Have you heard of World Breastfeeding Week? It is held from Aug. 1 to 7 every year to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.
To raise awareness of this week, Mothers in Korea breastfed their babies in the square of the Cheonho Station in Gangdong-gu, Seoul on the Aug. 7.
They hope to create a social atmosphere that can eliminate the negative prejudice of breastfeeding in public places at any time.
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¡ã Jung Ka-eun's instagram. This picture of Mrs Jung, a South Korean actress and entrepreneur, above has been an issue among Koreans |
Korean mothers aren’t the only ones fighting for the right to breastfeed in public. The daughter of the Kyrgyzstan president is also bringing this fight to her home country.
On a recent Instagram post she said “I will breastfeed my baby anywhere.”
Kyrgyzstan is a conservative Muslim nation in Central Asia. It is a place where, despite being illegal, the custom of bride kidnapping still remains. In such a country, there is a 20-year-old woman who shouts for women's rights. It is Aliya Shagieva, the youngest daughter of the Kyrgyz president.
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¡ã Aliya Shagieva's instragram (The picture is no longer exist) |
On April 11, 2017, Aliya, an artist and a popular blogger, uploaded one photo to social media. The picture was of a woman breastfeeding her newly born son. On the picture, she wrote about her point of view. Her comments included "the eyes of the public against the body of the woman", "worship of motherhood" and "the right to breastfeed in public places."
This picture generated sensation.
Three weeks after giving birth to a son, Aliya uploaded her own picture to Instagram. In the picture she is sitting on a car seat and breastfeeding her baby. While many people "liked" the picture, it also generated an intense debate.
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¡ã Aliya Shagieva's instragram (The picture is no longer exist) |
Activists and those advocating for human rights have appealed that the rights of women are not protected in Kyrgyzstan. In particular, mandatory marriage and bride kidnapping are major problems. A gender expert of the United Nations Development Program points out that this patriarchal society is the root of many problems Kyrgyz women face.
A couple of hours after the photo was posted Aliya added another long comment, this time criticizing the public’s double standard.
Below is what she said on Instagram.
“The woman's breasts are not obsessive and vulgar as much as many of us think. In the first place they are for connecting life, it should not be to please men's eyes. Despite this, the original role of the breast has been forgotten. It is because of the society that changed the meaning of breasts into sexual subjects?”
“In addition, we should not criticize girls suffering from the fact that the breasts are small (not the "ideal" size) or nipples are large.”
“While maternity is praised, when you see a mother breastfeeding, you say "she is shameless." Is it strange?”
The comments section of this post was flooded by women suffering from similar pressure. At the same time, many conservative followers compared breastfeeding with other physiological phenomenon.
"Sure, that's it. Well then, let's poop in public, it is also a natural phenomenon?"
"This woman is exposing her father to the storm of bashing, he is trying to steer the nation, even though his daughter could not be satisfied with satisfaction"
"Stop painting the president's face with mud, a woman without shame or intelligence."
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¡ã Aliya Shagieva's instragram |
However, she will not give up on this level.
"If this child's stomach is empty, I will give you breasts anywhere, whether it's a shopping center, a car, a park bench, I am inconvenient in this patriarchal society. I want to be a model for mothers who are raising children."
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