Blog 10- Iraqi Girl-Marriage Bill

Summary:

A new bill has been proposed in Iraq that would allow girls to be married at the age of 9 (or lower, with a parents' consent) and boys to be married by age 15. People believe that this is a ploy to get more of the conservative vote in Iraq, however women's advocate groups are standing up against this bill because of the way that it discriminates between girls and boys. It also states that a man may legally have sex with his wife without her consent (marital rape) and that women don't have to give consent before being married off to a husband. The current law, as stands now, in Iraq is seen as one of the most liberal laws in the region. It states that the age, for both boys and girls, when marriage is acceptable is 18 years old. It also prohibits divorce, restricts polygamy, and guarantees equal inheritance for both men and women. There was another attempt in 2003 to overturn this 1959 law, but was not passed by Paul Bremer in 2003 after human rights groups said that it would cause a revolution.

Analysis:

This article was very well written about a piece of legislation that is intended to marginalize and oppress a certain part of the population: young girls and women. This new bill that they are wanting to be passed will prohibit young girls, as young as 9 years old, to be married without their consent. The problem with this happening in Iraq is that a lot of people are set up in arranged marriages, so these young girls are basically being sold by their fathers to these 15 year old boys for the rest of their lives. The fact that this is happening to girls and not boys is also what makes this very discriminatory and unequal. Because it is women that are being "sold" and married off at such a young age, it brings back the issue of women being a man's "property" rather than his wife or his partner. The article does a good job of describing the way in which activist groups around the region have protested this bill, as it is unfair to young girls who don't have a decision in the matter. I like that the writer included previous attempts to pass other types of legislation that are similar to this one, and also included the fact that that legislation was not passed as their own way of saying that this bill should, also, not be passed.

http://womensenews.org/story/the-world/140416/iraqi-girl-marriage-bill-called-vote-getting-ploy#.U1BxTuZdVa0

Blog 9: Domestic Violence in China

Summary:

Kim Lee met her husband Li Yang in China in 1999 while he was lecturing about a program called "Crazy English." They soon moved to China and created the business, and soon had their first child. When the couple began thinking about buying a house, Lee was told that her name would not be put on the title of the house, but she didn't think anything of it because she didn't have a bank account as it was, and it didn't seem like that big of an issue. Soon, the abuse began. Lee reported that it began as a gentle shove, but soon turned into slapping and punching, even to the point where he bashed her head into the floor in front of their daughter. Lee also reported that her husband wouldn't discuss his real estate business with her, but only with his sisters and mother, and those were the names that were on the titles of all the homes. She felt that she had been trapped in her relationship, as so many women do, because of the dependence that these women have on their husbands to keep custody of their children and other things. The police wouldn't believe them, even if they had photos, because the husband's argument would always overpower the wife's. Because of some photos that Lee had posted online of her abuse, she was (finally) able to divorce her abusive husband in February of 2013. She is now a hope and hero for Chinese women.

Analysis:

This article was very interesting to read because of the emotions that you could feel because of who the author was. Because the author was someone who had been in an abusive relationship, versus a reporter looking into this situation, the audience gets to experience the issue first-hand. This article also gives a really good insight into the sexism and gender inequality that exists in the police force and judicial system in China (and in many other parts of the world.) Because she didn't have bruises on her at the time of her second doctor's appointment (yes, second, because the first one wasn't "approved") she had to rely on the pictures that were posted on the internet to even get approved to divorce him, because the jury listened to her husband's testament over her own. This has to do with the male-dominated society that China has (along with many other countries) and the fact that so many women are put in this position of feeling trapped by their husbands either by money, kids, or property. Lee does a great job of expressing her desperation in the situation to get her and her kids away from her husband, and that does a lot for the audience.


http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/the-system-is-designed-to-make-you-give-up-an-american-tackles-domestic-vio

Blog 8:In Iran, Keep your eye on jump in female literacy

Summary:

Ever since the end of the Pahlavi movement in Iran, (which was a movement that empowered Iranian women that allowed them to not have to wear the veils, and even allowed miniskirts on university campuses) Iranian women have been oppressed and have been given little to no freedoms. The veils have become mandatory again, and the government even instituted segregated gender schools. Despite all the efforts to oppress women, they have broken through the struggle and have found a way to get their voices heard. The separated schools ended up benefiting females because of the way that they were educated about empowerment and identity, along with an increase in knowledge about math, science, and literacy. This increase in knowledge caused the population at the end of the revolution (which was 35% female) to crease dramatically to 80% females by 2007. With their new found knowledge, these Iranian women took the passages out of the Quran that had previously been used to oppress them and make them feel inferior, and used them as empowering passages to make their voices of oppression be heard.

Analysis:

Women all over the world have been trying to overcome oppress for hundreds of years. Because Iran is commonly thought of as a country that oppresses it's women more so than most countries, this is a huge feat for the Iranian women. The author of this article was Nina Ansary, an Iranian women who lived in Iran during the Pahlavi movement. She was asked to leave Iran at the end of that movement, and has not returned. She wrote this article to get the point across that women of her country were fighting oppression with the same tactics that had always been used to oppress them. I like the way that she tied in the educational feats that women overcome, and actually ending up benefiting from. It's really important to know that women have used tactics intended to oppress them and turned them around to positive things that have helped them. Ansary did a great job of getting this point across in this article.


http://womensenews.org/story/education/140329/in-iran-keep-your-eye-jump-in-female-literacy#.Uz7j4hK9KK0

Blog 7: U.N. Pact Leads a Dutch Woman to Political Victory

Summary:

Leontine Bijleveld wrote an article on March 27, 2014 about the CEDAW, or Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women. This was a global women's rights treaty that was designed to give women an advantage when it came down to government versus religious beliefs and principles. Bijleveld gives an example of what happened in the Netherlands where there was the oldest political party in the country. Their orthodox christian party (GSP) had long believed that it was against God's will for a women to hold, or run for, a political position. Because of CEDAW Lilian Janse became the first women to represent the GSP. This was possible because of women's rights activists who fought against the unfair treatment, and used CEDAW to get what they wanted. Article 7 of the CEDAW states that "state parties must ensure that discrimination against women in the political and public life is eliminated." in 2003, 10 women's rights groups took a stand against the violation of Article 7, and the Supreme Court decided that a key to democracy was people being able to freely participate in the government and government roles. Janse is now to be sworn in as a political official, which is victorious for all those who fought and insisted that CEDAW be implemented.


Analysis:

This article did a good job of telling the importance of the CEDAW and the effects that it can (and has) had on women around the world who are wanting to run for political office, or hold political power. One thing that I wish the article had explained a little more was the process that the CEDAW went through to get passed, because I have a hard time believing that a lot of people were okay with it's passing being that it specifically was to overwrite religious principles that were already in place and already oppressing women. Maybe if I had known the background behind the document I would have been able to more clearly understand it's significance in this country. I did like, however, how Bijleveld gave a specific example about how this document has helped someone achieve their dream of holding a political office, and how we followed that same person until the very end of the article and even heard her "where she is now" bio. It was significant to hear that this document has actually helped a women do something that, under her religious principles, may not have ever been able to do. This is a good step for women's rights groups in getting this document passed because it means that they will no longer have to fall victim to the oppression of their religious beliefs anymore, and that political roles will now be open to more than just men, which could greatly impact the legislation that is passed from here on out.


http://womensenews.org/story/international-policyunited-nations/140326/un-pact-leads-dutch-woman-political-victory#.UzV2t61dVa0

Blog 6: Indian Women Channel Rape Outrage into Elections

Summary:

Written by Swapna Majumdar, this article addresses the issue of a man, Ah Nazeem, who is a member of the legislative assembly from Pondicherry. Nazeem made a comment that a gang rape of a 20-year-old woman could be attributed to prostitution. Because of this comment, women in the All India Democratic Women's Association joined together to get people out of high government positions who make malicious statements against rape victims. Their goal is to "expose candidates that do not respect women" and request that Dravida Munnetra not nominate Nazeem "because of his support to perpetrators of a gang rape." These women feel that they have been ignored in politics over the years and are standing up for the fact that they will no longer be taken for granted. Their long-term goal is to have more women serving in political roles in order to create a larger change in the government.

Analysis:

Egypt has been a notoriously oppressed country in terms of how their women are treated. This article does a good job of addressing one particular way that women feel that they are continuing to be oppressed. The issue of rape is not something that should be taken lightly, and the women in the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA, we will say) agree with this. They are arguing to get politicians out of office who do not take rape seriously, and who might let people who commit rape back into the streets. This is a form of oppression because the men are not the ones having to suffer through the rapes (most of the time, anyway) so they do not understand the repercussions that it can cause in someone's life. The women who are suffering are taking a stand against these politicians in an effort to try and (slowly) change the way the government thinks about things. Majumdar does a great job in this article of showing the anger that the women of this association have towards this particular politician, and she also does a nice job of showing their long terms goals. She explains the importance of having more women in government, which is their way of making a long-term change in the world of women as they know it.


http://womensenews.org/story/the-world/140319/indian-women-channel-rape-outrage-elections#.UywuWK1dVa0

Blog 5- Violence of women in Papua New Guinea

Summary:

A Kickstarter campaign as surfaced in an effort to raise awareness of the domestic violence that happens all over the world, but more specifically in Papua New Guinea. The article discusses Helen Alphons and her struggle with domestic violence, to the point of losing her leg when she was in a fight with her drunk husband one night. Their child witnessed this horrific act and later Helen and the child fled, only to return to her husband (Alai) had died in prison. The Kickstarter project, called "Crying Mari," is intended to bring awareness to the issue of severe domestic violence and the way that many women are affected by this all around the world. It also seeks to show the strength and endurance that many women have to be able to stand up against their violent relationships and stop the violence. Because of this awareness that photographer Vlad Sokhin has brought to the world, police forces in Papua were then able to make an immediate arrest at a domestic violence call. In 2013 the president of PNG (Peter O'Neill) made a public apology to the women of PNG and began the repeal of the Sorcery Act, which was finally repealed in June 2013. In interviews following the release of "Crying Mari," Sokhin wrote that he "wanted to help every woman that he met, but he was just a photographer."

Analysis:

This article does a really great job of letting people know the importance of getting awareness out about domestic violence, as well as giving publicity to this Kickstarter video that was produced by Sokhin. One thing that was really significant about this article was the personal story that was shared about Helen Alphons and her story about her leg being cut off by her husband in a drunken act of violence between the two of them. This was something that I'm glad the article included because it made the acts of violence more real to the people reading them. It brought to the light the fact that there is obvious gender inequality happening in PNG, along with many parts of the world, because of the high numbers of domestic violence. One might wonder how these two concepts are related: gender inequality and domestic violence. The issue is the fact that women are the majority of the people reporting acts of domestic violence, and are, therefore, the most affected by these horrible incidents. Because of the male-dominated society in which these events are occurring, women are the ones being harmed.


http://womennewsnetwork.net/2014/03/04/kickstarter-women-survival-papua/

Blog 4: Outcry Grows over Abuse of Jailed Egyptian Women

Summary:

Women in Egypt that are protesting the unequal treatment of humans have begun to be arrested for their protests, and when they are detained in prisons they are sexually harassed, tortured, and beaten. Often times these women are innocent victims caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. One woman was 8 months pregnant when she was randomly arrested on her way to the hospital and had to give birth while handcuffed to the bed. These acts have been going on since November when interim President Adly Mansour gave the Interior Ministry powers over protests that occurred in Egypt, causing protestors to be arrested and the possibility of facing 5 years in prison or fines of over $14,000. Women are protesting many events that are detrimental to the human rights, but one particular event that Dr. Mervet Galeela (a radiologist who was beaten for wearing a small Rabia symbol on her clothing) was that on August 14, 2013 where “thousands of men, women, children, and infants and older people were killed in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square during a pro-Morsi protest.” These women are being arrested and tortured simply because they are exercising their rights to protest what, they believe to be, is wrong. Of the approximately 150 women who have been detained, 30 of them have been subjected to pregnancy tests and five were subjected to virginity tests before they were sexually harassed and tortured. Often times these women were impregnated through the rapes that occurred while detained. People believe there is a double standard between the way the women are publicized versus the way the men are; most of the media groups do not want to cover the stories of the women because they are seen as “liberal and are being repressed.”  

 Analysis:

This article speaks a lot about the way that women are treated, not just in our society, but all around the world. These women were merely protesting events that they didn’t feel were good for the betterment of their society, so they took a stand. Unfortunately a lot of the time when people try to assemble against something that the government has enacted, there is a backlash of arrests from the government. For this particular instance, the fact that the women were arrested is not the issue. There are countless reports of women (innocent or not) being arrested and put into jail, but the issue lies within the treatment of the people during incarceration. These women were degraded, exploited, and violated to the highest level during their time being detained, and it all stems back to the male-dominance that exists in this Egyptian society. I thought it was interesting how the article mentioned that these protests were not violent ones. The women were simply using peaceful tactics in order to defend their beliefs, but because the people in authority were male, it didn’t matter what the women were doing because the men didn’t like it and they were going to end it. The torture and abuse that occurred in the jails was merely another way of oppressing the women in their society but making their stay in the jails absolutely unbearable so that they wouldn’t think about speaking out again. The oppression of women in very fundamental countries, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, is very evident even in today’s world, and I think this article does a great job of highlighting on the fact that there are things going on, even today, throughout the world that are similar to events that people are appalled to hear about from our history.

http://womensenews.org/story/incarceration/140225/outcry-grows-over-abuse-jailed-egyptian-women#.UxC3TTW9KK1

Blog 3- Women's rights activists stage flash mobs across Germany

Summary:
Written by Carl Nasman on February 17th, 2014, this article discusses a series of protests that were held all over the world focused on the issue of women's rights and gender violence. It discusses India and the fact that there was another brutal rape, along with the new legislation that will make it harder to punish violence offenders in Afghanistan. There was also a proposed law in Madrid that would limit access to abortion that many women protested. The article was written about a specific protest that spread to Germany entitled "One Billion Rising" which discusses the fact that one in three women will be beaten or raped during their lifetime. To raise awareness of this program, hundreds of women staged a flash mob where they turned Rudolfplatz Square into a dance floor. There were also speakers from Egypt, India, and Afghanistan, and those who made it known that violence is happening around the world against women that needs to be stopped. Germany, even though they are at the top of the world in terms of gender inequality, there is still a large gap in the corporate world, with women holding only 4% of boardroom positions. Germany also has high numbers of sexual assault cases it being the 5th highest rate in the world. The protestors hope that the protest will raise awareness of the issues at hand and make it known that sexual violence is not acceptable.

Analysis:
These particular women's rights activists were protesting the issue of sexual violence in Germany in this particular article but sexual violence is an issue around the whole world. I enjoyed this article and I believe that this was a cause that was worth fighting for. I do think that the article could have been a little more detail as to the corporate gap between men and women because I think that is an issue that is very prominent and that will correlate with the sexual and physical violence that exists in society. When there is a societal understanding that men are superior to women, the men tend to believe that they are superior in all things and that women are on earth for the support of men. This leads to bigger issues, such as sexual and physical violence within the home, and in public places. The protestors in this story stood up against this issue, and most of them were women. It even says that "a few men" showed up to protest, but the majority of the people that were standing up against this issue. The writer emphasizes this because, in the male-dominated society that is obviously in question here, the men are probably not feminists and do not believe that there is a problem with the abuse that is happening- they may not even be calling it "abuse." Nasman also states, more than once, that "abuse happens in Germany too." I thought this was interesting because obviously there is abuse all over the world, and I wondered why he kept saying "in Germany as well," as if people assume that nothing bad happens in Germany. Yes, they may have more gender equality than other countries in the world, but there is always going to be male dominance in cultures where men and women are not treated equally in the workplace or in society in general. The purpose of doing this flash mob was to raise awareness of this issue, and doing something in the public eye like that is very important in trying to get the point across to a lot of people in a very short amount of time.

http://www.dw.de/womens-rights-activists-stage-flash-mobs-across-germany/a-17436887

Blog 1- Genital Mutation of Women

I read an article published on February 6th, 2014 by Baba Ahmed entitled, "Mali Communities Denounce Female Genital Cutting," that discussed the revolt that some women in Mali are having against the genital mutilation of their daughters. Genital mutilation involves the removal or abuse of the female genitalia in an effort to decrease sexual pleasure, and sometimes obliterate it all together. There are several reason for this, some involving religious affiliations, and others hoping that the loss of sexual desire that these young women will have will result in a long abstinence period. Dicko Ongoiba, a 40-year-old women with eight daughters, didn't realize the harm that could come with genital mutilation, so she spared her youngest two daughters the pain and has participated in several revolts along with many other women who are hoping to stop this terrible practice. In participating in these revolts, many women face rejection from their traditional society to stand up for what they believe to be right.

Analysis:
The topic of genetic mutilation may be a foreign concept in the United States, but this is something that women in Africa, Indonesia, Egypt, and Mali experience since a very early age. 98% of female children are stripped of their sexual right in the early months of life. This is seen as a global problem because it is a problem that affects a lot of people around the world, even if it isn't very common in the United States. This practice is driven by people's religious beliefs, and therefore is a social problem. How does it relate to gender inequality? Well, you don't see the men in these cultures losing their sexual freedom, do you? This is purely a form of female oppression to make sex less desirable for women so that they will remain faithful to their husbands and be used exactly what their culture thinks they are made for: reproduction. The fact of the matter is, women deserve to have sexual pleasure just as much as men do. Why does this culture feel the need to take away the basic sexual right of these women? Because of the male-dominated world that we live in, women are not seen as deserving of the same rights as men, especially in more reserved countries where the customs are most strict.

Link:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mali-communities-denounce-female-genital-cutting-22397491

Also- I watched this video related to this topic as well and it gave me some of the background information that was not included in the text.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2014/02/06/pkg-mohsin-indonesia-fgm.cnn&hpt=wo_c2&video_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2FWORLD%2F

Topic: Gender Inequality

I am interested in looking into issues of gender inequality throughout the world for the remainder of the semester. This interests me because I see an obvious difference in the way women and men are treated in our society, and I'm curious as to how it is in other countries.