It was eye opening to read about the tremendous differences in experiences that women go through around the world, which was something I really wasn’t knowledgable about until now. After reading about the winner of the 2011 World Press competition and seeing the graphic photo of a young women whose ears and nose are cut off because she was running away from an abusive husband and household was absolutely devastating. In the U.S. women are so fortunate that we don’t have to fear that a terrorist organization will attack us for trying to leave an abusive relationship, this situation is just one of many instances of how differently women are treated in other countries.
The photos that Mengiste mentioned in her essay “Creative Writing as Translation”, tell stories without even having to write words. I forget how lucky I am at times until I read true stories about women and people around the world, and how unfair they have it. It’s hard to see photos of that nature because it tends to be scenarios that our culture is not usually subjected to.
Additionally, it is no surprise to me that the photographs that were mentioned were all about women being overpowered by men. It’s a reoccurring theme and although I always knew there was gender inequality, I never knew the extent of it. Being a woman myself, it’s hard to hear about other women suffering through abusive husbands, mother’s dealing with drug abuse, and botched abortions.
It’s interesting to see connections through all the readings that we have done in the class thus far. For instance, after reading part 1 and 2 of Okparanta’s “Under the Udala Trees” there are already many occurrences where gender inequality and stereotyping are involved. An example of this being, on page 4 it says, “our men had begun slinging guns across their shoulders and carrying axes and machetes, blades glistening in the sun; and out on the streets, every hour or two in the afternoons and evenings, their chanting could be heard, loud voices pouring out.” All of these things (gungs, axes, machetes) symbolize being strong, and what a coincidence, the sentence began with “our men”.
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