Overdrive – Sophie

My mind is on overdrive – as usual!

Mr HT likens it to his mind which he describes as being like a “V8 engine”! I wouldn’t use such grandiose terminology, but he does understand. Us, together, fired up on a topic is the most intellectually challenging experience…I shudder with fear and excitement to think how I would have dealt with an opponent like him back in my debating days. He would have made for fierce competition! Thank goodness Mr HT was too busy playing sport with the AIS before he pursued his academic side!

Speaking of sport, Mr HT has amazingly enough taught me an appreciation of it [like fine wine!]. I used to be somewhat dismissive of the sport-obsessed Australian culture due to a childhood spent in New Zealand where sport doesn’t feature quite as strongly in the New Zealand psyche. I still don’t believe sports stars should be treated like heroes who are “above the rest”, however now I can really appreciate the sweat and dedication they put into their careers. To be successful at sport – like in business – is not easy.

And for another thing….a much more serious matter.

Tonight I watched the most fascinating and depressing documentary on SBS titled “Chahinaz: What Rights For Women?”
It brought tears to my eyes at some points as it followed the plight of a beautiful, vibrant and intelligent 20 year old Algerian girl – Chahinaz, who was questioning the oppression and discrimination of women in her country; centering around the “Family Code” law enacted by the government there in 1989.

It reminded me how far we have come in our country, yet how far behind the rest of the world is.

It reminded me that rights are not provided….rights are fought for.

And it reminded me how so many women in Australia take for granted their “right” to be treated as an equal to a man; to choose our own path in life with no pressure or domination by the men in our lives.

However still….even in our own country, now that the “right” has been granted, the voices are quiet. Despite the fact women still earn less than their male counterparts for the same job. Despite the fact that senior roles in organisations and board rooms are still dominated by men. Despite the fact women are still discriminated for having children while trying to maintain a career… I won’t list more. It would be unnecessary….but it upsets me – seeing how women in other countries live and how controlled their lives are….and comparing that to the utter disinterest Australian women have in really appreciating the rights they have and furthering the quest for complete equality.

At the same time, I wish there was something I could do to help these women in other countries…who can’t even walk down the street without being ogled by EVERY SINGLE MAN…simply because they are unveiled. Perhaps that was what shocked me the most in this documentary. The amount of men who just STARED. Their stares sent chills down my spine. I would have felt unsafe to walk alone. Yet Chahinaz held her head high and walked.

I felt anger when she said how she must watch her every move, for even if she thinks she has done nothing wrong, if she has committed a moral wrong by society…she will bring major problems and shame to her family.

What would it actually feel to live like that?

I will wake up tomorrow, I will live a normal day, feeling safe and free.
But how would it feel to never even have the opportunity to spend one day living like that?

It troubles me.

Lately I have had one issue after another forcing “perspective” into my life.
And despite how depressing it can be, I still hold hope. I am an optimist in the worst of situations. Because I believe if you do not have hope, you have nothing. As naive as it sounds, I do believe in the goodness of humanity. I remember hearing a survivor of the Holocaust say that once….

Well…it is late my friends and I have a rather busy day tomorrow. Mr HT leaves on Friday to spend a year or two living on the other side of the world. Time will tell….but I think this is just the beginning of something….

I miss him already.

S.