My Positionality on Rape Culture and Reproductive Justice

Introduction

Being a Muslim and a believer in justice for all, I have a personality that makes me hold to a position that gender is just but an identity. I do not believe gender makes a person less important in the society or less important in the corporate world. One of the ways that gender can be made less significant in the marginalization of any particular group is through supporting individual responsibility of any action that vilifies any specific gender. Issues such as rape and reproductive justice have become some of the major contributors to the denial of women rights in the world today. What affects me as far as rape culture is concerned is the fact that I cannot work in an environment where rape is supported, reproductive justice should also be supported to allow women autonomy over their lives.

Rape Culture

The fact that I am aware of the existence of rape in the society, especially in the corporate world makes me think of morality, which I have been brought up to observe, as something that people think should selectively apply. It does not matter if one is a Christian or a Muslim like me, what I know is that all religions teach morality. One of my personality traits is that I respect the differences people have in terms of gender, I also appreciate the fact that I am attracted to the opposite gender. However, the notion that men do not have control over their urge for sex is one sentiment that makes it hard for me to have a positive relationship with people of the opposite sex, especially, if they are people I have not known for long. The reason for this is that, before I initiate any form of relationship with someone of the opposite gender, I think of they will treat me as a person with sexual desires towards them.

From engagements I have had with friends, I have come to realize that the female gender takes themselves as the targets in rape culture and that men are the perpetrators. However, I feel that any person who supports or helps cover up rape cases, be it male or female is a perpetrator. The rape case issue that concerns me the most is the stigma that comes with it, which sometimes makes the victims to have shame and fail to report such cases. Rape in the corporate world is one of the most commonly reported in the media, yet hardly worn by the victims in courts. Since my personality defines me as a person who respects the rights of everyone, including the rights of people of the opposite gender, I have always thought it will be hard for me covering up for a rapist at my workplace just because he or she is my boss. My religion also supports being truthful at all times, and since I come from a family that strongly believe in our religion and its doctrines, I was brought up to be a person who tells the truth and shuns evil. That would mean I cannot entertain inappropriate sexual engagements with any person at work even if it means losing my job. The most common cases in the corporate world are that people either agree to be sexually assaulted so that they get favors at their workplaces or are intimidated after being assaulted against their will. Some also fail to report assault cases or even become witnesses to rape cases because they want to keep their jobs. To me, that is tantamount to trampling on one's rights and the rights of the victims.

According to me, it is inappropriate that there are women who are in positions of power and are aware of some cases of rape and other violent offenses, yet they cannot help the victims, rather, they ignore the shame that their fellow women go through. When I say women, I do not refer to the victims, but to women in power alongside men who have the ability to help the victims but instead hide or protect men who assault women sexually. A good example of the perpetrators is Harvey Weinstein who is considered by many people as a sexual predator and should be exposed especially by women holding influential positions in the corporate world. This also applies to all women who were able to vote for Donald Trump even after the Hollywood tapes were leaked and still could defend his behaviors as he persisted on going to marginalize and bully women (Aalai). The women in positions who should stand firm for rape victims include female lawyers, some of who accepted to be hired to defend men who sexually assault women. For instance, in the case of Weinstein, he was able to hire female lawyers who defended him in court. Again, Trump also has female administrators in high profile positions, yet they know their employer has no regards for their gender.

Some of the people who have been adversely mentioned in rape cases such as Harvey Weinstein, a media personality in the United States of America, are among the individuals who intimidate rape victims just because they have money and status in the society (Aalai). My personal belief is that rape exists and that most of the people accused are actually guilty of the act. For instance, some people are accused by several women, some of who kept quiet before for fear of being put to shame after losing the cases. This makes it hard for me to work outside of my country as I find it more appropriate for me to work among people who believe in what I believe in. By that I mean, my position on rape and morality, in general, is shaped more by my religion than it is shaped by globalization. Hence, working in Saudi Arabia, or in any country within the Middle East will make it easier for me to avoid interacting with compromising situations such as going against my religion and supporting rape.

Reproductive Justice

Domestic violence against women that come as a result of reproductive choice is one of the issues that are of concern to me as I think it marginalizes the women. First, men have more autonomy over their bodies as compared to women. I believe in equality of rights, which is the reason I find it hard to deny the women some reproductive rights as the men. For instance, men being the ones to determine the number of children in a family is unfair to the women. Such issues have resulted in instances of domestic violence even among Muslim believers. In some cases, men have resolved to marry more than one wife just because the first wife could not give them male children. To me, giving more credence to one gender over the other is being unreasonable as I believe gender does not define the abilities people have. In as much as I believe gender roles may be different for men as they are for the women, it is important to respect the fact that men need women to enable them become productive in the society. Another issue that leads to domestic violence is that women may be pregnant, and at the same time endangered by the pregnancy. Cases of death while women give birth have been majorly caused by the men who could not allow their wives to make decisions regarding abortion to help save their lives. Some men would rather their wives to die as long as the lives of their children are protected.

In my view, reproductive justice should be used in such a way that the rights of women are protected as the men may not understand what women go through. Besides, it is unfair that a man can be put in a position by the culture to decide the fate of his wife. On the other hand, some men would also make decisions regarding abortion to protect their wives and let their children die against the will of their wives. It is important that a consensus is reached, otherwise the decision of the woman to hold as they are the ones to have autonomy of right over their lives. In my country, women are considered marginalized as they do not have equal rights as the men as regards family decisions.

Conclusion

In summary, men usually use the perceived autonomy in family decisions to deny their wives the rights to decide over issues such as abortion that are supposed to save their own lives. In my view, marginalization of women by culture, law or any compelling reason to the extent that their lives are put to risk is tantamount to murder. The issue of rape culture has trended for long especially, especially putting the females as the victims. Women encounter rape and violent offenses by men who are in power and in most cases, these issues are not handled rather they are swept under the carpet by both the men and women who are supposed to protect the victims.

Work Cited

Aalai, Azadeh. "Will Rape Culture Finally Be Taken Seriously?" Psychology Today, 2017, https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-first-impression/201710/will-rape-culture-finally-be-taken-seriously. Accessed 13 Dec 2018.