A Fish Needs a Man Like…
Big news from North Korea — it’s no longer illegal for women to ride bicycles. Really:
The new government up north is trying to come up with inexpensive things it can do that will improve morale. One recent action was to repeal a 1990s law that prohibited women from riding bicycles. This law was passed in response to the death of the daughter of a senior army general, why was hit by a car while on a bicycle in the capital. This law was very unpopular, and women would often take their chances and pay the fine (a few dollars) if caught. But if caught too many times, the bike (a valuable item) could be confiscated. One reason bikes were so expensive was because North Korea never produced them, they were all imported from China or Japan. This has long been another source of irritation for most North Koreas. In the last decade, the law was generally ignored in the countryside, but still sporadically enforced (as a source of income for cops) in cities (especially the capital). So now there is one less irritant for North Korean women, and a momentary boost in morale, at least for women with bicycles.
How depressing.
Depressing? I would think that we’d be rejoicing in the blow struck by Dear Leader Jr against the paternal, male-dominated, war-on-woman-makin’, evil, right-wing, oppressive Republicans. After all, not paying for a woman’s contraception is the same as, nay worse, than banning them from enjoyable exercise. After all, the woman were banned from bicycles to protect them from traffic accidents. Allowing a religious organization to not pay for birth control is exclusively about control of the differently-gendered.
At least, so sayeth the DNC, and they would *never* lie about something like that.
I have some good friends in Seoul. They’re more optimistic than they’ve been in 20 years that they might finally see their East Berlin moment in their lifetime.
One can only hope.
Wouldn’t it be great to hear Romney say, “Mr Jong-Un, tear down this wall!”
Sorry, I’ve been to the (south side of the) De-Militarized ZONE (DMZ), and there is no “wall” although there is plenty of guardposts and towers, and miles of barbed-wire and fences. (Heck, it’s about one mile WIDE) I agree with the sentiment though…I just don’t hold out hope that it will ever happen, without much bloodshed on both sides.
How do you get hit by a car in North Korea? Suicide?
I would bet that cars are uncommon enough that bikers and pedestrians often don’t remember to look out for them. There are probably plenty of incidents of cars hitting people that aren’t connected that is simply overlooked.