Historically, many cultures are designed to protect men over women. Men are typically held in a superior context. The film Bliss explores this idea. Meryam's village, with lack of knowledge, automatically assumed that she put herself in a position to commit a sexual act. Immediately, the entire family loses honor and virtue. In order for her family to regain their honor and virtue, they are to kill Meryam. In an era where women are fighting for equality not only for the US but for countries around the world, where issues such as these are being combatted, it is easy to understand why I, as a woman, feel strongly about this issue.
I personally grew up in a latin household where there are many expectations for women. Visiting Guatemala, I would watch my boy cousins playing outside while I was expected to help out with cooking and setting up tables. Growing up, I knew that this was wrong. My father would come home, and I was basically trained to give him a glass of water, and even if he were home all day, I was expected to get up and help. Once I was able to understand this was an issue, I immediately began speaking up for myself and speaking up for women in my culture. Things eventually took a turn with time. I began having conversations with my parents, which may have made them uncomfortable, but I would ask them whether they wanted my life to be revolved around serving men. I would tell them respectfully that I understood where their stigmas stemmed from, especially since they grew up in households where this was normalized. With time came a change. Eight years ago, you would never be able to see my father pick up his plates or serve himself. Now, he washes dishes and helps out with cleaning as much as he can. I think speaking up was really good for not only myself but also my parents because they have grown as individuals. When my grandma comes to visit, and she sees my dad serving himself, she almost has heart attacks because of how triggering it is. There are a lot of struggles that occur when trying to convince someone that what they grew up with can be inherently harmful.
Although my experience is not as similar to Meryem's and Cemals, it relates to the fact that women are perceived as inferior. Finding out that Meryem was raped changed Cemal's mindset of her where he originally perceived her as "tainted." The film shows the breakthrough with Cemal's perception of women. It may not have been drastic, but it changed.

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