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Wicked Local Winchester, MA
Oct 18 2014
Why are we silent?
by Lynn Oldach-Engle
WINCHESTER
When I was a young girl, I rented a room from the mother of a
co-worker who ran a bed and breakfast in the resort town where I
worked. One night, after being out late with friends, they dropped me
off in front of the house. I was walking up the front steps when, out
of the dark, I heard:
"Pssst!" And then, "Lynn... Ssshhhh... Come here!"
The lady of the house was hiding in the bushes in the dark. Confused,
I walked around the side of the house to where she was.
"Stay here with me for a minute... He'll get tired soon," she said.
It did not occur to me, right away, that this woman was hiding from
her husband. I soon realized that she was afraid because he was going
to beat her. I had never encountered what would come to be known as
"battered woman" abuse in my young life, and was unprepared for the
degree of silence it engendered. The following day it was as if
nothing had happened.
Thankfully, we are moving away from that era of quiet shame, and
beginning to recognize the signs of abuse. Our doctors ask about our
physical safety, and women's shelters offer some respite for victims.
Our president has declared October as National Domestic Abuse
Awareness month.
Perhaps that is what makes it all the more incredulous that no one in
this country is speaking out about the increasing violence perpetrated
on women and young girls around the world.
We hear excuses that mistreatment of females is a cultural issue, or a
religious matter, and we don't want to appear politically incorrect by
getting involved. But, while we ponder and wring our hands, our
sisters are being subjected to genital mutilation, rape, stoning,
disfigurement and daily derision.
Where are the women's groups? You know the ones I mean - those ringing
voices that are ever vigilant about calling out political missteps and
any woman who dares to disagree with them. Where was the National
Organization for Women when our own Brandeis University was silencing
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, herself a victim and critic of the abominable acts
carried out in the name of Islam? Somehow they managed to find their
contempt when a male politician uttered the word "sweetheart," but are
not nearly as sure-footed of stance in the face of real atrocity.
History has repeatedly revealed the evil acts that humans are capable
of committing on the vulnerable. Through the horror of the Holocaust,
the Armenian Genocide, the Kurdish Genocide, and on and on, we have
reiterated our disgust with a promise to never let it happen again.
And yet, the reality is that we have succumbed to the fear of
misperception. It is fine to question the correctness of religious
practice in our own land, but we must never criticize Islam and it's
treatment of the female gender because we might be labeled
Islamophobic. And so, we climb back into a state of timidity, and let
the torture continue. All the while questioning whether we should
remove all religious symbols from our daily life because religion
ought not be visible in our daily life.
So as we wonder whether we should wish each other "Happy Holidays" or
"Merry Christmas," women around the world are being beaten into
submission in the name of religion.
http://winchester.wickedlocal.com/article/20141018/NEWS/141017613/12455/OPINION
Oct 18 2014
Why are we silent?
by Lynn Oldach-Engle
WINCHESTER
When I was a young girl, I rented a room from the mother of a
co-worker who ran a bed and breakfast in the resort town where I
worked. One night, after being out late with friends, they dropped me
off in front of the house. I was walking up the front steps when, out
of the dark, I heard:
"Pssst!" And then, "Lynn... Ssshhhh... Come here!"
The lady of the house was hiding in the bushes in the dark. Confused,
I walked around the side of the house to where she was.
"Stay here with me for a minute... He'll get tired soon," she said.
It did not occur to me, right away, that this woman was hiding from
her husband. I soon realized that she was afraid because he was going
to beat her. I had never encountered what would come to be known as
"battered woman" abuse in my young life, and was unprepared for the
degree of silence it engendered. The following day it was as if
nothing had happened.
Thankfully, we are moving away from that era of quiet shame, and
beginning to recognize the signs of abuse. Our doctors ask about our
physical safety, and women's shelters offer some respite for victims.
Our president has declared October as National Domestic Abuse
Awareness month.
Perhaps that is what makes it all the more incredulous that no one in
this country is speaking out about the increasing violence perpetrated
on women and young girls around the world.
We hear excuses that mistreatment of females is a cultural issue, or a
religious matter, and we don't want to appear politically incorrect by
getting involved. But, while we ponder and wring our hands, our
sisters are being subjected to genital mutilation, rape, stoning,
disfigurement and daily derision.
Where are the women's groups? You know the ones I mean - those ringing
voices that are ever vigilant about calling out political missteps and
any woman who dares to disagree with them. Where was the National
Organization for Women when our own Brandeis University was silencing
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, herself a victim and critic of the abominable acts
carried out in the name of Islam? Somehow they managed to find their
contempt when a male politician uttered the word "sweetheart," but are
not nearly as sure-footed of stance in the face of real atrocity.
History has repeatedly revealed the evil acts that humans are capable
of committing on the vulnerable. Through the horror of the Holocaust,
the Armenian Genocide, the Kurdish Genocide, and on and on, we have
reiterated our disgust with a promise to never let it happen again.
And yet, the reality is that we have succumbed to the fear of
misperception. It is fine to question the correctness of religious
practice in our own land, but we must never criticize Islam and it's
treatment of the female gender because we might be labeled
Islamophobic. And so, we climb back into a state of timidity, and let
the torture continue. All the while questioning whether we should
remove all religious symbols from our daily life because religion
ought not be visible in our daily life.
So as we wonder whether we should wish each other "Happy Holidays" or
"Merry Christmas," women around the world are being beaten into
submission in the name of religion.
http://winchester.wickedlocal.com/article/20141018/NEWS/141017613/12455/OPINION