[TW: Discussion of rape] “Ever notice feminism is all about increasing women’s rights without addressing any of the responsibilities? Like having equal part in the draft or being in combat. It’s all well and good to complain about not being equal but all they need to do is step up”
Firstly, as far as I’m aware, a large part of the feminist movement is against the wars the West are waging in other areas of the world. Many are pacifists entirely. In any case, although women may have apparently equal access to jobs in the military, women in the US military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed in Iraq. It’s one thing to be apparently legally allowed to do something, but when you’re not socially allowed, and when your legal claims are ignored, the on-paper equality is meaningless.
Women are very rarely at the helm of war advances, but they suffer incredible harm from it. Sexual violence is one of the key ways in which women’s lives are devastated from war. Already unequal societies put women who have been made single by war into incredibly desperate situations, especially those who have children. Even if they are able to find some kind of work that isn’t in the sex industry, the average pay-gap around the world is 17%, so women are already losing.
I don’t know where you’re getting this idea that women don’t want responsibilities. No Women No Peace are campaigning for women to be included in peace-building. No woman has ever been put in charge of peace talks, and they represent only 8% of participants. Although a large number of the protesters at Tahrir Square were women (according to female witnesses, around 45% of the protesters in the square were female), they have been entirely excluded from the peace-making process, and shaping the future of the country.
I could go on, but it is really time for you to do the work in comprehending this properly.
You need to take a harder look at what you’re talking about. If all women need to do is ‘step up’, then why aren’t they doing it? Or is it more than a case of ‘stepping up’? Is the reality much more difficult than you are willing to believe? Take a step back, look at the real reasons that women aren’t involved, and then work at changing it, rather than sitting on the sidelines talking about things that you haven’t taken the time to fully understand.
