A small man shadowed by strong women

As a strong minded and opinionated woman, I have come across many things that warrant me to go off on a tangent and rant. Lately, the Canadian media has been all over one particular person whose views make my blood boil, and I would happily punch if I had the opportunity.

Are you ready for my views on Roosh V? Also known as Roosh Vorek or Daryush Valizadeh.

For those who don’t know who he is, Roosh is an American writer and “pickup artist” known for his writings on “seduction” and anti-feminism, most predominant right now is his view that rape should be legal on private property.

It’s really hard to not use vulgar language to describe his broadcasted view on the world and women, but I figure I might as well put a real effort at giving him what he deserves through the written word.

To me, Roosh V is nothing more than a sad, desperate, and most likely unhappy excuse of a "person", and I’d rather focus on things that are much more important, impressive and go against everything he thinks, or portrays as thinking, is true.

GIVING A SECOND THOUGHT TO BULLYING

Example one, Trisha Prabhu, a 15-year-old girl from Chicago who wants to put an end to cyber bullying, so what did she do? She designed ReThink, a software system that encourages adolescents to reconsider their actions before they send an offensive, cruel or demeaning message online.

I can’t imagine something more against the ideals of Roosh than a young woman with the intellect and ability to help make the world and Internet a safer place for everyone. In fact, it’s something he could probably get good use out of.

According to reports, Prabhu was first inspired to create a possible solution to the problem that is cyber bullying after reading about an 11-year-old girl in Florida who killed herself after being targeted by the crueler side of the world wide web.

SPEAKING OUT FOR THOSE THAT CAN’T

Next, we look to a country where women’s rights is definitely not high on the priority list and where generations of abuse are slowly coming around to social change.

In India, it is said that of the estimated three million prostitutes, 1.2 million are children, many of which are abducted by commercial sex traffickers or purchased in rural areas.

To honour these stolen lives and lost innocence artist Leena Kejriwal launched “Missing”, a memorial to those girls — half of whom are trafficked between the ages of 11 and 14.

As part of the project, stark black silhouettes of girls with the word “Missing” written above are now appearing on walls across India. Kejriwal began the project last year with an outdoor installation during an art festival, where she set three larger silhouettes of girls and women on the roof of the venue. According to A Mighty Girl, she described these figures as “like sharp, black holes cut out of the sky. Holes into which millions of girls disappear from the face of this earth.”

With much more planned for her mission of bringing awareness to a disturbing issue, as well as to honour those who have already been lost, it’s easy to see that Kejriwal is a strong woman, something Roosh V doesn't accept in his “pray” or conquests.

TECHNOLOGY AND INSPIRATION

Next on my short list of young inspirational women that don’t fit the bill of egotistical male chauvinists is 18-year-old Hayley Todesco from Alberta Canada, who’s passion for the environment, combined with the predominant industry in her province, lead her to create a much needed invention.

A project that took two years to develop, Todesco built a bioreactor, that uses bacteria to break down waste, that also incorporated a sand filter. For the young inventor, the goal was to determine if her system could break down naphthenic acid, a major toxic component of oil sands waste.

Although she did not have access to oil sands tailings or bacteria, this small hiccup was overcome and did not waiver her determination as she reached out to the University of Calgary for assistance.

Through trial and error Todesco was finally able to develop a filtration system that breaks down toxins 14 times faster than the conventional method, a feat that saw her win the 17- to 18-year old category at the 2014 Google Science Fair, as well as the prestigious science fair’s “Local Award” for the Americas which recognizes projects addressing a locally relevant issue. Todesco has also won many other awards for her creation, including the 2014 Stockholm Junior Water Prize.

LOOKING AT LEADERS FROM THE PAST

Finally, although this blog could go on forever if I wished to recap every woman or girl that has had an astounding impact on our world, I look back into our history to see how women have helped to create environments that have developed the strong women we see today.

From scientists such as Marie Curie, developers like Grace Hopper, and women’s rights activists such as Nellie McClung, our past has been nothing shy of spectacular and empowered by women who would not allow the low expectations on their gender to determine their impact on the world.

Without the strength of those who fought for women to be educated, to vote, or to be taken seriously as academics, there is no telling where our world would be or where it will go as more and more strength and determination is shown by today’s youth.

Gender is nothing when it comes to the abilities of a person to succeed, and when we focus on how amazing women have been and continue to be, rather than those who’s goal is to hurt our advancements, then we further strengthen a society and world that embraces female power and creates women and young girls who know never to give up.

The strength of a woman is not measured by the impact that all her hardships in life have had on her; but the strength of a woman is measured by the extent of her refusal to allow those hardships to dictate her and who she becomes. ― C. JoyBell C.