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THE WORLD: "In India, New Opportunities for Women Draw Anger and Abuse From Men," by Emily Wax, Washington Post, 25 August 2008, p. A11.
Listening to stories of professional women in India and the crap they put up with reminds me of some of the worst scenes of sexism in "Mad Men."
Naturally, upward social mobility, especially for women, undermines the country's traditional "join-family system, in which couples are expected to move in with the husband's parents," where the wife typically came under the control of the mother-in-law. In response, social anger at such rapid change/challenge gets expressed in more rapes, dowry killings, etc.
America records the highest levels of reported rape, but "reported" is the key word there. The vast majority of assaults in India go unreported.
Quote from head of Bangladesh "women's council":
In many ways, the South Asia woman is out of the oven and into the frying pan. They bring home money, they share in power in the society. But they are also doing something very powerful that may enrage men: toppling the old family structure.
Globalization is a job threat to us, but it's a social revolution to most countries around the world.
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