One of the big goals of the DP program is to assist scholars as they navigate through what they have learned and discussed in class about language and literature and figure out a way to apply their knowledge to benefits their community. That is quite a mouthful, right? But really, when you get right down to it, knowledge
is meant not only to enrich the learner, but also to be applied in some meaningful way...
With
The Scarlet Letter, we discovered that while it was a story set in Puritan times hundreds of years ago, the themes of secrets, shame, revenge and hypocrisy still ring very true today. We think we have come so far and changed so much since then as a society, but really we are all still very flawed human beings. Technology aside, we will often find we have a lot in common with our ancestors. In stories like Monica Lewinsky's from our last blog post and many others like hers, we learn that public shaming has a new forum: the internet and social media. While it may not be against the law to "sin" as Hester Prynne did, the consequential shaming and humiliation along with the hypocrisy of the finger pointers are still all too familiar. As Duncan Robinson put it, we now place each other on "pixillated scaffolds" and leer at the scene through our screens.
What do we do then with this knowledge? How do we make a change? It is words typed in comments and clicked across the world that condemn, and ultimately, it can be words speaking out in encouragement that can save. We can form groups dedicated to stop cyberbullying. We can speak up and teach the younger generations. It can start small--in your own school yards--but with passion and determination to make a positive difference, it can be cast out like a large fishing net to cover greater ground and change lives forever.
We are concluding our mini-unit on Gender and Sexuality in language as sort of a precursor to
Taming
of the Shrew, but we have also raised and discussed some very significant issues in our lives and world today. While it can always be improved, America is unique in its treatment of women as a whole. Most people from Generation X forward believe in equal pay and treatment for women. We will raise the outcry when we see abuse and harassment all the way to the courthouses. We teach our daughters that they can become anything they want to become, as long as they set their minds to it, and we teach our sons to treat women with honor and respect. It is easy in our little corner of the world to believe that this is the norm everywhere else...until something in the news or television gives us the gut-wrenching realization that this is as far from the truth as East is from West...

Let's take a trip to India. Unlike the United States, most marriages there are arranged between two families, and it is not unusual for the groom's family to expect a dowry to be paid. A dowry is money or property paid upfront for the privilege of marrying their son. If the dowry cannot be paid up front or over time, or if the groom's family demands more later and the bride's family cannot pay, horrific action is often taken against the bride by the groom's family. The most popular form of actions are called "kitchen accidents," or, more accurately, bride burning. Even though the dowry practice was outlawed in 1961, tradition runs deep in the society and it is estimated that seventeen brides are killed or severely injured in this manner each day for failure to pay their dowry. Any children from this unwanted bride are thrown out and become homeless.
If the woman manages to survive the "accident," it is culturally
considered a disgrace for her own family to take her back in, so she is left to die, or to seek help elsewhere. Organizations like Hope International have created safe houses for these women and their children where they can receive medical treatment, food and shelter. If the woman does not survive her injuries, and this is more often than not the case, the organization, which operates under the donations and support of others, will care for her children. These organizations are speaking out against the atrocities against women in India and seeking change within India's government.

Afghanistan is considered the most dangerous place in the world to "be a woman." Let's stop and consider that statement for a moment. Can you imagine being in danger merely because of your gender, something over which you have no control, something that should be as natural as sunshine or rain; can you imagine having your very existence threatened because you are a woman? Consider these statistics from UN Data, CIA World Fact Book and Afghanistan Relief Organization: Many women in Afghanistan die in pregnancy and childbirth, with 460 deaths for every 100,000 live births; 85% of women have no formal education and are illiterate; and the life expectancy for a woman is 51. More than 50% of Afghan girls are married or engaged by the age of 12 and married by 16. Most will marry far older men--some in their late 60's--whom they meet for the first time at their wedding. This early marriage is prompted by the high risk of

kidnapping and rape by rival tribes. Some girls are bartered into marriage to repay a debt or resolve a dispute. Since women are considered property, and legally their testimony in court counts as only 1/2 that of a man, this is not considered abusive or wrong.
In Kabul, it is not at all uncommon for young girls and women to be admitted to the hospital shortly after marriage with injuries like internal bleeding, burns, or broken limbs. Young wives have low status in the family, and are treated like slaves by their in-laws. If a woman is widowed, she must depend on her husband's family for survival. If this is not possible, she is forced to beg or engage in prostitution to keep herself and her children fed. If a young woman runs away, or refuses to marry as her father dictates, she is often beaten, burned, disfigured, disowned and abandoned or killed by her own family.

Many people shrug and say, "It's a matter of cultural differences. We shouldn't intervene and cannot possibly understand." While I concur that cultural differences certainly do sometimes cloud our perceptions looking in from the outside, I cannot help but shudder. Does this, then, become a sort of "pass" from treating other human beings with dignity and respect? Is this claim of "cultural differences" a significant enough justification to maim, disfigure, rape, abuse and/or kill?
The study of language and literature is a lot more than reading great novels, dissecting and connecting to the themes, and constructing excellent pieces of writing with exceptional grammar. This year, we have looked at our literature and our language within the overall theme of "The Power of Words." Whether we speak them, write them, text them, blog or think them, words assign meaning. They give us identity, expression, and cultivate understanding. As Hawthorne said, (and I paraphrase), in the dictionary, they are harmless; but oh, the power they have when in the hands or mouth or one who knows how to use them! Just words so often bring imprisonment, abuse and death, words are also the things that can kindle freedom, healing, and abundance of life. We now know a little bit more about shaming, humiliating, cyberbulling, and gender-based abuse. We know how language can be used to hurt and heal, kill and save. You have the knowledge. What will
YOU do with it?
Below, there is an article about the practice of bride burning in India along with two videos from India and Afghanistan. Read and watch. Then, comment on what really convicted you: what issues are you most passionate about? How can/will you use your knowledge of the power of language and communication to bring positive change in our world?
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/Kalpana_Sharma/the-other-half-burn-dowry-not-women/article2856945.ece
Video #1 (India):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtHgTf67hzc
Video #2 (Afghanistan):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X2hGQ7V_Ro