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Reading Reflection
Gurmandeep Singh Bhullar
Stolen Sisters - GNED 101
Nicolette Kadiri
Wednesday, July 22, 2015

In the report Stolen Sisters (2004) by Wendee Kubik, Carrie Bourassa and Mary
Hampton talk about how aboriginal women are marginalized by the society and media.
The reading points out multiple points that lead to how aboriginal women are treated now
a days. The author builds up from the colonial times when roles of aboriginal women
were changed and they were put in male dominated societies (Pg. 2, para 4), which led to
economic inequality. Author then puts up more points about how the policies of colonial
era have affected the aboriginal women today by showing the facts about spousal
violence (para 5) and also makes a good reference to the study conducted by the
Womens Health Centre of Excellence (Pg. 2, para 6) which shows that aboriginal women
have lower life expectancy than the non-aboriginal women. Author also makes a good
point by mentioning how negative stereotypes by media have led to sexual victimization
of aboriginal women and how these badly these crimes are dealt with. The report also
explains very well how being aboriginal women can lead them have a forced intercourse
(Para 8). In the report author further explains how the violence continues against
aboriginal women as they experience more violent deaths.
Author also gives the examples of the crimes committed against women among which
most women were aboriginals, although many of the crimes against aboriginal women go
unsolved but how some of these crimes being high profile helped put the focus on
violence against aboriginal women. So on the author does well by providing a lot of facts
to support his point, on how the policies made during the colonial times have affected the
aboriginal women and how they are portrayed by the media and society.

It is surprising how the stereotype has developed and how the aboriginal women are
portrayed by media nowadays and how a number of cases of crimes against aboriginal
women are still being discarded and how society can be indifferent toward one whole
group while preaching equality on the other hand. I myself knew that on the whole crimes
against women many times go unreported and women face more violence and inequality
in the society but did not know that a certain group of women is more vulnerable. It is
fascinating how media can lead to a certain mindset in the society about a certain group
and can lead to their cultural demise. Form this reading it is clear that you should not
judge people from far but you should meet them in person as aboriginal women as
portrayal of aboriginal women by media and society is clearly different from what they
really are.
The reading clearly explains how the policies made during the colonial period to destroy
the aboriginal women and aboriginal culture have affected the status of aboriginal
women. Also how aboriginal women were shifted from being leaders to the victims. The
reading also refers to how aboriginal women were stripped of their status and were made
to lead a poor life in which they mostly became victims of abuse and sex, also how law
enforcement doesnt take the crimes against aboriginal women seriuosly and many times
ignore them altogether as explained in report stolen sisters (pg. 6) because of which
many aboriginal women are further abused. The author has done well by addressing
almost all the issues by which aboriginal women have suffered.