Autora: Hawon Jung
Mês: Março
Tema: Letra F
Editora BenBella Books, 304p.
And that was how South Korea’s #MeToo movement
began.
Sinopse: Na eye-opening firsthand account of the ongoing and
trailblazing feminist movement in South Korea—one that the world should be
watching.
Since the beginning of the #MeToo movement, tens of thousands of people
in South Korea have taken to the street, and many more brave individuals took a
stand, to end a decades-long abortion ban and bring down powerful men accused
of sexual misconduct—including a popular presidential contender.
South Korean
feminists know that the revolution has been a long time coming, between battles
against its own patriarchal society as well as challenging stereotypes of
docile Asian women in the Western imagination.
Now, author Hawon Jung will show the rest of the world that these women
are no delicate flowers—they are trailblazing flames. Flowers of Fire takes the
reader into the trenches of this fight for equality, following along as South
Korean activists march on the streets, navigate public and private spaces where
spycam porn crimes are rampant, and share tips and tricks with each other as
they learn how to protect themselves from harassment and how to push
authorities to act.
Jung, the former Seoul correspondent for the AFP, draws on her
on-the-ground reporting and interviews with many women who became activists and
leaders, from the elite prosecutor who ignited the country’s #MeToo movement to
the young women who led the war against non-consensual photography. Their
stories, though long overlooked in the West, mirror realities that women across
the world are all too familiar with: threats of defamation lawsuits to silence
victims of assault, tech-based sexual abuse, and criminal justice systems where
victims’ voices are often met with suspicion and abusers’ downfalls are met
with sympathy. These are the issues at the heart of their #MeToo movement, and
South Korean women have fought against them vigorously—and with extraordinary
success. In Flowers of Fire, Jung illuminates the strength and tenacity of
these women, too often sidelined in global conversations about feminism and
gender equality.
Seo Ji-Hyun e seu trabalho na promotoria (ela foi a primeira mulher
nessa posição) no distrito de Hongseong e de que forma terminou é a história com
a qual Hawong Jung escolhe iniciar seu livro. Sua denúncia de assédio e as
consequências de escolher denunciar em uma Coréia do Sul ainda majoritariamente
machista, onde casos de abuso e assédio sexual são flagrantemente varridos para
baixo do tapete e as vítimas não recebem nenhum tipo de justiça, é o primeiro
caso que é tratado no livro. O feminismo ainda é um assunto mal visto no país,
mesmo depois do boom do movimento #MeToo, então fiquei feliz de ver a
sensibilidade da autora ao abordar essas questões. Os relatos são difíceis de
ler e a falta de punição concreta é revoltante, mas eu gostei de ver a parceria
e o apoio entre as mulheres vítimas. Um livro excelente que vale cada minuto da
leitura.
