In countries around the world, the equality between men and women are different. Not all women are treated equally and suffer from a male dominant society. In Iran for example, women are thought of as lesser people than men and have many restrictions placed upon them. In The Atlantic, it explains that women “are considered inferior to men in almost all legal matters, especially family laws such as marriage or child custody, and their testimony is officially equal to half of a man's. Clothing restrictions and fierce segregation laws marginalize women in the public sector, making participation in society arduous and painful. Those who try anyway are often singled out for harassment and punishment “.
Women are allowed to participate in athletics in Iran but the state is trying to abolish the women’s opportunities in participating. The male and female sports were merged together in retrospect that the males would have another opportunity to repress females and lower their self-worth and take away their feel of empowerment. The Iranian women put together a rugby team in 2004 and had accumulated 1000 people by 2006. The women who were a part of this team endured much ridicule and harassment and the men were skeptical but were proven wrong. They have a national women’s soccer team but they suffer from lack of support, limited funds, poor equipment that is under par, and “gender restrictions” that don’t allow for male coaches or trainers.
One way for the women in Iran to regain their independence is to train in ninjutsu. 3,500 women in Iran have officially registered to train in becoming a ninja. Women that participate in this activity have a sense of independence and strength. This video on The Atlantic Website shows how seriously the women in Iran who take practicing ninjutsu. Instead of being treated like children, they feel like the adults they are. When women are torn down constantly in a society where males control everything and women have little say in what they do, being allowed this freedom to participate in ninjutsu is a liberty of self-expression and independence. It gives them back a feel of empowerment that the male dominated society tries so hard take control over. This is why ninjutsu and athletics in general have become so important to the Iranian women.
I believe that women should be treated more as equals to men and they should be given a fair chance for opportunities. In the U.S. it’s easy to forget the rights and opportunities we have as women and men. We don’t have a perfect government or society and not everything is equal between males and females but we are one of the most privileged countries in the world when it comes to freedoms and we don’t realize how other countries don’t have these same privileges.
I like your topic very much. I think women in the United States sometimes take their rights for granted. I am not a feminist, but I believe in equality. Yes, some men maybe faster, stronger, or athletic. However, it does not give them the right to assert themselves over women. I am proud of the women of Iran: who are creating teams despite the “gender restrictions”. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to stand up to your government and your culture. Even if it is to play a single game of rugby. It is never too late to fight for your rights. I hope the women of Iran can accomplish their goals.
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DeleteI am proud of these women who are fighting for their rights. Iran is a very gender-oriented country. I recently read the book, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, which describes a great deal about what the women in Iran go through on a daily basis. Reading this post, it joyed me to see that these women are standing up to gain rights. I am glad they are learning martial arts because in this book, these women were abused until their last possible breaths in many situations. Women will be able to stand up to their abusive husbands, even if it does mean they will be killed for going against their husbands, which is very well described in this book. These women deserve to be treated better and I believe they are beginning to realize this and I am glad they are fighting for what they believe in.
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