twenty four hour truce

As women, we all dream of a life where we finally feel free and safe. Just the mere thought of being able to walk down the street alone at 11PM without worrying that someone might take advantage of you is beyond exhilarating, feeling safe in our own homes, safe in our relationships, safe amongst the figures who were deemed to be protectors but have proved time and time again to be the main source of our pain. Andrea Dworkins calls upon a truce, “…A Twenty-Four-Hour Truce During Which There Is No Rape”. Henceforth this essay will critically analyse Dworkins plea, not only bringing forth an end to rape and the rise of men in against this patriarchal war but to bring an upturn in gender equity and the evaluation of restorative and punitive justice.

First and foremost we need to define what gender equality is. Gender equality can be regarded as the measurable equal representation of women and men. Gender equality does not infer that women and men are the same; amongst other reasons we are not the same and we will never be the same mainly because of our biological stand points. But gender equality does imply that both men and women ought to have equal value and should be accorded equal treatment; not only in the workplace but in the societal view as a whole.
In Dworkins speech, she proves that patriarchy is a framework that is socially embedded in the vey stands of the clothes that we wear. Even to those who proclaim that they do not support such backward yet very present views of patriarchy, their silence, their standing in the shadows doing and saying nothing is a clear indication of their support. As it verifies that he who is most violent stands in the place of being the alpha male. Men such as Joseph Kony or militant troupes such as the Boko Harem, Adolf Hitler, Filmore Slim.. and so forth; have made their marks in the sand of time for the oppression of women . All opposed by the female masses yet the males, those who are supposedly on the same superior ranking, have remained on the side-lines of this in just war against women abuse in all angles.
“I would like to scream; and in that screams I would have the raped and the sobs of the battered; and even worse, in the centre of that scream i would have the deafening sound of women’s silence, that silence into which we are born because we are women and in which most of us die”
– Andrea Dworkins

I believe that we have reached a point in time where this on going struggle against male dominance should not be necessarily headed by females only. We live in this world where when it is deemed necessary in the public eye men and women are equal, we have seen and embraced the leadership skills of women, the inventors and of those have proved to be twice as strong in combat. it is time that men pulled out their placards from their cupboards and voiced out their feelings of rebellion against patriarchy and put their foot forward towards gender equality. gender equality or gender equity does not lie in the hands of men. As it is with any battle that is being fought the greatest victory comes from the mind of the oppressed. Realising that they themselves are indeed worth the fight and that they are not and should not be defined by their circumstances, instead use their circumstances to empower and educate other women. This is possible through education because, yes, even in this day and age most women especially of those coming up from townships and surrounding violent areas still believe that if a man hits you; leaves you with bruises, if a man puts you down emotionally and if a man forces himself on you especially if you are in a relationship. This is seen as a proud declaration to the public of his love towards you. As we know first and foremost change comes from within. So before we can expect anyone on the outside to protect women and to speak on behalf of women the oppressed minds of those whose lives have revolved around playing victim need to be able to stand up for what is that they believe in; which should be gender equality
“A gun in every holster, a pregnant woman in every home will make America a man again”
–Ronald Reagan
One needs to define and fully understand what it really means to be a man. In this case we see that being a man takes on the form of being superior and being in control. On the perspective of gender equity gender based violence is not the only form of oppression. Abuse comes in many forms and sizes. Gender violence includes rape, sexual assault; relationship violence in heterosexual and same sex relationships, sexual harassment, stalking, prostitution and sex trafficking. The term "gender violence" reflects the idea that violence often serves to maintain structural gender inequalities, and includes all types of violence against women, children, adolescents, gay and transgender people. This type of violence in some way influences or is influenced by gender relations. To sufficiently address this violence, we have to address cultural issues that encourage violence as part of masculinity. The workplace is also one of the places where great oppression against women occur. In the workplace women are often obliged to perform favours whether it be sexually they or other; they are subsequently expected to earn lower salaries than their male counterparts even if though they might do the same amount of work if not more. People often misinterpret the teaching of religion to fit their own demented fetishes in relation to male dominance. Where one religious book would teach the readings of the submissiveness of women and how respect is a two way streak; another would look at that teaching as a means where women are to be treated as puppets and they are the puppeteers in that they control every movement.
Society also places a huge role on how women are supposed to think, look, eat, enhance, wear and behave. There has been a great shift in the way that women dress in the 1950s as apposed to now. It is nolonger about looking representable and elegant and well put together at all times. It is indeed about how much skin you can show, it is about sex appeal. Now this sex appeal is not directly directed to other women it is in actual fact directed at men, as they are seen as having the most purchasing power in all angles. The common phrase sex sells is true, but at what cost? It is at the cost of thousands of women pioneering to walk around half naked to be recognised by men; it is at the heart of a multimillion dollar food chain (Hooters) . Women may not fundamentally realise this pressure to constantly look good, not necessarily for ourselves but for the pleasure of males. This is a form of oppression because it means that as women we are unconsciously forced to sell ourselves for the benefit of those who will view women as nothing more than just visual pleasures.
The current legal system’s fundamental purpose is to resolve conflict. However, the power to find resolutions is given to individuals that do not have an interest in the matter, which ultimately prevents the individuals involved from determining their own form of justice. Additionally, obedience to this system is enforced under duress. Rather than using force to achieve compliance, the anarchist approach to resolving conflict is voluntary, and believes justice can only be determined by the involved parties through dialogue. This means, rather than sending offenders to jail, they confront the people that have been harmed by their actions, and take responsibility for rectifying the situation and by helping them recognise their mistake. But how does one find comfort in rehabilitating a fully grown man who rapes a child? How does one rectify years and years of broken bones, black eyes and blank outs when the fear of being hurt again is deeply rooted in the women’s soul. Whereas, punitive justice works on the basis that it is indeed an eye for an eye. It believes in punishment an in a sense, revenge; but could also have detrimental outcomes as the root of the problem was not resolved and because of this the perpetrator can do it again. Not much punishment can be done because of the human right laws that are in place to protect everyone equally It is like a child that is being punished for something that he or she does not understand, the chances of that child doing it again are very high because they could not see where they went wrong. There is no sure fire way of preventing perpetrators from acting again. We do not know if restorative justice or punititive is the way forward as we are all different some people have higher moral values than others and some just don’t have them. Period.
In closing Dworkins claims do have merit in South Africa as our rape and women abuse ratings sky rocket by the minute. Is it possible, yes, purely because anything is possible. but not in the near future, equality is system that will take a lot of time to adjust too. This not only applies to men but to women as well.