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Dear Editor
Romania is truly a land of beautiful traditions. When I think of the two years that I spent in Transylvania as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I remember with fondness Martisor and the dozens of little ornaments that I received from my students. I remember the feasts at Christmas and Easter, as well as learning the hora at a friend’s wedding. Some of what I consider the best and most unique Romanian traditions are captured in doine, the traditional folksongs. There are doine about herding sheep in the mountains. There are doine about falling in love under the tei trees. There are doine about new brides leaving their parents’ house, doine to lull babies to sleep, and doine for men marching off to military service. Just as these doine can be used to bolster traditional values like respect for nature and the primacy of the family, they can also be used to contort traditional values. Deference to women can become empty flattery and fawning.
Chivalry can become a meaningless parade of ritual. Romanian women (and women everywhere) still need those “knights in shining armor” celebrated in old doine. But the “dragons” now loom within the household and immediate society. They are domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape. A woman can take care of herself: earn her own money, buy her own home, drive herself, and make her own decisions. The heroism that Romanian women need is in relationships, not daring acts of physical bravery. Women need men who are willing to demonstrate their love by embracing the equality of their partners and accepting their independence, not by protecting them from the dangers of the world. The American-Romanian Partnership for Gender Equality (ARPGE) was founded three years ago after I returned to the United States from two years of Peace Corps service. In my time in Romania, I repeatedly saw the way that traditional values could be twisted to justify discrimination, abuse, and violence. ARPGE aims to promote gender equality and an end to gender-related discrimination and violence (i.e. rape, sexual assault, family violence, and trafficking in persons) by encouraging Romanians to reshape cultural expectations and to redefine daily interactions between men and women. ARPGE looks to you for support in our efforts to write new doine that celebrate genuine gender equality in families. Please visit us at www.equality-romania.org to learn more about who we are, what we do, and ways that you can assist in our efforts.
Sincerely, Rebeka Fergusson-Lutz
President and Founder,
American-Romanian Partnership for Gender Equality
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