Sunday 13 October 2024
 4.7°C   NNW Moderate Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Letters / Time to heed their call

Many women are now rightly saying the problem of violence against women is for men to fix.

Approximately one woman a day is murdered by a man in the UK. Nationally girls complain about their treatment by boys in schools, about being touched inappropriately, about the things they are called and told to be, and do.

Shetland has a woman’s refuge for a reason. It is more than time for us to be better men, brave enough, regardless of the social consequences, to call out toxic masculinity, misogyny and sexism in all their forms.

We know that in Shetland we have a specific problem. The exclusion of women and girls from Up Helly Aa is not seen as harmful, no matter that is tells boys they matter more and girls they matter less.

Our council, ignoring various obligations on them, fully supports Lerwick Up Helly Aa. And our council, police and health service also pick up the pieces of the harm done to men and women by our needlessly sexist society.

Be in no doubt, displaying male superiority by marching down our streets and into our schools in exclusively male bodies results indirectly in many harms including violence and suppression. If this epidemic of violence against women is to end, each of us need to look into ourselves and see the ways we support and benefit from patriarchy.

We need to own the times we have abused our power and privileges. We need to challenge and change our own thinking, and end the ‘ poor men’ mantras. We need to be prepared to learn, engage and educate.

If you are in any doubt that condoning sexism blights lives, please read this plea recently made by many reputable organisations for schools to tackle gender stereotypes which cause “serious long-lasting harm” to girls and boys through childhood and into adulthood.

Become a member of Shetland News

 

Our community leaders, Beatrice Wishart MSP, Alistair Carmichael MP, SIC convener Malcolm Bell and all our councillors, should now take the time to look into the research from the Fawcett Society that informed the above article, and reappraise their public positions on the discrimination against women and girls, which, remarkably, they continue to condone.

Let us lend them our voices by standing up, being counted and demanding change so that they are obliged to help our communities understand the need for change.

The UHA committee have plenty of time to make the minor adjustments necessary before the next galley burning, and it is a simple and easy step for our leaders to say they will only support a more inclusive, less harmful festival in the future.

Woman and girls in Shetland have asked to be included in this remarkable community celebration for decades. As fathers, sons, partners and friends it is high time we heeded their call.

Peter Hamilton,
Sundibanks

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Categories
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.