Almost everyday you see some new trends come and go on the internet. There is nothing new about it. One such challenge recently introduced is #ChallengeAccepted. If you are woman, you have probably been getting requests from friends in your DMs saying "Post a photo in black and white alone, write 'challenge accepted' and mention my name. Identify 50 other women to do the same, in private," or something similar to that.
It is a beautiful gesture seen as a call to action for women to support other women. But this time, the origins of this new challenge is a more complex issue than what is unknown to many.
Anti-racist educator, author and behavioural scientist Dr Pragya Agarwal posted a lengthy explanation of the challenge on her Instagram page, telling her followers exactly how it originated.
"Black and white selfies. It isn't just a game of hot or not. Or an exercise in vanity. It is not just a mindless challenge that women are undertaking to post their sexiest snaps. These are some of the criticisms that this #challenge has faced," wrote the author.
The movement that was started as an outcry from women in Turkey, as the country owns the highest femicide rates in the world, after the discovery of 27-year-old university student's body was found in the Aegean district of Mugla last week. She had been reported missing since July 16 after stepping out of her flat.
In 2019 alone, 474 Turkish women were murdered (mostly by partners and relatives). The highest rate recorded in a decade. In July 2020 alone, over 40 women have been murdered and some are afraid that this rate to be even higher this year due to the coronavirus lockdown. According to a study on prevention strategies, 42% of Turkish women aged between 15-60 had suffered some physical or sexual violence by their husbands and partners.
As an Indonesian myself, femicide is not something new. It is still fresh in my mind the horror of the deaths of 14-year-old "Y", who was gang-raped before her murder in 2016 in Bengkulu, and "dr. L" shot by her husband in 2017 in Jakarta.
What is femicide?
The extreme of such violence against women is murder against females or femicide. The concept is generally understood to involve the intentional murder of women because of their gender. Femicide is usually perpetrated by men, but sometimes female family members might also be involved. Femicide differs from male homicide in specific waysy. Typically, femicide is preceded by other types of violence, including physical, verbal and economic violence. The Indonesian National Comission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) views that cases of violence against women are not only increasing in number but have also evolved with increasingly sadistic types of violence.
Patriarchal culture is the root of this problem. While the law to protect female victims of violence is still not available in Indonesia despite increasing demand, violence continues to occur on various spectrums. The mass media takes as important role in building discourse about the killing of women. In reporting the case of femicides, the media often missing the gender-based violence issue, perspective, and standpoint. It is rare that media could respond to femicides by tracing the history of violence of forensic narratives. The gravity of how serious actually femicide is always eased by the pretext of "love", "his love", "protecting", "depressed", "jealous", "out of control".
What is sad about this trend of movement after all, is how influencers and celebrities love these types of "challenges" because they don't require actual advocacy. Instead of mystifying and sensualizing the voice of these victims of violence through merely cute black and white pictures, posted to boost solely one's ego, why don't we pressure lawmakers to pass the bill on the elimination of sexual violence? Why don't we improve maternal health services to decrease the maternal mortality and infant mortaility rates? Why don't we support micro economy created by women? Why don't we participate actively in women's education and empowerment?
Dea Putri - S.A.D Team