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Abbe Eliasof

Table of Contents

Preface: Asian Women vs the World …………………………………………………………… 1

Disclaimer ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

The History of Sexism ………………………………………………………………………...… 4

The Evolution of Sexism in Asia ………………………………………………………...…….. 20

Physically Harmful Practices ………………………….……………………………………….. 29

Generational Impacts …………………………………………………………………………... 40

Western Asian Feminism ………………………………………………………………………. 46

How Those in Power Benefit From Oppression …………………………………..…………… 61

The Rise of Asian Feminism …………………………………………………………………… 75

Icons and Activists …………………………...………………………………………………… 82

Changing the World ………………………………………….………………………………… 97


Preface: Asian Women vs the World
Imagine this: you’re a young girl, 9, maybe 10 years old living in modern America, or
maybe even living sometime in the past couple decades. You do everything you think a little girl
would do. You go to school, play with your friends, spend time with your supportive family. You
have the newest “Girl Power” merch and the world is telling you that you can be or do anything.
Overall you have a calm and fun life with minimal responsibilities. Now imagine you’re the
same young girl, but this time you’re living somewhere else during the same time period. Maybe
it’s India or China or Vietnam, but it’s an Asian country and you definitely don’t live in the big
cities. You might go to school and you might still play with friends, but it’s different. No one
tells girls they can have a life, quite the opposite. At as young as 10 you’re told you exist only to
clean up others messes and become a wife. You may hear your parents tell your brother that he is
everything they want, that they are lucky to have him, but they never say anything like that to
you, quite the opposite actually. You get to hear about how nothing you do is good enough and
how much of a disappointment you are. Your parents tell you to figure out how to do something
right, so they might have a chance of marrying you off to a decent man so that you’re not a
complete failure. Doesn’t sound too great, does it? The millions of young girls living in Asia
don’t think so either, but that’s just the tragedy of life for them.
My intentions are not to make my readers feel sad or tell sob story after sob story, but for
the purposes of rhetoric, I must explain the horrors and atrocities that Asian countries put their
women and young girls through. Growing up in the first world we know that the people in other
countries are not as privileged. We’re told “be thankful for the food on the table” but we only
think about it for a moment or two, then we go back to our lives. I’m guilty of this as much as
anyone else, but I’m here to attempt to “pull the curtain back”, to maybe educate others about the
specifics, to bring about change, as bold and unattainable as that sounds. Pity and sympathy are
useless if they don’t move you to action. If my writing could enlighten just a few people who go
out there and enlighten few others, that is multiple people I’ve educated, and that’s the most I
could ask for, however, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t write this book to reach those in power,
those who can make real change.
As someone who was raised in America by white parents, I don’t have experience in this
subject I am writing about, however as an Asian female, I find this to be a topic I cannot ignore.
My parents never hid my adoption from me as it’s very clear I am not biologically related to
them, but they didn’t tell me until I was older the reason I needed to be adopted in the first place.
I come from China, a country that practices blatant misogyny and openly oppresses women. I
come from a place where females are valued so little that some are killed as soon as they are
born, where young women get arrested and wrongfully detained for handing out stickers on
sexual assault. I come from a place where people would rather give up their female babies to a
life of poverty than raise them in place of a male. (Das Gupta 122). When you hear that your
country did not want you simply because you are a girl, you get a little angry. Upon learning of
the way other countries, specifically Asian countries and third world countries treat their women,
I’ve wanted to inform others and bring to light this oppression. From the second I started writing,
I have been unable to take an objective tone, as I feel as though this issue doesn’t have two sides.
Abbe Eliasof

There are simply those who deny the oppression and those who don’t, but it’s a hard fact that it
exists, and only the worst of the worst would defend it.
The only objective discussion I can participate in on this topic is an inquiry into how this
oppression came to be and how it has flourished for so long. Through this book I plan on
exploring how sexism in Asian countries has started, evolved, and attempted to justify itself. I
will look into the specifics of how Asian societies have benefitted or suffered from this sexism,
and what can be done to change it.
As far as current action towards feminism and activism in Asian countries, I’m a big fan
of all those who work towards bettering the lives of the oppressed in harmfully obstinate
societies. A couple activists who stand out to me are Flavia Agnes and Kavita Krishnan, both of
who are Indian women working to defend women’s rights in their country. Agnes is a lawyer and
writer who gives legal assistance to women fighting wife beating, dowries, sexual harassment
and much more. She is the founder of “Majlis”, an organization that provides legal representation
to women in India. Krishnan is known for being one of the loudest anti-rape activists in India.
She has organized multiple protests and her efforts have resulted in better laws against rape. Both
have been extremely instrumental in advancing the feminist movement in India. Another activist
I admire is Xiao Meili, the activist who walked through Beijing with two other girls in a red
paint splattered wedding dress. Her mission was to spread awareness of sexual harassment and
domestic violence in China. Her and her fellow activists got arrested and were detained for over
twenty-four hours and interrogated as though they were criminals. It’s strong women like these
that inspire me and give me hope for the future of women in Asia. They are the pioneers of the
feminist movement in their countries and with more support and a bigger platform they’ll do
great things. (Thapa 451)
After all this talk of great feminists in Asia, I feel the need to bring up a not so great
feminist. A man who goes by the name of Kim Jong-Un has decided that he and the rest of North
Korea are now feminists. The dictator celebrated the 2015 International Women’s Day by
donating food and cosmetics to pilot’s wives. Meanwhile what really happens to women in Kim
Jong-Un’s country is quite anti-feminist. In North Korea women do not receive sex education,
are subjected to forced abortions, and in the military, are required to perform sexual favors for
their higher-ranking men. The North Korean dictator is the furthest thing from a feminist and is
attempting to hide it with empty gestures. (McWeeny 22)
As Asian women face the world it’s important to support them. It’s important to hold
other countries accountable for their deadly sexism and oppressive practices. No more
overlooking these inhumane activities and no more sitting idly by and watching the fight of
Asian women versus the world.
Disclaimer
Any information and ideas in this text taken from other sources is properly cited at the end. All
people mentioned have been contacted for legal purposes and have granted permission for use of
their names, accomplishments, ideas, etc. All ideas expressed in this text correlate with the
author’s personal opinions and do not reflect the views of anyone not mentioned.
Abbe Eliasof

Works Cited
Das Gupta, Monisha. Unruly Immigrants Rights, Activism, and Transnational South Asian
Politics in the United States . Durham: Duke University Press, 2006. Print.
McWeeny, Jennifer., and Butnor, Ashby. Asian and Feminist Philosophies in Dialogue
Liberating Traditions . New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. Print.
Thapa, Palita. “VOICES FROM ASIAN FEMINIST ACTIVISM: Human Trafficking in Nepal:
Changing Dimensions.” Asian Journal of Women’s Studies 21.4 450–459. Web.

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