Gisèle Pelicot's face is now famous around the world. Bravely, she stood up against misogyny and against a socio-legal system that has often allowed rapists to get away, without facing the music for their cruel and sinful actions. This time, they could not blurt out the traditional excuses for there was video footage of their disgusting assaults upon a drugged and sleeping woman. Madame Pelicot's dignity through the tortuous trial and in the brash spotlight of media interest has been remarkable. She could have remained hidden from view, anonymous but as she said - why should she be the one to cower in secrecy? She was a victim not a perpetrator so she held her head up high.
Below, news journalist Mishal Husain left the BBC this week after twenty six years service. To me she was a remarkable interviewer - always calm and fluent, pursuing her interviewees in a polite but purposeful manner. She oozed intelligence and clear-headedness and refused to be intimidated. With the exception of Justin Webb, no other presenter on the Radio 4 "Today" programme could compare with her. As she departed on Tuesday of this week she said smilingly that she had been granted a farewell song request and the song she had chosen was "Daydream Believer" by The Monkees. It seemed such a sweet and humble choice.
Finally, not a woman but a little girl who is destined to become a woman in the fullness of time. It's our little Phoebe - less than a month short of her fourth birthday. We took her to Millhouses Park on Thursday afternoon and as she negotiated the climbing structure, I noticed a possible picture through the curved opening on the red wall at the end. Winter sunlight was falling nicely upon it. I didn't have my camera with me so I asked Shirley to snap a picture with her smartphone and here is the result...
I don't know how Phoebe's adult life will work out but of course I hope that it is a happy one in which, as a woman, she fulfils some of her dreams. I want her to feel proud of who she is. Along the way, I hope she meets kind, respectful men who view women as their equals and do not seek to underestimate or abuse them. In this regard, the world still has a long way to go.
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/SZzCA39