Morocco protest after raped Amina Filali kills herself

WEEK 5 POST
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17379721

Amina Filali was a 16 year old Moroccan girl who was raped, and then forced to marry her rapist. She was severely beaten to coerce her into the marriage, and soon after she committed suicide by swallowing rat poison.

What will it take for someone to listen to them?



Women's rights groups say the law is used to justify a traditional practice of allowing a rapist to marry his victim to preserve the honour of the woman's family, and this law is called Article 475. This law allows for the "kidnapper" of a minor to marry his victim to escape prosecution. In conseravative parts of Morocco and the majority of Muslim countries, it is unacceptable for a woman to lose her virginity before marriage - and the dishonour is hers and her family's even if she is raped."Amina, 16, was triply violated, by her rapist, by tradition and by Article 475 of the Moroccan law," tweeted activist Abadila Maaelaynine.I am horrified by this clear lack of justice and the blatant oppression that is imposed on women like Amina who are forced to disregard their pain and wed their tormentors, in a skewed effort to guarantee honor for her family. These laws should be changed and society should be made aware of this problem that has been prevalent for decades, but never addressed.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/14/2693402/outrage-over-Witnesses say her husband became so outraged when she drank the poison he dragged her down the street by her hair - and she died shortly afterwards.rape-victim-suicide.html#storylink=cpy

Institutional sexism of books world needs new girls' network

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/mar/02/literary-criticism-gender

WEEK 4 POST

The author of this article brings to world attention the issues of inequality that still exist in the literary world, that hinder women from being truly recognized as accomplished writers. The literary world is still very much an "old boys clubs" as seen by the lack of women in the NYRB(New York Review of Books). There have been countless female authors who have written great books, but their achievements have been by-passed by the hierarchy of this increasingly male dominated industry. I believe it is wholly unbelievable that even in the 21st century, gender barriers still bind women from reaching their true potential, even in the androgynous literary field.