I am heartened by Malala Yousafzai winning the Nobel Peace Prize because of her determination to allow girls/women access to education. Despite huge cultural pressure, she won’t be covering her face up anytime soon when she goes out into the public arena.
When a small group of students from the University of Tasmania — School of Art came by for a visit last week, what sort of deep conversation could we have had if the females were wearing bags over their heads and not allowed to speak?
Would we, should we consider this as a sort of a clitorectomy of the mind?
Love flowers best in openness and freedom.
Edward Abbey, ‘Desert Solitaire’
Whether a Christian, Jewish, Islamist, Buddhist or Hindu teaching, any “fundamentalist” religious dogma that pushes the feminine down has to be challenged if peace is to ever come to this troubled world.
And not just religious dogma. “Any” misogynistic behaviour has to be confronted and dealt with without fear or favour of being political correct.
Yes, we might suffer the opprobrium of public distaste for rocking the comfort zone of others — even put our lives at risk as Malala has done — but what price peace in a multi-cultural world.
Shouldn’t we all have the right to blossom in openness and freedom and achieve our fullest potential as human beings?
Just perhaps, love between all peoples of the world might flower.
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