EMPOWERING LIVES
The Journey of Jaycee Dugard, Elizabeth Smart, and Mukhtar Mai
Keywords:
Elizabeth Smart, Empowerment, Jaycee Dugard, Mukhtar Mai, Protected Spaces, TraumaAbstract
Social activists and feminist scholars across the globe have endlessly stressed on the need for women to lend support to other women; for victims to help other victims and for survivors to aid other survivors. Empathy and compassion for fellow human beings is one of the possible ways of raising the standards of humanity. The present paper highlights the endeavours of Jaycee Lee Dugard who was illegally held captive for eighteen years, Mukhtar Mai, who survived a gang rape, and Elizabeth Smart, who suffered nine months of abduction and sexual abuse, to provide shelter and assistance to survivors like them and to make the society a better place to live in. While Smart and Mai are attempting to work against violence through spreading education and awareness, Dugard's foundation, 'Just Ask Yourself To Care' aims at not only providing support to the survivors of traumatic experiences but also helping their families to reintegrate into the society. Since the change is envisioned by those who are typically expected to have a submissive demeanour, there shall also be an attempt in this paper to trace the socio-cultural elements that facilitate or hinder such initiatives.
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