I meant to post this when we read Enloe's "Militia men and women", but completely forgot. This video shows a Libyan woman at a restaurant where American journalists are eating speaking out about the rape the experienced by Gadhafi's regime. This video is so frightening because they do not let her speak and just take her away and put a bag over head...so terrifying.
This video is extremely heartbreaking. It shows a women who had clearly been beaten and violated trying to tell her story to reporters and anyone else who would listen. She screams at the cameras in fear and disgust. It is the first time that anyone public spoke out against the Libyan government and it was clear that they were not happy about it. They make her stop talking and eventually put a bag over her head before she is manhandled out of the building and into a transporter car. They say they are taking her to a hospital because she is insane. The only thing that I can think of when I heard that they were taking her to a hospital are the countless other women who will definitely not come forward about rape because they are scared of the consequences. Much like the readings we did on women in the military, they think that they are better off not coming forward about sexual assault for many reasons. The biggest problem with this is that once a precedent is set, and women become fearful of coming forward about their cases of sexual assault, it becomes a trend. Women should be encouraged to come forward about sexual assault no matter what. However, if I you are a women in the military, or a women in Libya (like the one in the video), I can totally understand why they might not want to come forward.
ReplyDeleteI was disgusted by the action of Libyan government officials. This takes blaming the victim to a whole new level. It was terrifying to watch, not only males, but also another female try to silence this rape victim. I felt utterly helpless while watching this video. What can I do to help women gain more autonomy and power in Libya? I feel like we often watch heartbreaking videos or hear stories of injustices committed in foreign countries and instantly feel a certain emotion. Then, we begin to feel helpless because we are so far away from the issue at hand or not directly affected to the point where we feel the need to take action. At some point, we have to take actively participate on a global scale.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Jason and Crystal. This video was very shocking to me. I can not believe that the Libyan government would treat this women like this. It is obvious that she is frightened for her life and is trying to tell her story. I agree with Crystal and how it was amazing to see that not only was it males who were trying to silence the rape victim but women were also getting involved. I felt sorry for the victim espeically after the women placed a bag over her head. In my opinion, I think that it is extremely unfair of the government to suggest that this woman is insane because of the way she was acting. There is evidence that she had clearly been assaulted. As any other women who had been under a traumatic experience, they too would seem "insane" to others that had not experience the crime.
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