I only wish ...

My 14-year-old daughter was inspired by that video. We have been watching "So You Think You Can Dance" together since 2006, when we happened upon the show accidentally and both got hooked. Over the years, I have made a righteous effort to teach Little Shiz that women can be strong, should be strong and make no bones about it, no matter what her male counterparts think. "That's their own stuff," I told her, of boys and men who do not respect her and do not afford her the luxury of her own mind, let alone her own body and her own soul.

Little Shiz has taken this to heart. She is known for being very gentle and sweet to people who are gentle and sweet to her but, if you get on her bad side, watch out! Little Shiz will rip you a new one and not even blink twice while doing so. She is rather infamous in her school for not taking shit from boys, or girls, who question her thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. Little Shiz's friends have bestowed upon her an awesome nickname regarding such, but I can't repeat it here, because it's a bit too revealing.

Let's just say that the kid takes after her feminist mother, shall we?

Little Shiz and I had a video chat last night, and she (being the voracious reader that she is, just like her mom!) is reading I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban of her own accord. I didn't even know that she knew who Malala was, but I am extremely proud of her for venturing into a topic that's hard for me to even venture into.

Christ.

From the Amazon link:

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she became a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I am going to the library tomorrow to get a copy of the book, just so I can read it along with my daughter. It makes me feel terrible, that Little Shiz recognizes this is a constant in the world now: that she will not be valued for who she is but, rather, for what exists between her legs.

This is so pathetic and sad. I don't know how to reconcile my belief that my bright, strong daughter should be able to do what she wants when she wants to with a world that tells women that they only belong to men. That they're only to be used as men would have them, no more and no less. That they're accessories to men, and that Little Shiz is not allowed to have any new thoughts of her own because, OMG, how horrible would that be?!

Little Shiz might have an intelligent thought! THE TERROR!

Sadly, I came across this article in The Atlantic a few weeks ago, and it made me monumentally bummed. I encourage you to read the entire thing, because it's very enlightening and distrurbing. Olga Khazan interviews anthropologist Bettina Shell-Duncan on why female genital cutting is still an ongoing practice in much of African and the Middle East:

Khazan: What other reasons do people have for doing this in other countries?

Shell-Duncan: For example, in certain Muslim groups, they talk about it being promoted as cleanliness, and it’s the cleanliness you need to pray to Allah.

Khazan: And where is the support for this practice coming from?

Shell-Duncan: The sort of feminist argument about this is that it’s about the control of women but also of their sexuality and sexual pleasure. But when you talk to people on the ground, you also hear people talking about the idea that it’s women’s business. As in, it’s for women to decide this. If we look at the data across Africa, the support for the practice is stronger among women than among men.

So, the patriarchy argument is just not a simple one. Female circumcision is part of demarcating insider and outsider status. Are you part of this group of elder women who have power in their society?

That's intense and upsetting to me. Females lead the pathway to FGC in many countries? How crucial (or true) is that?

Well, since I published this diary without really trying to (yikes!), I will continue this talk next week. Same bat time, same bat channel.

Happy Girl Power, people!