The Nahmias Cipher Report archived articles from 2009 - 2020.
Of course silence is an option, but is it moral? "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all." ~ Guru Nanak, 15th Century Founder of Sikhism
Read MoreMalala Yousafzai, Oval Office 11 October 2013, Photo Courtesy of White House
UNITED STATES - On October of 2012, 14-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai was shot for speaking up about women's rights to education. As an inside correspondent with BBC, subject of two documentaries and frequent guest in newsrooms, Yousafazai was becoming the poster child of youth activism and women's rights. A Taliban gunman attempted to silence her and to set an example. She was hospitalized for three months.
The attack failed to curb her passion for political activism and, with international support, she continued her crusade for education soon after her recovery. Instead of silencing her and the movement, the attack raised global awareness with spokespeople from the US, the UK and Canada showing their outrage and support.
The next time she spoke publicly was on 12 July 2013 -- her birthday. She celebrated at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City where she spoke to a global audience about the role youth can play in ensuring worldwide education. She supported the Global Education First Initiative, which aims to have all school-age children, particularly girls, in school by year 2015. The day became known as Malala Day.
Another namesake is the Malala Fund, which has raised $7 million to spend on education projects in remote areas of Pakistan.
The most recent effort is the We Are Silent Campaign, to be held on April 17. She encourages the world to take a 24-hour vow of silence in honor of 31 million girls worldwide who are denied an education.
Since the shooting, Time magazine featured her in 2013 as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. She made history as the youngest nominee for the (2013) Nobel Peace Prize, and was nominated again in 2014. With help from journalist Christina Lamb she's written a memoir entitled "I am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up For Education and was Shot by the Taliban." She's gone to Buckingham Palace and the White House and plans to continue her career in political activism.
Patrice Ellerbe, Staff WriterLast Modified: 00:35 a.m. DST, 20 April 2013
NOVA SCOTIA, Canada - Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17-year-old girl from Canada, died in the hospital after her family took her off life-support. Prior to being disconnected, she languished in a comatose state for three days after trying to commit suicide by hanging herself in her bathroom.
The family's ordeal began a year and a half earlier, when sadly, Rehtaeh became the latest young woman to have her life tragically derailed by four teenage classmates who decided to gang-rape her then posts the photos across social media venues. After the November 2011 assault, which Rehtaeh then 15-years-old, hid out of shame and only reported days later, her life spiraled out of control.
Beset with bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts, she was further victimized by being branded as a 'slut,' by the boys, utilizing an oft used excuse presented by rapists to claim that the woman was somehow complicit in her sexual assault. As with other rape victims, Rehtaeh was victimized initially by the perpetrators, then by the police who reportedly investigated her case, but determined that it was a case of "he said, she said," and thus could not be effectively prosecuted.
The final insult came when the photos of the gang-rape went viral, and the Cole Harbour High School student found herself the victim of repeated bullying at school as well as being “suddenly shunned by almost everyone she knew.”
“She was never left alone. She had to leave the community. Her friends turned against her. People harassed her. Boys she didn’t know started texting her and Facebooking her asking her to have sex with them. It just never stopped,” her mother told CBC.
According to the Huffington Post, Parsons was placed on life support on 4 April 2013, and died on Sunday, 7 April 2013, after her family decided to take her off the life-support.
CBC, a Canadian news outlet, reported the rape occurred at a small social event. Teenagers were provided with alcohol, which prompted underage drinking. According to reports, a teenage boy took photos of Parsons having sex with another teen boy, and then sent it to friends.
Parsons family believes the victim is no longer alive because of the actions of the young boys. According to the Huffington Post, Parsons mother, Leah Parsons, expressed her feelings on a Facebook page in memory of Rehtaeh, stating her daughter had been forced out of the community and harassed after the incident occurred. Leah Parsons wrote, “Rehtaeh is gone today because of the hour boys that thought raping a 15-year-old girl was okay, and to distribute a photo to ruin her spirit and reputation would be fun…”
Sources stated the bullying got so bad, the family was forced to relocate after the photo was sent to countless classmates and peers.
The family attempted to file criminal charges; however, police told them little would be done due to lack of evidence. Authorities would only go speak with the males and make sure they knew they were wrong. Parsons mother expressed how she took the police’s actions as a slap in the face.
The Huffington Post reports, although Parsons was a minor at the time of the alleged rape, the defendants could claim they didn’t know she was a minor because she was so close to the legal age limit to engage in sex with a partner that is of age.
The harassment lasted long after the incident. The victim’s mother described males messaging the girl on Facebook, asking her to have sex with them. She also described the disrespectful text messages her daughter received. The incident left Parsons with psychological and emotional effects that stemmed from the alleged rape. Parsons suffered from depression, and even decided to check herself into a hospital when she began having suicidal thoughts in March 2012.
But, ultimately, it was a climate of continued sexual harassment and abuse, anonymous cyber-bullying, as well an apparent disinterest by law enforcement to remedy her predicament that led to this tragic outcome. In addition to these player, the community from which she fled in an attempt to rebuild her life, is also complicit in her death because they seemed to prefer to sweep this incident beneath the rug of their collective consciousness rather than demand that the perpetrators face justice.
Unlike the recent, Steubenville, Ohio rape case in which the media expressed more sympathy for the perpetrators than the victim, which resulted in vociferous and swift public outcry, Rehtaeh Parsons had no such allies, and thus suffered in silence until she took the final and irrevocable step of ending her life.
Follow Patrice Ellerbe on Twitter Twitter: @nahmias_report Staff Writer: @PatriceEllerbeWeyni Mengesha, is an award winning director who has produced and directed performances of her work all across Canada, as well as in New York and London. This young and dynamic Habesha Nesh has big dreams some of which have been realized and others that are even now materializing because of her inner confidence, courage and dedication to following her truth. Mengesha is one of the founding artists of Sound the Horn (STH). In addition to serving the local community the organization also chose to focus on raising awareness about the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. The devastating impact of HIV/AIDS has been most severe in sub-Saharan countries. "At the end of 2009, there were 9 countries in Africa where more than one tenth of the adult population aged 15-49 was infected with HIV.
Read MoreThe Report seeks to challenge readers to move beyond the accepted standard fare purveyed by most media, often demonizing and convicting an entire society and citizenry. Rather, The Report asks readers to recognize themselves in the “other” and assign blame to the miscreants who truly are the culprits of many of the atrocities that negatively impact us all.
