Objectivism: A to Z

“My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.”
– Ayn Rand, author, Atlas Shrugged

“I couldn’t stand it anymore… I was 19 when I killed my stepfather who was constantly beating me and my mother.”
– Zhanna, 20 years old, serving her sentence at a women's prison in Zhalgashty, Kazakhstan

Like Zhanna, many women in the Zhalgashty prison are there for killing men – husbands, stepfathers, brothers – who abused them physically and mentally.

“Domestic violence remains a serious problem, against which the government has failed to take effective measures. Those who commit physical abuse rarely face criminal prosecution. The revitalization of old cultural traditions that call for women’s submissiveness to their husbands and the lack of legal tools have resulted in many local officials refusing to take violence against women seriously, often blaming the victims and blocking women’s attempts to escape brutality and violence in the household.
With little or no legal protection, women who are victims of domestic violence suffer doubly: at the hands of husbands who abuse them, and at the hands of society. As a result, many women become desperate and take matters into their own hands. And those who do usually end up in prisons.”
– Zuzanna Jezerska, Regional Project Manager, UNIFEM Public Awareness Campaign for Women’s Right to a Life Free of Violence