Women’s Rights Week in Brussels

The Week of Women’s Rights (from 6 to 15 March 2019) of the City of Brussels offers a program on the objectification of women.

Objectification of women

Objectification happens when the body of a woman is completely or partially separated from her person and reduced to an object, an instrument to reproduce, to please, or even to be sold. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is all too often seen in the media and that influences the self-image of women and the way men look at women.

#ThisIsNotConsent

The underpants are the ultimate symbol of the objectification of the woman, who is often wrongly judged on her clothing. A too short skirt, a too deep décolleté, too daring underpants. They all seem to justify the behavior of some men: women are called in the street, their credibility is questioned. They are even held responsible for the violence that is being done to them, including rape. The recent incident that occurred in Ireland where the guilty was acquitted on the basis of the motive that his victim wore a string at the time of the facts, was the source of inspiration for this campaign. The revolt that went around the world afterwards was accompanied by the string as a symbol and the hashtag #ThisIsNotConsent.

A woman is more than her underwear, her skirt, her high heels, her décolleté – in short, she is more than her body. A woman is not an object. She is, like men, a human being. She deserves equal rights, free speech, freedom of action and the right to dispose of her own body.

Schedule

Join one or more activities for a debate about the subject during the Week of Women’s Rights 2019.