Harmful Cultural Practices against Women around the World

[- Femme -]

 

CHINESE FOOT BINDING:

 

The process of foot binding started for the young girls anywhere from the age of four to six. It was done so early in her life so that the arch did not have much time to develop. The mother who was the one to bind the feet, and usually started the process late in the fall or winter, so the foot would be numb and the pain would not be as severe. The daughters' feet would first be soaked in warm water or animal blood and herbs (Jackson 39). The special potion that was used for this caused any dead flesh to fall off (Levy 12).She would have her toe nails cut as short as possible therefore not allowing them to grow into the foot. After she received a foot massage, the four smallest toes on each foot were broken (Chinese Foot Binding 2) This was not even the worst of the pain. The mother soaked silk or cotton bandages in the same liquid the girl's feet were soaked in. The bandages, which were ten feet long and two inches wide, were wrapped around the smallest toes and pulled tightly to the heel. Every two days, the binding was removed and rebound. This part of the process went on for two years. By this time her feet were three to four inches long. To assure the feet staying small, the ritual continued for at least ten more years (Hwang 1).

 

The process was very painful; every time the feet were rebound the bandages were pulled tighter. But besides just the pain of the process, there were many after affects that were detrimental to the young girls' health. The pain of the bound feet never stopped. The most common consequence was infection (Hwang 1). There were many ways a girl could get an infection. One was the ball of the foot would folding directly into the heel. A second was that the toenails continued to grow, eventually curling into the skin. This led to flesh rotting off, and sometimes even a toe. The worst part of the process was that the feet would practically die after three years. The feet being dead caused a terrible smell the girl carried with her everywhere (Chinese Footwear 1). Diseases followed infections, and death could even result from foot binding (Hwang 1).

 

There were many reasons mothers made the decision to bind their daughters' feet. Men in China in that era would not marry a woman who did not have bound feet. The man's mother was always responsible for making sure the woman he was to` marry had bound feet. If the mother of the man lifted up the woman's dress and discovered "clown feet," she would not allow her son to speak to that woman again. The mother of the man that she loved finding out she does not have bound feet was the most embarrassing thing that could happen to you (Jackson 62). Feet binding also divided men and women and upheld old Chinese beliefs. Foot binding kept women weak, out of power, and dominated by her husband. When women bound their feet, men could dominate more easily and not worry about women taking their power. The process took place so early, the young girl had no choice but to follow her family's order and have her feet bound. She was uneducated and considered foot binding necessary. Also, she was seen as an object to the men, to be observed and look pretty, therefore appealing to men mattered more to the girls than their health. The girl's life went on without having much control over it (Levy 42-46).

 

Foot Binding

 

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Sati---Indian widows (women) thrown into fire (voluntarily or force) upon husbands death:

 

I. What is Sati?

Hindu custom in India in which the widow was burnt to death on her husband’s pyre.

Can be a voluntary choice or force upon a woman by her in-laws.

 

Reasons for Sati

A widow's status was looked upon as an unwanted burden that prevented her from participating in the household work. Her touch, her voice, her very appearance was considered unholy, impure and something that was to be shunned and abhorred.

A woman was considered pure if she committed Sati.

 

III. The History Behind Sati

Sati, the wife of Daksha, was so overcome at the demise of her husband that she immolated herself on his funeral pyre. Sati was the consort of Lord Shiva. She burnt herself in fire as protest against her father, Daksha did not give her consort Shiva the respect she thought he deserved.

 

IV. Theories of Origin

Even though Sati is considered an Indian custom or a Hindu custom it was not practiced all over India by all Hindus but only among certain communities of India.

 

Sacrificing the widow in her dead husband's funeral or pyre was not unique only to India. This custom was prevalent among Egyptians, Greek, Goths, and others.

Ramayana- Sita walks through fire to prove her purity.

Mahabharata- Madri throws herself on her husband, Pandu’s fire.

 

In general, before this custom was outlawed in 1829, there were a few hundred officially recorded incidences each year. Even in the year 2000, you hear about Sati occurring in rural villages.

 

Sati

[-Serenity-]

I have heard of Sati, but foot binding? :eek:

 

Just goes to show how far we have come eh?

 

Thanks Miss FF.

[- Femme -]

^^Yes. Makes you glad that you are born in this religion, culture, family, age. Alhamdulliah.

 

 

 

Elongating the Neck with Rings:

 

Traditionally the Padaung women wear brass neck-rings which give the appearance of elongating the wearer’s neck (in fact they depress the collarbone). The neck-rings can be removed, but the weakened neck muscles are unable to support the weight of the head – to do so without help would result in the windpipe being crushed.

Inside Burma the tradition has been dying. Women would even cross into Thailand to have the rings removed in hospital, where they would need to wait months for their necks to recover.

 

In Burma a girl child wears her first rings, weighing one kilo, at the age of five. Two more rings are added at 10 and 15 and another two before the age of 20, to make a total of five.

 

Neck Rings

 

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HONOUR KILLINGS:

 

Honour killings are acts of violence committed against women by family members, generally for what is considered "immoral behaviour". An average of 25-30 women are killed in Jordan each year in the name of honour. In most cases, a girl or woman is murdered by a family member for alleged violations of family honour. Human rights and women's activists have called for amendments to Article 340 of the penal code which exempts from punishment or reduces the penalty against those who kill female relatives for acts they consider improper.

 

Many honour killings go unreported or may be recorded as accidental deaths or suicides. Lawyer Muna Zoughbaba of the Jordanian Women's Union stated: "The family would kill and bury their daughters and then report them missing." It is believed that the actual number of honour killings is four times as high as the reported figures.

 

The whole concept of the way honour crimes are carried out is un-Islamic. If an immoral act has been committed between an unmarried man and woman, there must be four witnesses who can testify to this act. Then if four witnesses can be produced, there will be a court hearing and a sentence will be handed down to both parties, male and female. In Islam, immoral acts and behaviour are considered the same for both sexes. However, in most Middle Eastern countries, males are not punished for adultery or fornication while females will most likely be killed. Sheikh Izzedin Al Khatib Al Tamimi, who advises [Jordan's] King Abdullah on Islamic affairs, said Islam forbids individuals from committing "vigilante" acts to punish adulterers.

 

Male members of a family believe they can only regain their family honour by murdering females for alleged sexual transgressions. Nevertheless, autopsies performed on the victims of honour killings show that 95 per cent of the females killed had no sexual relations at all. At least 50 women are involuntarily detained in protective custody each year so they will not be killed for alleged sexual transgressions

[J.Lee]

The sati is new to me but foot binding, living by so many Asians, I'm quite familiar with it and have a seen a foot similar to the one in the picture. It's sore sight to see.

 

Also, lest not we forget the most harmful of cultural practices, Female Genital Mutilation which was practiced in our own country.

[RendezVous]

>>>am sure those agitating for a campaign tainted with propaganda as 'HARRASMENT OF WOMEN'in ISLAM will see what is happening in other cultures.. OUR freind DINKY WINKY knows about 'WIFE BEATING'..in ISLAM..

 

But FF is this related to any religion..?Why shouldn't BBC have documentaries on this Brutal things yet they have one from SAUDI ARABIA..is this propaganda against ISLAM..

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061.008

YUSUFALI: Their intention is to extinguish Allah's Light (by blowing) with their mouths: But Allah will complete (the revelation of) His Light, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it).

[raula]

I likewise have seen/heard/read of Foot binding but just rumors about Sati. Alxamdulilah we dont have to go thru' such stuff.

[Wiilo]

Foot binding. These two words bring up images of twisted deformed feet, pain and torture. It seems that everyone has heard of foot binding. The words are self-explanatory. However, what do we really know about it? Like raula said Alhamdulillaah we dont have go through this,,,,,,

[Tuujiye]

ABOOTO DHACNAY IISHA ILBUUNEE!!!

FINKA CUUDU BILAAHIYOOOOOOO!!

SUBXAANALAAAAAAH!!!

ASHIDAANTI NAABULO!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

NAJOOTA BIL CILMIKA!!!

RABI YAASIR WALAA TUCASIR!!

AQASEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

 

WAXAANAA

 

WAREER BADANAA!!!

[shyhem]

As sad as this practices are,i really don't care what they do with feet.It's their culture and let them practice it.

 

I'm only concerned about me and if the rest of the world want to twist,bend and cut their body,i say do it baby....it's all yours.

[Wiilo]

^^^I agree with you Shyhem, yeah its thier culture and its thier body let them do whatever they want, annaga bari baan ka nahay Ciisaa bidiin Muusaa bidiin,,,,,waxaa jira kuwo is daldala kuwo is qaraaca (Like Istunkii Somalida samayn jireen) waxaas oo dhan waa CULTURE......

 

 

Go figure:................

[Senora]

^^^Unfortunately, attitudes like this only perpetuate the ineffectiveness in applying justice for these women.

 

I appreciate you bringing up these horrid acts faced by these poor women Femme Fatale. Greater acknowledgement of these problems will hopefully allocate accountability, hence redeeming equality and justice for these women.

[-Serenity-]

Shyhem,Femme is just making us aware of what goes on in the world. If you prefer to put ur two fingers in ur ears about everything that doesnt concern ur immediate surroundings, fine, but we are not all like that. Besides, just because you cant do something about it doesnt mean you dont sympathise with what these women go/gone through.

[- Femme -]

Shyhem + Wiilo: Good for you both. :rolleyes:

 

I'm only concerned about me and if the rest of the world want to twist,bend and cut their body,i say do it baby....it's all yours.

You make it sound as if it was a choice. I wonder if you would be feeling the same if it was YOU it was happening to.

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I learned about this disgusting cultural practice in my anthropology of religion class--->Still in my mind.

 

The Dagum Dani are people of New Zealand:

 

One practice of the Dani, however, was kind of barbaric. If someone died, after the funeral some girls from the compound would have the first joint of a finger removed as a kind of sacrifice. As a result, most adult women were missing a joint on most of their fingers. They were still able to do things like weaving with their mutilated fingers, but heavy work was out of the question.

It is said that men do most of the work---some weaving, cooking, hunting, cutting firewood..etc. I thought it was so sweet--->an equal society in which men and women both participate in household chores and general upkeep of the family. Then I found out that the reason for this was because the women couldnt do it...on account of having multiple fingers chopped off. :mad:

 

However:

 

So, in come the Dutch missionaries and put a stop to this practice. Of course they do. The idea of mutilating little girl's fingers is pretty creepy to me. A generation later, almost no women have their fingers mutilated. The unintentional result of all of this is that now women do all of the work. They till the fields, build houses, tend the pigs, gather salt, do the cooking, everything. When a man needs more help with a major task, he used to gather all of the men from his neighborhood to help. Now he gets another wife.

 

So, ending funerary finger mutilation did not end gender inequality in the society. It seems to have made it worse.

Source

[Wiilo]

^^^yeah its horrid acts faced by women in many places in the world, but look at on the other side of the issue dear its something that is basically related to Culture or its culture for that matter. Its not out of the NORM to do this (We seen as horrid act) foot binding. Basically there is nothing we can do to stop this (I think)......

 

 

Go figure:.....................

[STOIC]

Mauritania's 'wife-fattening' farm

By Pascale Harter

BBC, Mauritania

 

 

Obesity is so revered among Mauritania's white Moor Arab population that the young girls are sometimes force-fed to obtain a weight the government has described as "life-threatening".

A generation ago, over a third of women in the country were force-fed as children - Mauritania is one of the few African countries where, on average, girls receive more food than boys.

 

Now only around one in 10 girls are treated this way. The treatment has its roots in fat being seen as a sign of wealth - if a girl was thin she was considered poor, and would not be respected.

 

But in rural Mauritania you still see the rotund women that the country is famous for. They walk slowly, dainty hands on the end of dimpled arms, pinching multicoloured swathes of fabric together to keep the biting sand from their faces.

 

"I make them eat lots of dates, lots and lots of couscous and other fattening food," Fatematou, a voluminous woman in her sixties who runs a kind of "fat farm" in the northern desert town of Atar, told BBC World Service's The World Today programme.

 

 

When they are small they don't understand, but when they grow up they are fat and beautiful

Fatematou

'Fat farm' manager

 

Although she had no clients when I met her, she said she was soon expecting to take charge of some seven-year-olds.

"I make them eat and eat and eat. And then drink lots and lots of water," she explained.

 

"I make them do this all morning. Then they have a rest. In the afternoon we start again. We do this three times a day - the morning, the afternoon and the evening."

 

Punishment

 

She said the girls could end up weighing between 60 to 100 kilograms, "with lots of layers of fat."

 

 

Fatematou said that it was rare for a girl to refuse to eat, and that if they did, she was helped by the child's parents.

"They punish the girls and in the end the girls eat," she said.

 

"If a girl refuses we start nicely, saying 'come on, come on' sweetly, until she agrees to eat."

 

Fatematou admitted that sometimes the girls cried at the treatment.

 

"Of course they cry - they scream," she said.

 

"We grab them and we force them to eat. If they cry a lot we leave them sometimes for a day or two and then we come back to start again.

 

"They get used to it in the end."

 

She argued that in the end the girls were grateful.

 

"When they are small they don't understand, but when they grow up they are fat and beautiful," she said.

 

"They are proud and show off their good size to make men dribble. Don't you think that's good?"

 

Change

 

However, the view that a fat girl is more desirable is now becoming seen as old-fashioned.

 

A study by the Mauritanian ministry of health has found that force-feeding is dying out. Now only 11% of young girls are force fed.

 

 

We're fed up of fat women

Yusuf, 19

 

"That's not how people think now," Leila - a woman in the ancient desert town of Chinguetti, who herself was fattened as a child - told The World Today.

"Traditionally a fat wife was a symbol of wealth. Now we've got another vision, another criteria for beauty.

 

"Young people in Mauritania today, we're not interested in being fat as a symbol of beauty. Today to be beautiful is to be natural, just to eat normally."

 

Some men are also much less keen on having a fat wife - a reflection of changes in Mauritanian society.

 

"We're fed up of fat women here," said 19-year-old shop owner Yusuf.

 

"Always fat women! Now we want thin women.

 

"In Mauritania if a woman really wants to get married I think she should stay thin. If she gets fat it's not good.

 

"Some girls have asked me whether they should get fat or stay thin. I tell them if you want to find a man, a European or a Mauritanian, stay thin, it's better for you. But some blokes still like them fat."

 

And while there still men who like their women big, Fatematou is on hand to fatten them up with her years of experience.

 

I asked her if she ever felt cruel, beating and force feeding children?

 

"No! It's not cruel to make girls fat!" she said.

 

"Me, I've seen 10-year old girls give birth. I tell you, 10 years old!

 

"Once they are fat and beautiful they can serve their men well, once they are fat they can be married."