Reflection

I do not even know where to begin in relation to how this class and project has affected me. Before this class, I did not know about women’s issues nor were they important to me. This class, and helping Scrappy’s owner, has changed that. These past couple of months has changed me as a woman, and my knowledge of women’s issues, tremendously. Before, I have always wanted to be a volunteer and make a difference in the world by doing things such as planting trees, or helping clean up an environment. Not that these things are not important, but being a woman, helping Animal Safehouse has been way more rewarding than ever expected. This has been not only a learning experience, but a life-changing one as well.
Honestly, in the beginning of the semester when I signed up for a Woman Studies class I was not excited. Just like we went over in the first week, I had these stereotypes of feminists in my head and surely thought that I was not going to fit in. I thought that I was going to have to meet twice a week with man-hating, bitter girls whom I would have nothing in common with. I soon realized that I was wrong, and even more so after getting involved with Animal Safehouse.
I never thought that these issues would have such an impact on me. The things we learned about domestic violence, patriarchy, women’s health, and how the “personal is political” changed me. I remember getting defensive when I learned of how women are treated different than men in the work force, and thinking, “Whoa, what is happening.” But I am glad it happened.
What upset me the most was when we discussed women’s healthcare. After watching “The Business of Being Born” I was appalled. How the doctors schedule C-sections so they can go home for dinner, or how pregnant women are drugged up and caused more pain, then demand an epidural and other drugs which can be toxic, blew my mind. I could not believe that these things were so normal to us, if more women were more knowledgeable of this, I guarantee there would be more home births.
I was getting so into these women’s issues that for the first time in my life, I felt like a feminist, and even more so after fostering Scrappy. Seeing first hand a woman, who had three children, being forced by her abusive husband to seek shelter and safety really hit me hard. I remember driving back to my house after picking up Scrappy thinking how naïve I have been. I have been living my life day-by-day worrying about only myself, unaware of the bigger issues. I look at the world differently now, and I look at myself differently as well. This world is not perfect, and the issues concerning women are only growing. Through this class and service learning project, I am a changed woman. I go through every day with my eyes open, taking a different perspective on things. As much violence as there is in this world, there is even more people available to make a difference.
Now, I am not more educated than other women, but I am more aware. And I am better for it.

Service Learning Project Summary

For my service learning project, as you know, I chose to work with Animal Safehouse. What I planned to accomplish was to help spread the word of this new organization through word of mouth as well with being a foster. I chose this organization because I learned how many women do not get out of an abused relationship because they are worried about where their pets will stay, and it ends up being fatal. Women should not have to worry about their pets when they are trying to seek shelter, and Animal Safehouse is a great organization that is trying to make a difference.

            My biggest success was fostering Scrappy, a six month old Chiuaua. His owner was seeking shelter, and was absolutely not going to go in unless they found a foster for him. When I talked to Arielle she said that I was the thirteenth person she had called, and was so thankful I could help, and so was I. Knowing that doing this one little favor, something as simple and watching a puppy, made a huge difference in a woman’s life. My goal was to make a difference in at least one person’s life, and I know that I did. There were limitations to this project as well though. Since the shelter is based in Melbourne, there were times when Arielle needed a transporter, and I could not be there because of school or work. So for the most part, I accomplished my goal in helping someone in need, and spreading the word through my actions.

            The institutional framework I worked with was family and government. There was an act of domestic violence within Scrappy’s owner’s family, so she chose to seek shelter through a shelter. Animal Safehouse connects with families to resolve what can lead to a dangerous situation. Animal Safehouse also connects with families to get the word out about their organization to help as many people as possible.

            Before this class, I did not personally see or hear about domestic violence. Of course I knew it happened, but I did not know how big the issue really was. So many women are physically or emotionally abused in relationships and the issue goes unnoticed. I have never been involved in volunteer work like this, and it really hit hard. I was told that I was picking up Scrappy from another Animal Safehouse volunteer, but when I got there, I met the woman who was being abused. That moment changed me forever. I read about domestic violence in the text, but never was there a connection until that day. What I had read about in the text was real, and it does happen. In Scrappy’s owner’s situation, the issues in the text were definitely upheld. And in experiencing something so tragic like this first hand, broke my heart.

            I hope that my audience has learned that even if domestic violence has not happened to you or someone you know, it is still very real and the issue needs attention.

           

Shah Bano: Muslim Women's Rights, Case Study

In the case pertaining to Shah Bano, we have decided to neither stand by the Supreme Court’s decision to override Muslim law and award maintenance to Bano, nor are we going to overthrow the decision and support the new Muslim Women’s Bill. We have decided to propose the development of a uniformed civil code that would apply to all citizens. In our unified civil code, there are three options. One is if you choose to get married through your church, you mist abide by Muslim law. The second is if you decide to get married through the state you are then covered by the Special Marriages Act of 1954. Last, you can choose both, and if your marriage is dissolved you can choose between the two in which you want to abide by.

When Bano was divorced from her husband, she said she was relieved and that she hated him, so obviously neither she nor her husband were happy in the relationship. Bano was fighting the courts to be awarded ongoing maintenance so she could be financially supported as a single woman. Maintenance is given to the wife for three months after a divorce, but clearly that is not enough.

We came up with this uniformed civil code in order to be fair to both the church and the state. Women’s rights in India are scarce as it is. This code is respecting both the majority and the minority. If we were to stand by the Supreme Court to override Muslim law and award Bano with the maintenance, we would be favoring a single person and this case would become precedent for future similar situations. Also, if we were to overthrow the decision and make Muslim personal law supreme in most cases we would also be favoring the majority. Many wives end up being widows and many couples end up getting divorced; therefore we saw the need to create a code that handles both issues simultaneously letting the person involved in the issue to make their own decision and be able to govern their own lives.  

If you choose option number one, then you must abide by Muslim law, or the law of you church. If you agree to this, you are aware that most personal codes belittle women and do not give them the same rights as the men, especially in marriage. A husband can divorce his wife without the wife’s consent, leaving her without ongoing maintenance. After the divorce, the woman must depend on her immediate family and the community to support her. Even though these codes are unfair to women, it is still dwelled upon by the media and politicians.

In our second option, you can choose to get married through the state, and therefore are covered by the Special Marriages Act of 1954. The Special Marriages Act of 1954 offers couples and non-religious alternative to personal laws. This act provides a special form of marriage not abiding by the religion or faith followed by either party.

Since it is so difficult to define a code for each community due to the religious diversity within Hinduism and Islam, we have created option number three. In this option you may be married under both church and state, and if the marriage is dissolved, the husband and wife can separately decide which law to abide by. This option gives the couple the right to autonomy. The husband or wife can make their decisions based on which law, the church or state that they want to follow. Choosing to be married under both church and state is highly frowned upon and contradicts the traditional Muslim culture, so consequences may come if option three is chosen.

In case a wife has been divorced or widowed before our unified civil code was created, she has the right under the Grandfather Clause to still have her rights. The Grandfather Clause states that if you are married before the civil code, and you are divorced or widowed, you can still get the benefits of whichever option you choose without having a license. This clause protects divorced or widowed wives who have been formerly abiding by the Muslim law or the state law.

In some areas, women are forced into marriages against their own will; therefore we have also created the Cohersive Marriage Clause. This clause states that if a woman is forced into marriage by state regulations and can prove it in court, you then can qualify for exemptions provided by the state. This benefits both the husband and wife because if the husband dies, he knows that his widowed wife will be taken care of.

Women and the Workforce

In the video you asked us to watch, "Danger- Women at Work," they treat women as fragile dolls. When men did these jobs, I am positive they did not have a video like this worried about their nutrition, or a little scratch turning into a serious infection. This part of the video correlates directly with the movie I have chose to talk about, G.I. Jane.

When O'Neil, the first woman accepted into the CRT Special Forces training, decides to go to boot camp with all of the men she is at first babied. She is treated as a fragile doll who cannot handle the pressure physically, mentally, and emotionally as well as the men can at her camp. Her higher-ups, her peers at camp, and even her friends doubted her. No one thought that her place in this camp was valuable, her place and her goal was actually frowned upon.

"If they(women) behave in ways that are seen as more "male"- such as acting assertively, focusing on the task, or displaying ambition- they are seen as "too tough" and "unfeminine.""(Kirk and Rey pg. 306) In the movie, O'Neil could not keep her femininity and be successful as a soldier at the same time. In one of the most important scenes, she shaves her head to prove that she was committed to finishing the camp. After doing so, she slowly moved her way into being treated as "one of the guys." This shows how society views women in the military. To be accepted, O'Neil had to look, talk, dress, and act like a guy. O'Neil had to throw her feminine side out the window just to be accepted. She was not respected both as a woman and a soldier.

In WLMP under the Ideal Nuclear Family section, this is stated,"The father is the provider while the wife/mother spends her days running the home."(Kirk and Rey pg. 303) In G.I. Jane, Demi Moore's character strives to prove this statement is wrong. Proving that a woman can excel at a men's boot camp in more ways than one is solely the reason she goes. O'Neil does not believe that women are put on this earth to only serves as house-moms and raising children. In this movie, she proves that women are strong and capable of completing the same tasks that men do in the most challenging setting.

In our society today, this idea that women can be just as successful as men in the work place has increase, but inequality still exists. For example, I have worked at Buffalo Wild Wings for four years and our store has been used as a training facility for managers for three of those years. So I have seen at least a hundred of managers in training facilitate throughout the company, and of all of them I can name five who were women. Of those five, only two that I know of are still with the company. So personally, I see inequality in the workplace first hand. They like to have women as servers and bartenders, but when it comes to moving up in the company, seeing a woman is very rare.

So yes, this representation of women's work matches my experience, but not my expectation. The field I am going into is mostly males, but I am determined to be just as successful as any other man in the entertainment sports industry. 


Works Cited:
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa- Rey. Women's Lives Multicultural Perspective. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print.

SL Activism Log 11/7

1. I was in contact with Arielle this week because she wanted me to transport a bird to a foster, but I was unable to help because I had work.

2. Since we talked about a feminist's definition of health care, I can still tie in a connection with my project. Something that I think should be included in health care is security for women who are abused if she is in working for an "nonproductive" job. In the health care system, if a woman is supported by the husband's health care and he beats her, the woman should still be covered if she left him to find shelter. I know that by law a woman can still be supported by her spouse's insurance for a couple of years after a divorce, but in this case I think that there should be some kind of system that helps the woman get back on her feet until she is stable enough to support herself if she does not do so already.

3. Before this class I never really looked deep into how women are treated differently in the work place, and in life in general. By doing this project, and seeing a situation first hand, my eyes have been opened to see how real these issues are. It has made me think about the things I take for granted, as well as how such a little gesture can make a huge impact and really help someone in need.

Service Learning Activism Log 10/24

1. This was my last week with Scrappy, which was bittersweet. The owner's sister decided she wanted to watch Scrappy until she was out of the shelter. So on my way out of town on Friday night I met up with the owner's sister and handed him over.
2. This experience that I shared with Scrappy has opened my eyes to women's issues and let me see first hand how serious this issue really is. So many women are being abused every day and something as simple as fostering their pet can make such a huge difference. Again, my project does not have much to do with women's sexuality like our readings in class, but a woman's sexuality should be sacred. Scrappy's owner is not only physically abused, but it is also abusive to her soul as woman. When a woman's soul has been damaged, her self-esteem is broken. Her sexuality may seem non-existent, or gross like Cisneros feels. Even if Scrappy's owner is a white woman, the abuse she deals with can make her feel as if she is the opposite.
3. This week has been so rewarding for me as a person, and new activist. Talking about helping the community feels totally different than actually doing it. I am so glad I had this opportunity to help Scrappy's owner get a chance to get out of an abusive home and rediscover herself as a woman and a mother. Knowing that I did something that seems so simple to me, but was so meaningful and life-changing for Scrappy's owner, really makes me think twice about how I am living my life. I have learned to cherish the life I have because so many women deal with issues that are much more devastating than mine.

Service Learning Activism Log 10/17

1. This week I was able to foster my first pet! Friday afternoon I got a call from Arielle, my community partner coordinator informing me of an eight month old chiuaua, Scrappy, who was in need of a foster. I was thrilled not only to foster my first pet, but to help an abused woman as well. I drove to cocoa beach to pick him up. I was expecting to have Scrappy for at least a week, but I got a call from Scrappy's owner today saying she was out of the shelter and ready to get him back tomorrow, which was bitter sweet.
2. When I picked Scrappy up, I was told that an Animal Safehouse coordinator was going to meet me, when I got to the meeting spot I was met by Scrappy's owner. Seeing this woman, who also has three children, cry her eyes out while handing me her dog broke my heart. This was the least of her problems at the moment, and it was still so traumatizing. This week in class we talked about women's sexuality. One quote that stuck out to me was, "As sex objects, women are commonly portrayed as child-like or doll-like playthings." The woman was seeking shelter because she had been beaten by her boyfriend. Men in these situations obviously do no care about these women. They can be looked at as sex objects that they use, and when angry enough, beat. This misconception of women is not only disrespectful, but can be extremely dangerous.
3. This weekend has been a great experience. In such a short time, Scrappy and I have created such a strong bond. I am sad to see him go, but I am happy his owner feels safe again, hopefully, and can go on living her normal life instead of hiding in fear. Even though dog fostering is such a simple, enjoyable task it is crazy how impactful it can be. If it wasn't for me, this woman may not have been able to seek shelter for herself and her children. I am so thankful I got the opportunity to help her and her kids, it has been a very rewarding experience.