Women in India Post Selfies to Take Back the Night

Women in India Post Selfies to Take Back the Night

Indian women shared pictures of them staying out after a male party official suggested woman who was nearly kidnapped at night only has herself to blame.

byJason Grenier, special correspondent

Women in India have been posting selfies with the hashtag #AintNoCinderellaonsocial media toassert their right to walk the streets at night without suffering violence, harassment, and abusefrom men.

VarnikaKundu, a DJ in Chandigarh, was chased by a group of men while driving home from work one night. The arrested men attempted to kidnap Ms. Kundu, and one of them was the son of a prominent politician. After her Facebook post about this disturbing incident went viral, Indian politician Ramveer Bhatti told CNN-News18 that Ms. Kundu was to blame for this nightmare, saying “the girl should not have gone out at 12 in the night.” He then told the Times of India that parents shouldn’t allow their children to roam at night.

Many women in India find thisact of victim blaming unacceptable and have criticized Bhatti’s regressivemindset. In response, DivyaSpandana, an Indian actress and politician, posted a picture of herself on Twitter and started the #AintNoCinderellacampaign. Many others followed, including the daughter of former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee and journalistPalak Sharma. However, whenSharma posted a photo of her winking and sipping a drink, she received insults for her bold move.

“I’ve received lots of threats too,” Sharma said to BBC. “But I’m not afraid. Nothing is going to stop us. No amount of naysayerscan frighten us. We aren’t Cinderellas, we don’t have to be home at midnight.”As more and more women take part in the movement and voice their objection, it is clear that Indian women refuse to be wronged and intimidated by injustice.

Reading Comprehension

( ) 1. What is this passage mainly about?

(A) Women in India are standing up for their rights on social media.

(B) A famous female politician was kidnappedin Chandigarh.

(D) New policies are carried out in India to prevent sexual harassment.

( ) 2. What is Indian politician Ramveer Bhatti’s response to Ms. Kundu’s incident?

(A) He refused to make any comment on the matter.

(B) He condemns the men who tried to kidnap Ms. Kundu.

(D) He invited many public figures to join the #AintNoCinderella campaign.

( ) 3. According to the passage, which of the following is true?

(A) Men and women in India have equal rights.

(B) Many male politicians in India publicly support the campaign.

(D) Journalist Palak Sharma received threats after supporting the campaign.

Vocabulary and Phrases

1.kidnapvt.綁架，劫持
2.assertvt.維護(自己的權利)
3. harassmentn.[U] 騷擾
4.abusevt.虐待；辱駡
5. prominentadj.著名的，重要的
6. politician n.[C]政治家
7. incidentn.[C](不愉快的)事件
8. nightmaren.[C]噩夢；可怕的經歷
9.roamvi.; vt.漫步，閒逛 / 10.criticize vi.; vt.批評，指責
11.regressiveadj. 退步的
12.campaign[]n.[C]運動
13.journalistn. [C]新聞記者
SYNreporter
14. insultn.[C]辱罵，侮辱
15. objectionn.[C]反對
16.wrongvt.不公正地對待
17.intimidatevt.恐嚇，威脅
18. injusticen. [U][C]不公正

Words for Recognition

1. hashtagn.主題標籤
2. ain’t[](am/is/are not)(俚語)不是
3. Cinderella[]n.灰姑娘
4. DJn.(=disk jockey)唱片節目主持人
5.Chandigarhn.昌迪加爾 / 6. the Times of Indian.印度時報
7. victim blamingn.[]責怪受害者
8. mindsetn. [U]思維方式
9.naysayer[]n. [C]唱反調的人

New York Crushes Two Tons of Ivory to Smash Illegal Trade

NY state government and wildlife groups hope to bring ivory trade to ahalt with “ivory crush”.

byJason Grenier, special correspondent

Nearly two tons of jewelry made from elephant tuskswere destroyed in New York City’s Central Park to show the government’s__1__ to deter the illegal trade and end elephant poaching. Most of these ivory carvings were confiscated by the New York state government in an ivory bust, and they were taken from at least 100 slaughtered elephants. Altogether they were __2__ more than 8 million dollars.

Although the international ivory trade has been banned since 1990, this doesn’t stop dealers from poaching elephants and trafficking this “white gold.” According to theGreat ElephantCensus, one-third of large elephants in Africa were killed in seven years due to ivory poaching. Research shows that about 96 elephants are killed each day, with their tusks sawed off and sold on the black market. Governments in African nations are struggling to protect elephants and ensure their __3__.

To some people, the __4__ of these valuable ivory is upsetting because some of the pieces may be antiques. However, an expert said it is unlikely for the carvings to be more than 100 years old. Many environmental experts also __5__ that these tusks should have no market value at all, and should only be as valuable as living elephants. “As long as you have an ivory item, you are perpetuating the myth that ivory has value and is collectible,” said wildlife campaigner Iris Ho. Advocate forwildlife conservation John Calvellistated thatthe crushing of ivory sends a message topoachers, traffickersand dealers, showing that the slaughter of elephants will not be tolerated.

Fill in the Blanks

(A) destruction / (B) argue / (C) commitment / (D) worth / (E) survival
(1)______/ (2)______/ (3)______/ (4)______/ (5)______

Vocabulary and Phrases

1. crushvt.壓碎，碾碎
2. ivoryn.[U]象牙
3. smashvt.擊潰，粉碎
4.wildlife[]n.[U]野生生物
5.haltn.[Sing.]停止，中止
6. tuskn.[C] (大象等動物的)長牙
7. detervt.阻撓，威懾
8. carving n.[C][U]雕刻品
9.poachvi.,vt.偷捕，盜獵
poacher n.[C]盜獵者 / 10.confiscatevt.(作爲懲罰)沒收
11. bustn. [C]逮捕，搜捕
12. slaughtervt.屠宰，宰殺
13. trafficvt.非法交易
traffickern. [C] 做非法買賣的人
14.antique n. [C]古物，古董
15.mythn. [C]普遍但錯誤的看法
16.advocaten.[C]支持者，提倡者
17. conservationn. [U]保育
18.toleratevt.忍受，容忍

Words for Recognition

1. Central Parkn.紐約中央公園
2. Great ElephantCensusn. 大象普查 / 3. black marketn. [C]黑市
4.perpetuatevt.使持續
5.collectibleadj.值得收藏的

Did You Know?

Bollywood, the nickname for the Indian film industry, is a wordplay on the word Hollywood. The B comes from Bombay, the old name for Mumbai. In terms of the amount of the films produced and the number of people hired, Bollywood is the largest film industry, making more than 1,000 films a year. Bollywood films arefull of colors, singing and dancing, andromanceis one of the most popular themes. Today, not only people in India but also movie lovers aroundthe world enjoy Indian films and its distinct characteristics.

閱讀測驗解答：1.A 2. C 3.D

文意選填解答：1.C 2. D 3. E 4. A 5.B

Translation

印度女性張貼自拍照拿回夜行權

男性官員表示險些在夜間遭挾持的女子咎由自取，印度女性隨後分享夜晚外出的照片。

印度女性最近紛紛在社群網站張貼自拍照，並加上了「我們不是灰姑娘」的主題標籤，主張她們有權於入夜後走在路上而不受男性暴力侵害、騷擾，和辱罵。

在昌迪加爾擔任電台音樂節目主持人的薇妮卡．昆杜某晚下班開車回家途中遭一群男子尾隨。那些已遭逮捕的男子試圖綁架昆杜，其中一人還是知名政治家的兒子。但她關於此事的臉書貼文爆紅後，印度政治家拉維．巴提對美國有線電視新聞網表示昆杜小姐的遭遇該歸咎於她自己，並說「她不該晚上12點出門」。他接著對印度時報說做父母的不該允許孩子深夜在外遊蕩。

許多印度女性無法接受這種責備受害者的行為，痛批巴提退步的思維。為回應此事，印度女演員兼政治人物的狄雅．司班達納在推特上張貼自己照片，並發起「我們不是灰姑娘」活動。許多人群起效仿，包括前印度總統普拉娜．慕克吉的女兒以及新聞記者帕拉．夏瑪。但夏瑪貼了她眨眼啜飲料的照片後，卻因大膽行徑遭受羞辱。

夏瑪告訴英國廣播電台：「我也收到許多威脅。但我不害怕，沒什麼能阻止我們。不管誰反對都不能嚇唬我們。我們不是灰姑娘，不必午夜前回家。」隨著愈來愈多女性加入活動說出反對心聲，顯然印度女性拒絕被不平等對待及被不公義所威脅。

紐約銷毀兩噸象牙以粉碎非法交易

紐約州政府和野生動物保護團體希望藉由「壓碎象牙」終止象牙交易。

將近兩噸的象牙製珠寶在紐約中央公園被銷毀，以展現當局喝止非法交易和終結大象盜獵的決心。這些象牙雕刻品大多為紐約州政府取締象牙行動的沒收品，它們來自至少100頭被屠殺的大象，總價值逾800萬美元。

國際象牙貿易自1990年起已遭禁止，卻未能阻止業者盜獵大象並走私這些「白色黃金」。根據「大象普查」，非洲大型象七年內有三分之一喪命於象牙盜獵。調查顯示，每天約有96隻大象遇害，牠們的象牙被鋸下並銷往黑市。非洲各國政府正苦於保護大象，確保牠們的生存。

有些人對於摧毀這些價值連城的象牙感到難過，因為其中一些也許是古董。然而，一位專家指出這些雕刻品超過100年的可能性不高。許多生態環境專家也主張這些象牙根本不該有任何市場價值，而且應該和活象一樣珍貴。野生動物保護提倡者的艾瑞絲・何說：「只要你有象牙工藝品，你就在延續象牙有價值且值得收藏的錯誤觀念。」野生動物保育人士卡維里表示，銷毀象牙對盜獵者、走私者和業者傳達了屠殺大象不會被容忍的訊息。

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