Gender-Based Violence

In Tori Amos’ autobiographical song about surviving rape (“Me and a Gun” from her first album, Little Earthquakes, 1992), Tori talks abouther choice to wear a “slinky red thing,” and how women's susceptibility to rape is commonly perceived to have something to do with the way they dress or the places they frequent.

I read an infuriating article today, a blog post that was so patronizing it made me feel sick to the stomach. The writer referred to our action as “delusional” and while he deemed our struggle as “righteous”, he did not see it going anywhere for the moment. But Behold! For his was kind enough to provide us with an alternative solution, with other priorities and other actions.

I had always felt strong; I had never let anyone force me into something I didn’t want to do. I refused to be submissive to the social rules and expectations from an early age and I definitely wouldn’t have expected to react this way. I was 18 years old. I had recently moved back to Lebanon. I was eager to get my driver’s license and so I went to an instructor to learn how to drive manually. I wanted to do it the “right way”. He told me I needed two weeks of practice before the driving test. The first few days were very exciting and empowering.

قلي إن هو من الجامعة اليسوعية عام يدرس طب وعم