Monday, February 08, 2010

This Week in Fucked Up News about Women and Girls

Jesus - can the news get any more fucked up than this week? Don't answer that.

1) A nine year-old gave birth. Yes. You read that right. Nine. That happened last week in China and this week in the good old US of A, an eleven year-old did too. Story here. Can those of you who have been pregnant or close to someone who has been pregnant even imagine how uncomfortable her little body must have been?

2) A US soldier who was just awarded custody of his four year-old daughter waterboarded her because she couldn't recite the ABC's. He said he picked that punishment because his daughter is "terrified of water." I do not want to know what the girl's mother did to lose custody to this monster.

3) In Turkey, a 16 year-old girl was buried alive for talking to boys. The family felt it necessary to bury her with her hands tied in their garden. Nice. Her lungs and stomach were filled with dirt. Imagine that and realize that women around the world are treated like shit on a regular basis for being women. In the name of religion, "honor" and tradition.

4) California's maternal death rate is on the rise. Never mind that the US's overall maternal mortality rates are very high, California might be leading the trend for the rest of the country. RH Reality Check has the story here. They say it succinctly:
"Although the number of deaths is relatively small, it’s more dangerous to give birth in California than it is in Kuwait or Bosnia. "
Wow. What's up with all the bad news? Or is it just that I paid attention today?

Excuse me while I go cuddle with my daughter and sing Yellow Submarine.