Interview: Jane Austen on Human Trafficking

by Amanda Kloer · 2009-05-11 07:00:00 UTC
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Each week, I will be bringing you a new interview with a formerly-active activist or abolitionist, that is, someone now deceased.  I'll be talking to the men and women who paved the way for the abolitionists of today and getting their thoughts on the problems and solutions of modern-day slavery.  How do I contact not just the dead, but the famous and dead?  Every good blogger must have her secrets!

This week... Jane Austen

How's the afterlife treating you?

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of a reasonable fortune and illustrious career, must be in want of an afterlife.

Ummm... ok..... well, for those non-biography readers out there, how about you tell me a little about yourself.

I was a 19th century novelist who used my works of fiction to highlight social issues of the day affecting women.  Specifically, I pointed out that they were entirely dependent on marriage for economic security.  I swam against the river of the times in 19th century England by refusing to marry and by earning a living through work- a rarity for women.

What do you think is the biggest problem in the modern-day abolitionist movement?

I think we must first understand how the institution of marriage can be oppressive to women, as evidenced by the large number of women trafficked by husbands or lovers.  Issues such as marital rape and domestic violence are closely related with human trafficking.

If you were alive, what would you do to fight slavery?

I would work to create a society with equal pay and economic opportunities for women and men, so that marriage can be based entirely on love and not the need for more prosperity for a family.  I would also build programs that encouraged women to support themselves in nontraditional careers, like construction.

Any last thoughts for our readers?

For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic
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