Lost Tears

In the United States, every 9 seconds a woman is battered. This most often happens at the hands of her husband or boyfriend. There are many contributing factors, not the least of which is a lagging economy in which a wife or girlfriend becomes the target of the abuser’s frustration. Another factor is kindred to Pavlov’s dog theory of classical conditioning. If a person was abused as a child, they are more likely to become abusive as adults. As sons watch fathers commit these heinous acts, it becomes a learned behavior, a cultural phenomenon which must be addressed. Perhaps it is worthy to note that there are nearly three times as many animal shelters here as there are shelters for battered women. This violence, however, is not limited to the United States.

The United Nations Population Fund reports that so-called “honor killings” take the lives of thousands of young women every year, mainly in North Africa, Western Asia and parts of South Asia. Often it happens within Islamic families, though “honor-killings” are not a tenant of that faith. The woman may have committed adultery, may have been raped or dressed inappropriately, thereby bringing shame to her family. The result is her murder at the hands of her husband or family. From this, a yet another phenomenon has evolved.

A startling number of “honor suicides” has emerged in Turkey. This is a process whereby a woman who ostensibly shamed her family, chooses to commit suicide under pressure from her family so they may avoid penalties for murdering her. The New York Times reported that some suicides appeared in Kurdish-inhabited regions of Turkey. A special envoy for the United Nations was sent to Turkey to investigate suspicious suicides among Kurdish girls. The Times stated that these suicides were “honor killings disguised as suicide or accident.” The true numbers of these occurrences may never be known.

In yet another country, over 80 women in the Iraqi province of Diyala committed suicide to escape the shame of being raped. What is even more horrific is that a 51 year old Iraqi woman named Samira Jassim confessed to Iraqi police that she had organized these rapes. She then persuaded each of the women that to become a suicide bomber was the only way to escape their shame.

While global terror is on the international stage for consideration, we must raise awareness that terror, unfortunately, often begins in the home and it is women who suffer dire consequences with no stage, no shelter and too little attention. Women are not objects. Women are human beings who deserve rights accorded to them through international human rights laws and within the courts of our global conscience.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

See how you can help. This cause is being sponsored for 16 days beginning Nov. 25th through Bloggers Unite.

—cher