OTL Blog

Once there was a girl who got married and the basket of apples handed over by the family symbolized fertility, fun, wealth and healthy relationships, not the proof that she was a pure virgin. Then I woke up and realized I was in Yerevan, marching with some women about that virginity rite! Bloody hell it can’t be true!

On this past International Women’s Day, Yerevan Womens Center (WRC) marched through the streets of Armenia’s largest city brandishing signs against the Red Apple ritual symbolizing the of piercing the hymen, but the protest was largely modified to adapt to local sensitivities. Initially the center was going to walk down the street costumed as a huge apple but decided eventually to tone it down, as some might think it was a protest against the choice to keep one’s virginity.

“The march went really well,” said a staff member of the WRC, “we buried 5 apples in the yard, the media was there… but you know, there were so many disturbing blogs and mysogynist discussion created and stirred because of our march…. but whatever, it was still good.”

They carried signs that read “rights before flowers” and distributed leaflets marked with “don’t give up and think you are powerless.” As they marched, many men chanted insulting and sexist one-liners as the marchers explained that International Women’s Day wasn’t a cheap rip off of Valentines Day. It ended with a burial ceremony of apples, not as expected in a public park, but in the Women’s Center backyard.

In brief, a normal protest. A lot of women have analyzed The Ritual of the Red Apple as being an application of patriarchy. The ritual itself is at its root a test of bridal virginity. This a problematic issue, because of double standards, but also generally one that diminishes women’s mobility and status before and within a partnership of marriage, while it reinforces the bride’s body as family property.

However, Armenians (mostly men) see “problems” in defying traditions as well. In a society where there is no gender analysis in the view of “tradition” and “culture” generally, this whole initiative sparked very intense and fiery discussions online and in the streets which I see as a much needed stirring of a patriarchal society’s denial that “anything is wrong”. Blogs indicated a strong link that cultural integrity is associated with preserving female purity and where desecration of rituals is seen as the evil work of feminism and not say, oh…western capitalist imperialism, with its SUVs, pollution, and popification of traditional Armenian dance and music.

The police told the marchers to turn back. This was not the first time this happened. But on International Women’s Day, this was too much. After some negotiations, the march continued. Local men, including the infiltrators also harassed the women by chanting: “Uzum enq! [We want!], Hima! [Now!].” Which i am assuming means “we want it now”, sexually speaking. Of course, in the fight for dignity, when it rains, it pours.

A local female artist and musician said of this misunderstanding of women: “you know, Mel (moment of silence) this march showed me that men have a deep hate of women…it was so apparent…now I understand that when my dad would beat my mom, it wasn’t just that, I think now that he really really hated her.”

Another added: “They are just a bunch of fascists, I had to take him [a man chanting] aside, to prevent the other girls from getting discouraged. He was all red, huffing and puffing, I called him a fascist because that’s what he is, a nationalist who thinks women’s dignity is anti-nationalist. Then i told him to think of his sister and mother a bit. That shut him up, and quickly too.”

The Women’s center still has a lot of work to do not only to change things in society but simply to exist without resistance. But is that new? Is that only in Armenia? Far from it. Armenia can pride itself as one of the more liberal and open minded nations in the Caucasus region and the only reason criticism is so rampant is because at least it permits it to be that way. Women protesters in Istambul on March 8th, for example, were severely beaten by police. As a rich ancient cultural center Armenians are justified in fearing the annhiliation of their culture, but on the other hand, when men prevent women from voicing violence against them, the men clearly are ‘self-annhiliating’ their own soceity. 50% is 50%.

As one piece of art hanging in Utopiana exclaims: “Brnutyune Atad che” or “violence is not a tradition!” The point of all these debates should be whether or not the Red Apple is violent psychologically and physically. If not, no other productive discussion can continue.

In the end, the women laid a garland and a commemorative picture of the Red Apple in the backyard of the Women’s center and buried the five apples underground, where they belong. They broke the symbolic association of apples with the “purity and chastity” between women’s legs. I think these women have more cultural integrity than anyone in the country who professes dominance as a nationalist value.

* Photos on this post by Onnik Krikorian, licensed under Creative Commons

This entry was posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 9:13 am and is filed under Activism, Community issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.