Fawcett Society's Victory for Women

I don’t think that will be in our lifetimes though Mollygo. I wish it would but it just won’t. I can’t see some Arab or African states changing, not to mention Afghanistan. I could cry for those little girls in Afghanistan. And ‘honour killing’ makes my blood run cold. How will anything ever change the mindsets of these awful men?

We don't have equality until all females have equality. So the fight won't end until we do. There are many ways we can stand up against oppression, trade, sports, sanctions etc

Whatever happened to free speech?
Are we all no longer allowed our personal thoughts on any subject?
Perhaps you think it would be better if we lived under a dictatorship regime.

Yes sorry I'm at work

Some good points made already

We don't have equality until all women have equality. So the fight won't end until we do. There are many ways we can stand up against oppression, trade, sports, sanctions etc

Maybe some people don't believe a good example is enough but those women fighting for their rights are looking to us, and even simple support means something to them

One of the things we, as the general public, can do, is vote with our feet and our money. So we don’t go on holiday to states where women’s rights are few, or indeed, human rights are few. We have never been to Dubai for example nor any Arab state unless you count Turkey, but I don’t count them, and anyway that’s a secular state. But it’s a fine line isn’t it, because some countries need the trade to develop. Nonetheless I don’t suppose Afghanistan will be missing our holiday trade since no one has a burning desire to holiday there, and so we are left with nothing, we can do nothing. Only our state can apply sanctions, that’s the most that can be done.

hear hear.

And what Glorianny suggests.

How do we support women in other oppressive countries and cultures? 'Amnesty International' springs to mind. You don't have to go out onto the streets to demonstrate. You can give valuable aid from the safety of your home, through the generosity of your bank account. It's as easy as that.

The images of those brave, brave girls in Iran defying the government by removing hijabs, unveiling their hair and dancing round bonfires to throw their veils into the flames will stay with me.

I would suggest that all the women wearing the hijab in Britain at present remove it.
A visual protest.

Yes, a gesture of good faith would be to cut sporting ties with countries such as Saudi Arabia, but 'we' aren't doing that.

I think it is important to separate personal opinions, pressure groups and government policies, as there is really no 'we' in any of this.

I agree Glorianny but I don't see it happening. Even taking part in football tournaments trumps the appalling human rights of some host countries.

As far as women's rights go we can begin by urging our own government to limit involvement with those countries where women have restricted or limited lifestyles. The classic example being Saudi Arabia where some progress has been made but where women are far from equal.The close ties of many in the establishment with the men who run that country should be challenged at every opportunity.

"We need to sort the abuse happening in our own country" indeed AGAA4 which includes the continuing attempt to erode women's rights in favour of the trans gender community.

We can't. We can't tell other countries how they should govern even if we find their treatment of people appalling.
We need to sort the abuse happening in our own country.

VioletSky

We condemn it and we support the women in those countries fighting for their rights

We work with other countries to ensure legal ramifications are carried out

We do something

We do something

What, exactly?
Please, I'd like to know how we can bring about change.

VioletSky

We condemn it Yes I’m with that!

and we support the women in those countries fighting for their rights

What are you doing/suggesting that we do in terms of support?

How do ‘we’ support women in other countries fighting for their rights’?

Tacit support is pointless. Sending money is a bit less so, but who do ‘we’ send it to and on what do they spend it? Singling out recipients can cause them problems.

‘Working with’ the Taliban? Any examples of how that has helped? Sanctions can make a difference but by the time it gets to women’s rights they are usually in place for territorial reasons and other breaches of agreements between countries.

Unfortunately ‘we’ can condemn specific behaviour, but ultimately it comes down to stamping feet and shouting that it’s not fair.

How?
What can you do?
Writing on Gransnet isn’t going to change anything.

We condemn it and we support the women in those countries fighting for their rights

We work with other countries to ensure legal ramifications are carried out

We do something

And what do you think we can do about honour killings in other countries VioletSky or about the situation of Afghanistan and it’s system of not allowing girls education after age twelve?

The answer by the way is nothing. We can do nothing about it.

Women do not have equality until all women have it

We weren’t talking about Afghanistan or anywhere but the UK.

Ziplock I didn’t realise that we are talking about the whole world. I was really just thinking of the UK. If we widen it to the whole world then serious abuse of women is a massive problem. Think ‘honour killings’ which of course are anything but honourable. However Clarkson’s crude joke pales into insignificance when compared with the real crimes against women the world over.
But I still think what he said is vile.

My “in addition” comment is a general comment, by the way, not connected to my first paragraph - just to be clear.