By Maria Ravani,
2024 is coming to an end. And although it is a common myth that every year humanity is supposed to move forward –and not backwards— regarding technological and social development, this year, we once again were reminded that progress is not a one-way road. And just because the years are progressing and so does technology, it doesn’t automatically mean that we as society are progressing in the same way. At least not in a positive way. Poverty remains a global issue, as well as financial inequalities among western and thus, more “modern” societies. The cost of living does not match the average salaries, free access to healthcare remains a quite restricted right, and, of course, deadly clashes are still occurring all around the world, whether it is in the European peninsula or in Asia. And once again, this was not the year where social justice and democratic virtues prevailed. A pessimist will probably say that we are heading into a completely opposite direction…
In Greece, there were 15 femicides reported only this year and many more incidents of domestic abuse that became public and provoked a strong moral reaction from Greek society. A woman was murdered right outside of a police precinct (and right after she specifically requested the involvement of the police authorities), a police officer has recently been accused of molesting his children and his wife for years and so many more cases that probably remained, and will remain, unpublished and not reported. In one of the most significant court case’s in the history of Greece’s “Me Too” era, a judge –not the perpetrator, or his lawyer but a representative of the legal system of the country and its values– dared to claim that, since we are only talking about attempted rape and not “actual rape”, we should not make a big deal out of it. Like the psychological impact that an “attempt” can have on a person is not concerning enough. The prosecutor also asked one of the complainants to sit next to the accused, so they can “re-create” the circumstances of the assault, like we are talking about a movie scene and not a traumatic event from someone’s actual life…
In France, on the other hand, Gisèle Pelicot has turned into a symbol of dignity and power regarding her stance and all of her comments when facing her rapists and worst of all –her husband, in court. And still Charlie Hebdo’s front page sketch regarding the developments on the legal case was diminishing and for many (including me) unbefitting of the social and legal circumstances that the newspaper tried to cover.
In the USA, the election of Trump has changed drastically the power-balance in such a way that issues regarding gender are now deemed as at-risk liberties, that can be stripped off of American citizens at any time. Roe v. Wade has been overturned (while the democratic government of Joe Biden was still in power, mind you) and now, when more conservative politicians have won a place either in the Senate or the US government, the right to (legal and safe) abortion is more than ever questioned, especially in already conservative states.
So, sure, feminism is overrated and all people are equal now regardless of their gender, their economic background or their ethnicity. All people are paid the same (like the gender gap is something out of our imagination), all people are given the same opportunities and all people can have the same aspirations and dreams, but some of us just choose not to do it. We live in a society where all is just and discrimination is non-existent. One can only hope that in 2025, this society will finally face its short-comings and talk more openly about its issues without being shot down with “arguments” about political correctness, snowflakes and such. Social inequalities still exist and will continue to exist, as long as people in power (and the modern media) use sexist and racist tactics in a more mild manner to address and refer to social issues..
References
- Uproar with the Charlie Hebdo sketch on the Peliko case-“It’s disgusting and disgusting”. Newscyprus. Available here
- What Donald Trump’s Win Means for Abortion. Time. Available here
- Actor Petros Filippidis trial: prosecutor’s controversial questioning sparks outrage. ThePressProject. Available here
