How far will mankind go to tarnish the beauty and legacy of women? One man turns to the power of music to raise awareness.
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Singer and songwriter Little Richard once said, “I think God made a woman to be strong, and not to be trampled under the feet of men. I’ve always felt this way because my mother was a strong woman–without a husband.”
These words may sound like that of a broken record when it comes to equality for women, or conversation about women in general These words might even carry more weight among men in modern society today–and they should.
It’s said that behind every good man is a good man, which makes the overall treatment and regard crucial to molding and shaping of modern society. What happens, however, when a man watches as women are forced into uncomfortable situations–right in front of him? In music producer RL Grime’s case, that man collaborates with one of the world’s leading organizations for global issues to create a living, breathing work of art.
According to Upworthy.com, Grime recently teamed up with UNICEF to produce and shoot the surreal, gritty and heartbreaking music video shown above. The video, depicting the pain that young, school-age girls around the world withstand while being forced to wed and even bear children, is catching the attention of millions. Many of these girls aren’t even in high school, or are preparing to start high school, when their lives are turned upside-down. Education often becomes secondary as they slowly fall into the role of wife, mother–and sometimes, slave.
So, why shine a light on something that’s been happening perhaps much longer than we think? Why talk about women in this manner, especially in 2016? The reality is, things like this are still happening–and women still have to fight for equality. They still need a voice–and if they don’t have it, mankind needs to step up and be that voice for them. Upworthy.com contributor Morgan Shoaff said it best:
“Everyone deserves to lead a rich, fulfilling, and healthy life.”
Instead of worrying about what shoes we’re going to wear tomorrow or how we look in the mirror, perhaps we should be testing and challenging our own frame of relevancy.
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Photo Credit: Ðenise/Flickr
DJ – how long do you think it will take for us to solve all the issues you expressed for men? How long will women have to wait in the background before they can expect help? I guess I’m having a hard time understanding why men would need to be helped *first* before women are helped. Shouldn’t we all be helping each other even in the face of our own trails? Men should be helping women and women should be helping men and no one should be waiting for someone to be helped first before anyone else is helped. The… Read more »
Sorry…that word was suppose to be ‘first’ not ‘face’.
Erin – how can I help these young girls? What can I do?
All kinds of behind you on this one, Erin.
My thoughts just go past the “why”, and to the “how”. Often that is how we bring guys back to the table, and how we start to come together and address these not as a gender, but human issue
I can’t even get my head around this Isis thing, that it exists, or the trash talking way they are flaunting it. Beyond my ability to reason,. It is the very definition of FUBAR.
I’m glad that you took it in the spirit of intent.
To the issue: “So, why shine a light on something that’s been happening perhaps much longer than we think? Why talk about women in this manner, especially in 2016? “ Why? Because all that is neccary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing, and we are doing nothing. The bigger question is why we are dong nothing. Here in the US it is because we are too busy fighting the forces to be, too busy trying to crack cement heads that just don’t get it and continue to attempt to deny us our rights to life,… Read more »
Wow, thank you!
Couple of points here. I knew right off, before reading it, that the statement made by Little Richard was that of a fatherless child that has absorbed his mothers pain and projected out the victim mentality that so many women in first world countries absorb. The second problem, and I hope to God we get over so that we can move on, is the assumption that women are trampled under men’s feet. It is wrong and it is accusatory. Women are trampled under bad men’s feet, good men die trying to save them. Little Richard, though a bit skewed in… Read more »