Where to start? There are countless ways that society oppresses women on every corner of the globe. Today, look a little closer at only three: witch hunts, Chinese foot binding, and genital mutilation. Trigger warning: we discuss some difficult details. If you’re squeamish, proceed with caution. But learning about the horrors of history is important, so that we can keep an eye out for them in the future.

Here are some links to our resources for this episode:

An interesting article about witch hunts
The book I read about foot binding was called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See. Check it out!
Chinese foot binding from the Smithsonian
Information on female genital mutilation

In language news: the word for “horse” in many American Indian languages translates to some variation of “dog.” How might this translation reflect the cultural perception of horses in the culture? Some claim that Europeans brought horses to the Americas. However, they actually originate there and are an essential part of Native culture.

Finally, want to make a difference and help the UN work toward their goal of gender equality worldwide? Go to their website and see what you can do right now.

Here are the links to the hit songs we found in other languages:

“Hello” in Swahili
“House of the Rising Sun” in Hebrew
“Let it Go” in Russian
“Wake me Up” in Norwegian

The post Episode 63: The Horrific Cultural Oppression of Women first appeared on Language Nerds Do Earth.