#mrg176

I attended the DRC event entitled “Take Back the Night” which was a protest aimed to end sexual, relationship, and domestic violence of all forms inflicted on women. Upon going to the event, I was amazed at the number of people that showed up and even more so at the sincerity in what they were protesting for. I was able to hear a few anecdotes of violence from people that were around me as well. At first I was a bit shy in attending because I did not want to be seen as a protester and have the possibility of any harm coming upon me. However, after going, I realized that I was an activist of women’s rights and that I should do that more often without fearing for what will happen to me. If everyone fears what will happen to them, then no change will be made in the world. 

This plenary made me feel empowered to be a women. The women that was speaking was an engineer who made a difference in the lives of those that were affected by hurricane Sandy. She inspired the audience with her words when she spoke about the manner in which she had been involved in her daughters life and simultaneously in the workforce. It allowed us women to realize that there isn’t anything that we cannot do because of our gender. I liked how she spoke of her own experiences that helped her grow and how she motivated us that just because we have a degree in something does not mean that we can ONLY do that, but instead we can do a lot more and help the world around us in its times of need.

The plenary that we saw last week was a documentary about intersex individuals who are seen as strange humans on this planet. The documentary was eye opening as I had never known about all the difficulties that such individuals went through. I realized that simply having an unusual genital area can change one’s life forever even if it is not that person’s fault. Many of the people were those who had undergone genital surgery as children because their parents decided to choose their gender. Such practice, although it may have been done for the welfare of the children, did not prove as being beneficial to many because there were many other complications that aroused from it. Intersex people do not need to change themselves in order to conform to the norms that society sets in terms of gender. Instead, society should change itself to erase the norms that it sets and allow every person to feel accepted just the way that person is.