Patel soon found evidence to back her observation: She identified 17 countries in which women face a range of serious penalties ā including imprisonment, prosecution, finesĀ and lashings ā Ā for going topless, but can legally own and carry a firearm.
Far too many countries hand out “severe penalties for women exposing their breasts in an attempt to keep women chaste and our minds uncorrupted,” Patel said. “Whilst breasts are banned from public view, it’s acceptable to carry a gun that can kill.”
While women’s breasts aren’t lethal, lenient gun laws are often the norm. Studies conducted by the Violence Policy Center, for example, consistently show that in the United States, “states with stricter gun laws and lower rates of gun ownership have some of the lowest overall gun death rates in the county,” the center’s director Josh SugarmannĀ wroteĀ inĀ the Huffington Post. Countries with stricter gun control policies also have substantially lower rates of gun homicides and suicides, Newsweek reported in October.
“I agree that there are a variety of issues [related to gender equality], some of which should be a higher priority,” Patel said. But the fight for gender equality must address all forms of inequity, including how their bodies are stigmatized or even criminalized, she added.
No. Titties are not free yet.Ā Pokies rule for now …
Ā Alicia Silverstone