E Bivaro Advocating the equality of women within society, while making them victims in their own homes By Kirandeep Sidhu from another weekend, but as I saw her I wondered how her weekend must have been. It had been a week since she had confided in me and told me about the violent beatings, and since then I had wondered how she must have felt when she first witnessed it. She was only nine the first night when she woke up to the sounds of crying and yelling coming from the bedroom across the hall. When she walked down the dark [: was Monday and we had just returned hallway she told me how she found her mother on the floor and her father hovering over her. She asked him, “Why is mommy crying” and he told her, “Oh, it’s nothing, we were just talking, you go back to sleep.” However, she could not leave her mother there so, she took her mother’s hand and they both went to bed together and that night her life changed forever. After that night it had become a weekend ritual to hear the screaming and crying before going to bed. The night usually started the same way her father would come mother’s only weakness was that she could not break free from the norms of society and make the decision to live her life free of abuse. Many years have gone by and she has gathered the courage to share her story with me. Now, whenever I see her, I wonder how difficult it would have been for a nine year old child to watch her father abuse her mother and not be able to do anything to stop it. In a society where we are claiming to be modern and civil, why are we allowing women home, grab to still be a drink, and “In a society where we are claiming to be abused at look for any modern and civil, why are we allowing the hands excuse tobe | women to still be abused at the hands of their of their angry with spouses?” spouses? her mother We’re so that he could have a reason to beat her that night. Her mother quietly took the abuse, sometimes by getting slapped while other times by getting slammed into a wall. Although each night is like a part of the puzzle in her mind, she remembers the nights when her mother, brother, and she would hide in a corner of the house so that he could not find them. Some days, she hoped that he would not return home so that they could save her just that one time. Other days, she remembers trying to make her mother see reason, that it would be better to go their separate ways and that her brother and she would go with their mother. However, her supposed to live in a world that equally values men and women, but this is not true. We still give men more value than women, which in turn gives them more power to treat women in any way they choose. However, we tend to forget that along with the couple that is involved, there are also usually innocent children involved. Although we advocate against many things such as drugs, drinking and driving, and violence in video games, why do we forget to mention family violence as a dangerous factor that is affecting the lives of many children today? I would never have thought about how spousal abuse affects children unless she had shared her story with me because unlike the other crimes in society, it is not advertised in newspapers or on television until somebody loses their life. I only remember hearing about how a man killed his wife or reading headlines involving the death of a wife at the hands of her husband, but never the mere reporting of abuse by the victim while they were still alive. The media does not report the abuse and only brings it to light when someone loses their life. I do not recall ever hearing anyone in society talk about how we should address this issue or how we should help the victims report it so that it doesn’t occur again. Instead of supporting the victims and helping them deal with their circumstances, we make the women feel like it is their own fault if this happens to them. If they do gather the courage to report it, our society doesn’t take any action against the offender. I feel that in a society that advocates equality, we are actually ignoring the unjust and unequal treatment that many women are facing today due to their gender. Unless we all come together and address this issue, women will continue to be victims of abuse in their own homes at the hands of their own husbands, and many children will continue to live in fear within their own homes—the place that we teach them to turn to for safety. Fuming? Nodding? Tell us what you think; contact opinions @ theotherpress.ca with your opinions about this or any other article Climate change talks postponed Copenhagen Conference delayed for up to a year By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor that the Copenhagen UN Climate Conference, which was scheduled for this December, would be postponed for up to a year. The aim of the conference was to bring governments from around the world together to sign a legally binding treaty to reduce the impacts of global climate change. Some have referred to the conference as “the last chance to prevent ‘catastrophic’ climate change.” Bringing the political powers of the world together on the same page of any issue is complex and the climate is no different. There have been many reasons stated for the delay. One has been that some of the countries are simply not ready to sign a legally binding document. Others fault the nations responsible for the majority of harmful emissions for dragging their heels in attempts to prevent legally binding - reductions. Basically, it comes down to what I: was announced in late November scientist Garrett Hardin referred to as “the tragedy of the commons.” The term refers to a dilemma in which multiple individuals —in this case the nations of the world—act to satisfy their own self-interest— economic growth—while ultimately depleting a shared limited resource—the environment—even though it is clear that it is not in anyone’s long- term interest for this to happen—multitude of scientific evidence on the negative impacts of climate change. Why should one nation change if others refuse to? It is this mentality that is preventing any sort of considerable action on the climate change front. Although there will be no signing of a legally binding treaty, delegates from around the world will come together to discuss a “politically binding” agreement. These agreements will include specific targets and timetables for greenhouse gas emissions cuts and money to support developing countries. Unfortunately, politically binding agreements have a history of holding little weight. Somewhat like voluntary compliance, it is left up to the discretion of each individual government to meet the targets. No real ramifications exist if the targets aren’t met, which brings us back to the dilemma of the commons. Governments can put talks and agreements on hold, but nothing can put a hold on climate change. Fuming? Nodding? Tell us what you think; contact opinions@ theotherpress.ca with your opinions about this or any other article Water shortages: taking our water for granted By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor ith the recent record rainfall we have been experiencing in the Lower Mainland, it is hard to believe that fresh water can be a scarce resource. Every winter in the Lower Mainland, it rains for days and sometimes even months on end. While some might not think so, we truly are fortunate to live in a location of the world that provides us with an abundance of fresh water in the fall, winter and spring. Throughout most of Metro Vancouver, this rainwater fills the watershed reservoirs that provide the water that is essential to our lifestyle. All of the water that comes from these watersheds is treated and rendered drinkable. The water is then pumped to our hoses, sinks, showers and toilets. Turn on a tap or flush the toilet and the water is there. One can turn the tap on and leave it on with absolutely no repercussions—the water continues to flow. In many parts of the world, the story is much different. People spend large parts of their day walking to fetch water. They don’t have the luxury of turning on a tap, taking a hot shower or flushing the toilet. The closest we come to water shortages in B.C. (and don’t get me wrong, we don’t come anywhere close to this) is in the summertime, when we have lawn sprinkling regulations. In the summer months when the sun is shining and the rain clouds are distant memories, the watershed reservoirs that were once overflowing with water start to drain down. We continue to use the fresh water from the reservoirs to clean our clothes and flush our toilets. We inundate our lawns, wash our cars and water our gardens. After all, you have got to have a lush green lawn and a shiny car. The only real difference during the summer is you "can only sprinkle on certain days. In arid parts of the world, water conservation is built in. Drinkable water is used for drinking. Rainwater is collected in rain barrels to use for watering lawns and gardens. Houses are built with grey water systems. The systems allow water to be reused and recycled before it is flushed down the drain. In these places, water is scarce and the infrastructure and residents lifestyles reflect this. A lot can be done on the individual level to conserve water without a lifestyle compromise. Shorter showers and making sure that the dishwasher and washing machine are full before running a cycle are two simple things that can be done. During the summer, a rain barrel can be used to water the grass and garden. Now, I am not necessarily saying “Tf it’s yellow let it mellow,” or completely abstain from showering, but perhaps, we need to think a bit about how we use our water. Often we take things that come to us in abundance for granted—it’s natural. It is hard to believe that fresh water is a scarce resource when it rains for days on end. However, it is good to remember that this water is essential to life. So while day after day of rainy weather may seem like a drag, remember, it could be a lot worse. It is this water that allows us to live way we do and provides us with the beautiful environment that we call home. OE