Why Am I Here? Julia Weeks: Israel

Petra, Jordan

My “productive discomfort” moment happened about a month ago when my class traveled to Jordan. I was told beforehand that I was going to have to dress modestly when we were there since it is a part of their culture for women to cover up. This did not shock me as I had already encountered other moments where I had to be covered previously while studying abroad, most notably at the religious sites in Jerusalem. So, this notion did not bother me. The event that shocked me happened the first night we were in Jordan.

            We were given some free time at the end of the night to do whatever we pleased so a group of us decided to go out to a pub down the road. It wasn’t that far of a walk from our hotel, maybe 10 minutes, but, even in that short period of time we faced some tension. On three separate occasions men stopped their cars in the middle of the road to catcall my friends and me. Despite us walking with a group of boys, the men still stopped. Instead of directly talking to us, the asked the boys in our group how they could “get us” or where they “found us.” Every girl in the group was wearing jeans and a t-shirt at the very least and each girl faced other moments of blatant sexism throughout the night.

            A month later my dad and brother came to visit me and we decided to take a day trip to Petra in Jordan. Despite being with the two men closest to me, the two men I trust most and feel most safe with in my life, I did not feel safe walking around the town outside of Petra. We had just finished dinner and were walking back to our hotel and the amount of sideways looks I received on the fifteen minute walk were uncountable and I was wearing a baggy sweatshirt and jeans. Just the ratio of men to women on the streets was enough to make me uncomfortable. For every woman I saw, I saw at least fifteen men.

            I learned the reality of the feminist and antisexist movement internationally through these instances. Despite how far we have yet to come in America, we are much more progressive in terms of sexism culturally. This was really jarring to me, but also enlightening. No matter what good news is coming out of the United States from the feminist realm, there is always more work to be done. It is really easy to think in a bubble, especially on the less publicized issues, and get jaded to the topics. Experiencing the sexism still very present in Jordan and Israel through these and many additional moments during my study abroad journey has been eye opening to the true nature of women’s rights worldwide.