Anu Bhagwati's Visit

Having Anu Bhagwati visit our class was a very enlightening experience. I have little to no knowledge of the military, with only a superficial and basic understanding of the military system. I knew that most servicemen had to endure vicious top officers and grueling physical exams in order to become one of the nation's defenders - but that was the extent of my knowledge.

Before she came into visit, we were required to read three of Bhagwati's articles, all of which focused on female soldiers in the military. Her first article, "Representing Women Soldiers in the Media" focused on empowering female officers rather than depicting them as what she terms "America's victims." Bhagwati highlights how media sources often describe women as innocent victims in the war instead of giving the same reportage as male officers. She continues this idea of irresponsible media representation in "The Unheard Victims of the 'Invisible War'" in which she draws attention to military rape being framed as solely a women's issue - namely white women's issue, in the way the movie depicted white women as the primary victims of rape. Her third article, "Women's Movement and For Whom" talks about her entry into the women's movement and writes about the importance of advocating for the mistreatment of women in the service.

Her visit to our class recounted what she wrote about in "Women's Movement and For Whom" - she talked mostly about her experience working as Executive Director of SWAN, as well as her first-hand experience in the military: the oppressive forces of male counterparts, the double-standards in from the physical exams right down to the kinds of uniforms they used, the way rape cases were handled, etc. The most striking thing of our discussion was about rape - equating the prevalence of rape on American college campuses to the prevalence of rape in the military system was astounding. Hearing that such an esteemed institution of our nation perpetrated and covered these kinds of crimes, not only on our soil but also in other countries, is truly eye-opening and maddening!