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 Okay, below is my assignment for today. The one thing, which is inappropriate given the nature of the story but that I can’t get over and I am unable to not be amused by is that there is an actual town called Batman, Turkey.
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This story comes from Batman, Turkey. Â
Unicef and Social organizations are concerned with the increased suicide rate of teenage girls in Turkey. In recent years, mainly because of Turkey’s desire to join the European Union, the Turkish government has been successfully prosecuting those who have killed young girls in what are termed ‘honor killings’. These are basically incidents where there is a case of adultery or inappropriate sex or contact and what has happened in the past was that the family would kill the girl in order to preserve the honor of the accused or slighted family member. This is a not uncommon practice throughout many Muslim countries and has resulted in the deaths of many innocent women and girls when there is even a perception of sexual misconduct. Because of the increased legal pressure on families to not kill the girls, they are often encouraged to end their own lives or are killed and made to appear as if they have killed themselves.
  Unfortunately, this is representative of the low status women hold in many countries throughout the world. To a western mind it is unthinkable that a daughter, wife, or mother should kill themselves for the satisfaction of a male ego or to preserve a families position of honor. However, in Turkey and many other countries women are still considered less than men, this is reflected in lower literacy rates, high percentages of abuse and violence against women, female infanticide, genital mutilation (aka female circumcison), and as seen above honor killings.
  I think it is fair to say that throughout the world, it is women that are leading the charge to bring social justice to the masses. There are many male leaders who have taken prominent positions or recieved attention, however it is the women who have been made to suffer, the women who have witnessed their children killed or maimed, and the women who have most clearly seen what barbarisms our world societies have produced and continue to perpetuate. Until the world demands that women across all cultures be treated with dignity and respect, the world will continue to fester and rot.
Story at ReutersÂ