Femicide–The Atrocity That Knows No Border

http://www.feministpeacenetwork.org/2009/08/05/femicide-the-atrocity-that-know-no-borders/


Earlier this week George Sodini walked into a health club in Pennsylvania and killed three women and injured nine more. The chilling blog he left behind makes it clear that the killings were motivated not only by his hatred of women, but issues with his family, loneliness and an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness.

-snip-

While we are rarely given such direct insight into why men kill women, his sentiments are shared by far too many men throughout the world. Patriarchy depends on controlling women’s lives and when they cannot be controlled their lives have no value and they must be killed. And the result is that there is not a country in the world where women’s lives are free from the tyranny of men’s quest for power.

In Guatemala where women’s lives are often seen as inferior, the number of femicides has escalated greatly in recent years.

In Mexico, women have been killed in Juarez with impunity for many years, with authorities simply looking the other way.

-snip-

And in Iraq and other countries, women are routinely killed to maintain the ‘honor’ of men. The list goes on, but the point is this: femicide is a global pandemic. It manifests itself in different ways in different places, but the cause of all these murders shares a common root and that is the cultural impunity of male power and control. In short, patriarchy.

And in Iraq and other countries, women are routinely killed to maintain the ‘honor’ of men. The list goes on, but the point is this: femicide is a global pandemic. It manifests itself in different ways in different places, but the cause of all these murders shares a common root and that is the cultural impunity of male power and control. In short, patriarchy.

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Perhaps one of the most powerful tools for ending femicide is to make it visible and call it out for what it is. In this country, all too often the murders of white women receive far more attention than the murders of women of color. Via Essential Presence comes this awesome billboard from a group called MOMS designed to bring attention to the nine black women who have gone missing or have been murdered in North Carolina in the last four years.

-snip-

We thank these wonderful women for making sure these deaths are not simply disappeared. H/t to Gender Across Borders for bringing our attention to this inspiring campaign.
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shine the light - keep it shining

nt

It hardly makes the news even though every year hundreds or perhaps thousands are murdered or "disappeared" by their spouses, families, boyfriends or lovers. We don't even know how many for sure because in many nations they don't even bother to keep track.
Until we women all around the world stand up for ourselves and for each other, it will NOT change.
Yes there are also many men, husbands, sons and brothers etc that will stand with us..but we women also have to be on the front lines in this war on women. After all, it is our sisters, our mothers, our relatives, our sex that is being murdered with such little regard.

:eyes: but...but...but...women kill men too :eyes:

he even wrote about his hatred for all women -- and STILL people don't see it.