play out? I get the impression from the election culture war that it would go down badly.
It's often more effective to focus on local issues where you actually have a vote. Plenty of those in the West.
You are missing the forest for the trees. The reason the people in the story are having problems is because they are doing things that go against the norms of their cultures. That their particular cultures are socially conservative is incidental.
Those who go against the norms of their culture in general can face similar problems, regardless of whether those norms are conservative, liberal, or something else.
Join a progressive, tree-hugging, vegan commune and then a few months later post a series of selfies to Facebook of you driving a Hummer through the McDonalds drive-thru and then eating several Big Macs, and you'll be in for some world-class shaming and shunning. :-)
There is much evidence to suggest that exactly the opposite is true: an excess of social liberalism leads to the downfall of a culture. Social conservatism means stable families, strong men, and social cohesion, which translates into a stronger nation. Social liberalism, as it has now, degenerates into identity politics and political paralysis. As Aristotle put it, "Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society."
The greatest time for the middle class in the United States, for example, was in the 50s, when society was much more conservative than it is now. (That's what the "Make America Great Again" is all about.) The 50s are the last decade that the conservative WASP aristocracy was in power. Every election since, groups like African Americans, women, and Jews have increased their power and brought about with them big government. How is that an improvement? Surely, you agree that big government is disastrous for the country?
There's a book "Sex and Culture" by J.D. Unwin that actually argues (convincingly in my opinion) that a suppression of sexual energies (i.e. control of women) is a necessary (not sufficient) condition for a civilization to succeed. Check it out.
[+] [-] docdeek|9 years ago|reply
That paragraph got dark real fast.
[+] [-] pjc50|9 years ago|reply
It's not just a non-western phenomenon. The church in Ireland operated a system of forced labour detention for women considered "immoral" known as the Magdalene Laundries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_Laundries_in_Ireland . The last one closed in 1996. There was eventually a state apology and compensation, but astonishingly as far as I can tell nobody has even been properly prosecuted for it.
"Patriarchy" is a word that often seems over-used, but only because violent words and attitudes have so often been the prelude for violent actions with state and social complicity. You can find plenty of cases in the west where women speak up and face death threats. Such as for suggesting that a woman's face appear on some bank notes: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25641941
The line between people sending death threats on twitter and the person who strangled his sister for posting selfies is very thin.
[+] [-] dogma1138|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ireadfaces|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wastedhours|9 years ago|reply
But then, I need to check my own privilege to be fair.
[+] [-] personjerry|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pjc50|9 years ago|reply
It's often more effective to focus on local issues where you actually have a vote. Plenty of those in the West.
[+] [-] w_t_payne|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tzs|9 years ago|reply
Those who go against the norms of their culture in general can face similar problems, regardless of whether those norms are conservative, liberal, or something else.
Join a progressive, tree-hugging, vegan commune and then a few months later post a series of selfies to Facebook of you driving a Hummer through the McDonalds drive-thru and then eating several Big Macs, and you'll be in for some world-class shaming and shunning. :-)
[+] [-] littletimmy|9 years ago|reply
The greatest time for the middle class in the United States, for example, was in the 50s, when society was much more conservative than it is now. (That's what the "Make America Great Again" is all about.) The 50s are the last decade that the conservative WASP aristocracy was in power. Every election since, groups like African Americans, women, and Jews have increased their power and brought about with them big government. How is that an improvement? Surely, you agree that big government is disastrous for the country?
There's a book "Sex and Culture" by J.D. Unwin that actually argues (convincingly in my opinion) that a suppression of sexual energies (i.e. control of women) is a necessary (not sufficient) condition for a civilization to succeed. Check it out.
[+] [-] vlehto|9 years ago|reply
If they don't suffer from such unpopularity somewhere, then they seem to have all the cards in their hands.
[+] [-] tremon|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] newswriter9|9 years ago|reply
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-25118156