At 29, Marriage Is Made My Only Identity
“Beta, my heart is aching. I am getting old. I can’t bear all this pain for long. What will happen to you after I am gone?”, says my mother over the phone. “Just marry and I will be okay,” she adds. Before I could even use an excuse to hang up, my father goes on to…
Understanding The Harmful Tradition of Breast Ironing
What is Breast Ironing? Breast Ironing is a harmful cultural practice that continues to perpetuate silently in different parts of the world for centuries. Breast ironing is the pounding or ironing of a pubescent girl’s breasts, using hard or heated objects like stones, spatulas, and pestles, over a period of time (sometimes years) for the breasts…
Patrilocality: Roots of Gender Discrimination in Many Countries
What is Patrilocality? In patrilocal societies, women move to their husband’s house and co-reside with their husband’s family after marriage. Patrilocality is associated with discrimination in personal autonomy, decision making, education, health, and division of labour between a woman and her husband. This post aims to explain the correlation between patrilocality and gender discrimination. With marriage,…
Gender Discrimination in Access and Consumption of Food Across Cultures
Equal access to food and nutrition is one of the core human rights. Yet, in several cultures across the world, women do not have equal access to food. There are strange taboos, norms and gender discrimination in the consumption and access to food in many countries. Poverty as well as discriminatory social and religious customs are…
Male guardianship in Saudi Arabia
What is the male guardianship rule? Women in Saudi Arabia, irrespective of their age, education or employment status, must have a male guardian, typically a father, brother, husband or uncle (mahram). Women are treated like second class citizens in Saudi Arabia. All females, girls, and women are forbidden from traveling, conducting official business,…
