Yesterday, I was riding in a taxi and the song "blurred lines" came on. It reminded me of a meme and I laughed a little but then I kept thinking of what it reminded me of. It reminded me of people telling me how I could do great things but I had to work twice as hard as my male equivalent. It reminded me of someone telling me how men here think American woman want sex because that's what they see in American TV. I added 'and songs' as I sat in the taxi. It reminded me of hearing a two year old boy sing the song while I babysat him in the states. It reminded me of his mother whose husband has another family in another state. It reminded me that he recently left to choose the other family. It reminded me of hearing neighbors screaming in the middle of the night and praying to God that it was a scary movie. It reminded me of all the articles I've read about rape and all the struggles women have had because they are viewed as objects. Because they are for pleasure, to look at, to cook, to clean, to use, to ignore. I remembered how I've had people warn me so many times in my life, and especially here, that I need to be extra cautious of men because just the fact that I'm female is usually enough to blur a no into a yes. I remembered how I always knew, and how I'll always know, that those people are telling the truth. Because no matter what I do, how hard I work to earn respect, how confident I am, or how much I close myself off from humanity (or should I say huMANity) I will always be at risk. Before coming here, I looked up women's rights and the only thing I could find was that if a woman is raped and she goes to the police, then they will arrest her for premarital sex and her offender will be left alone. No ID tests, no investigations, nothing.
That was the most scared I've ever been in a taxi. I hope I never have to face the fears that every female has to live with and that many females and males have to endure.
On Saturday, I saw the movie divergent. It was amazing to see how feminism was portrayed so blatantly and beautifully. On another note, it was surreal to see the preview for son of God play before the movie started. Almost as surreal as the concert I went to Thursday night, it was Chris Tomlin. Passion 2014 Abu Dhabi with an hour long talk from Louie Giglio about how great our god is and how awesome his works throughout the universe are. Surreal. Surreal to sing with 5000 believers that we would be the light in this city shining for all to see. Surreal to hear Louie Giglio thank Sheiks and crown princes for allowing this concert to happen.
In the midst of fear, God's surreal presence is unavoidable.
No comments:
Post a Comment