I have completed six months at work. Since I could not find a suitable picture on the internet to describe my interpersonal progress at work, I made an amateur attempt to draw it.
No snails were harmed in the making of this picture
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I should send him a postcard when I move out from this neighborhood.
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A new anti-rape bill was passed in India recently. This came about in response to the horrific gang rape case in December that attracted much local and international attention. If the case didn't get so much attention, I doubt the bill would have been passed by now. It's a small victory, really, because it's going to take a while before its effectiveness shows up in the statistics - during which time more victims will pay the price. It will take even longer to change the existing attitudes of a religious and conservative culture. This is true not just in India; it happens in every culture and every society where extremist religious/patriarchal views dominate and in cultures that are alien to the concept of gender equality.
On one side of the world there are women who lead relatively safe lives with equal opportunities in career and education. And on another side of the world there are men deciding that women need a male guardian's permission to travel, or that they are born to serve as sex slaves, or they don't need an education, or that they cant drive a car, or that they should be flogged for being raped - and these men so sure in their 'righteous' beliefs just like we are certain the sky is blue. And most women in these unfortunate parts of the world, though unhappy, have it instilled in their minds that this is indeed their fate and that there is nothing better for them in this life. Fighting for their human rights is a risky move when even the national laws don't support them.
On one side of the world there are women who lead relatively safe lives with equal opportunities in career and education. And on another side of the world there are men deciding that women need a male guardian's permission to travel, or that they are born to serve as sex slaves, or they don't need an education, or that they cant drive a car, or that they should be flogged for being raped - and these men so sure in their 'righteous' beliefs just like we are certain the sky is blue. And most women in these unfortunate parts of the world, though unhappy, have it instilled in their minds that this is indeed their fate and that there is nothing better for them in this life. Fighting for their human rights is a risky move when even the national laws don't support them.
An article that was shared by a friend of mine stated that every rapist is someone's son. It explores how parents have the opportunities to change the course of life events in a male child that may lead to a fateful decision like rape. I don't think parents bringing up sons in environments where gender equality and respect for all differences are encouraged and practiced need to worry much. It's the other parents who have a greater role to play in the lives of the sons they bring up.
I had a GP like that, great guy. Funny, though - he didn't seem to know what a silverfish was - picked one off my shirt (I'd seen it earlier in *HIS* waiting room, where it had obviously hitched a ride on me), asked me what it was, and wanted to know whether I'd been tramping in the woods!
ReplyDeleteSilverfish look nice and velvety from far. Bad idea to look them up on the internet though... I once checked out "wheat weevil" on Wiki after finding one in my pasta and nearly screamed.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_weevil
SHU DOES DRAWINGS!!! :D :D :D Why do we not see more of these? :)
ReplyDeleteAnd hooray for six months at work. I'm sure Snail Number Three will appear before you know it. :)
Also, thank you for that link before. I saw it today and it was hilarious. Sure helped put things into perspective a bit too.
Hope all is well in Singapore! No doubt I'll drop by again soon! (^_^)/
PS. Recently discovered a colony of weevils in my self raising flower. Surely a disappointing addition to any cake. :S
Hello Kate!! Hope you had a good Easter break. The comments made my day at work - Thanks :D
ReplyDeleteShu was a dropout from Art class..haha..
I thought that link was insanely hilarious too.
Nooo....not weevils!!! They are a terrible menace. Now I actually hide my raw pasta in the refrigerator :|
Hope all is well over there. We wait (im)patiently to hear from Pip and Squeak.
Hahaha, that's a new one! I'd never thought about storing pasta in the fridge. But when faced with weevil invasion, one can never be too cautious.
ReplyDelete