Blog 13: Hope for Repeal of Moroccan Law - Article 475

Earlier in the semester, I followed Amina Filali's suicide case. Amina was a sixteen year old female that was court mandated by a judge to marry the man that raped her. Because of Article 475 in the Moroccan penal code, her rapist was free of jail time and acquired her as a wife. The reason that this has been legal is because of this law that allows men to marry minors that they have "kidnapped" or raped just to escape jail time of up to ten years and payments to the government. During their short-lived marriage, he verbally and physically harmed Amina. Amina was so unhappy that she decided to drink rat poison in hopes of escaping her abusive husband. For many women living in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region, this is a daily issue.
The main reason that this is such a huge issue is because of the Moroccan culture, highly influenced by Islam, Judaism, and is very patriarchal. A month before Amina's death, another 18 year old female tried to commit suicide by jumping off of a balcony, in hopes to escape a marriage to a man that she had never met. She lived, and she may not be very happy about that.
Women's rights advocates, feminists, and the international community has been outraged due to these instances. They have been protesting in order to not only reform law, but completely repeal the law of Article 475.
This has become a huge social problem because of families losing their daughters and sisters to forced marriages of minors in these certain situations. This Article 475 allows judges to make an exception to the rule, allowing rapists and kidnappers to marry their victims if the judge feels that it is the best decision. Most judges do feel that these are the best decisions because of family honor and status that can be damaged if the victim does not marry their rapist/kidnapper.
Not much has changed since the last time I posted about her, other than the only woman that holds a government seat in Morocco commented on the issue. She stated that "a rapists place is in jail" but has not stated wanting a repeal of Article 475.



http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2012/04/20/hope-for-repeal-of-moroccan-rape-victim-marriage-law

Blog 10: Saudi Women Urgently Need Equal Rights

In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive a vehicle, women cannot travel without a male guardian, and men are allowed to beat their wives simply for being a woman, these are a few examples based on the Qur'an stated by Alnowaiser. In a recent article on arabnews.com, Dr Kahlid Alnowaiser addresses a serious topic in Saudi Arabia, Saudi women are desperate for a speedy equal rights movement. Alnowaiser's has sufficient reasoning for this statement. One reason being that women are essential in influencing and affecting our lives, whether it be through a mother, daughter, wife, sister, or friend. Women also make up more than half of Saudi Arabia's population, and Alnowaiser believes that no real social development can be accomplished without women. He also addresses the fact that Islam causes others to send a repressive attitude towards women by denying their basic civil rights. Alnowaiser's reasoning as to why the large population count of women doesn't show in Saudi Arabia is because of men that hold positions of power in religion and government. He states that because of these men being placed in certain groups, they have a plan to dominate society and control all aspects of a woman's life, so she has no way to achieve the position that they hold. Making a connection with the reasoning of women being a high influence in everyone's lives, Alnowaiser believes that the male method of control "makes no sense" because of the influence and responsibility that women have to teach and influence generations with certain values and beliefs.
Alnowaiser also believes that the religious authorities restrict women's lives through a "management by fear" style, preaching that anyone that disobeys Allah, the Prophet, or any religious authority, becomes a sinner and will be punished for the rest of their life and on the "Day of Judgement." Alnowaiser states some of the restrictions that are not respective of personal freedoms for Islam women.  He makes a few suggestions, specifically gearing them towards men and stating "Saudi men must step in and embrace these reforms to guarantee our country a bright and prosperous future where all citizens are valued and treated equally."
In this article, Alnowaiser approaches the topic with a very logical viewpoint and has great reasoning as to why things are the way they are for Saudi women. The main point I want to address is using religion as a form of social control. Alnowaiser, as well as myself, can agree that the views of Islam and the way they are portrayed by male leaders control all Saudi women in every day life. The Qur'an states that personal freedoms must always be respected if everyone is permitted to make his or her own decisions. The faulty area that arises is the fact that women are not allowed to make their own decisions in Saudi Arabia, leading to social control of all Saudi women. Men in power are constantly using Islam as a form of gender control and gender inequality within Saudi Arabia, while few other Islamic nations do otherwise and let their women have civil rights. Knowing that women must basically have a guardian over them never lets them have their own personal freedom with no interference. I highly agree with the fact that Saudi men need to take a stand with their fellow Saudi women to guarantee their country a higher GDP and a prosperous future. Making a connection with our class studies, if Saudi women had the same civil rights and freedoms that men did in their country, they would have a much higher GDP and human capital. Sociologically, it would be in the best interest of Saudi Arabia's men to take into consideration what their women can do for their country, as well as recognizing that at this current time within their culture, they are the ones that must progress with change.



Source: http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article589965.ece

Blog 9: Protesters in Morocco Demand Reform of Rape Laws

Women in Morocco are currently protesting to demand the reform of rape laws, especially due to a recent teen's suicide after a judge mandated she marry her alleged rapist. A 16 year old Moroccan girl, Amina Filali, made the decision to drink rat poison after her husband of five months beat her. Her husband was the man that raped her. Due to Article 475 of the Moroccan law that states that a kidnapper, attacker, or rapist of a minor cannot be prosecuted if he marries his victim, Amina was forced to marry her rapist by the say of a judge. In Morocco, as well as many other conservative Islamic countries, society and culture dictate the shame of a rape victim encompasses and greatly effects the status and class of a family. For unmarried virgins, dishonor could be one of the most serious offenses for Moroccan women. If the rape victim marries the rapist, it lessens the problems within the family, primarily associated with culture. Through this Moroccan law, rape becomes legitimized, as well as the marriage of minors.
This specific situation shows a large aspect of gender inequality in Northern Africa and mainly Islamic states. Gender inequality is known to be greatest in these areas, but it is truly amazing to see women stand up for themselves in the way that these Moroccans have. This protest strikes me to show even more importance because of the men that joined up with the women to protest by their sides in front of parliament. A government communications minister has also sided with the women protesting. This inequality mainly stems from cultural beliefs and social views. Due to the dishonor of the Filali family because of the rape, the rest of the family (not including the father, whom wanted the man imprisoned for raping his daughter) agreed to have the marriage with the rapist. These cultural beliefs have caused this inequality, but are slowly being reformed and things today are much better than how they were in the past, but many Islamic countries lack a sense of equality for women.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/17/world/africa/morocco-child-rape/index.html?iref=obinsite
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/amina-al-filali-morocco-rape-suicide-law

Blog 7: High Income Inequality in Manufacturing Between Germany and The United States

In Germany, the manufacturing sector has done particularly well in economics. Some are saying that the American manufacturing sector could take some advice from Germany; while their strategies may be able to take steps towards solve the largest income inequality since the Great Depression. In Germany, manufacturing makes up almost 25% of their Gross Domestic Product, while the U.S. is at roughly 12% (which is less than half its percentage in the 1950s.) In America, trade policies undermine the working class due to outsourcing, tax policies have moved the wealth from the majority to the minority, and labor policies have failed to increase the minimum wage (which is now worth less than it was in 1968 if adjusted for inflation.) At least half of Americans are low-income or experiencing poverty with an income of less than $22,500 for a family of four and another 100 million Americans live in the low-income bracket with an income of less than $45,000 for a family of four. Germany evidently managed to keep their skilled workers during their economic slump in 2009 due to reducing hours and sponsoring short-time work instead of laying people off. Rather than competing with global markets and cheap products, the Germans specialized in high-quality products and kept their share in the growing global market, while other countries like the U.S. and Japan lost shares to China. An example of this would be a recent Mercedes ad stating "We are inventing the car. Since 1886." These communicates the fact that German manufacturers have a strategy of making existing products better and better over time. Germany's strategy works because of skilled and motivated employees, and managers and advocate constant improvement of their products. The article states that German's manufacturing employees have strong representation and is successful due to involving the knowledge of workers and representatives.
This article states a lot of information about the manufacturing sector of Germany and how they've managed to keep a strong market, even in the time of globalization and outsourcing. This article has many strong points, especially pointing out some of the best ideas that Germany has for their manufacturing sector, but there should be more to it. The author, Michael Shank, believes that politicians in Washington should take a look at the German manufacturing sector due to our increasing global competition. He mentions the income inequalities of our people in America, but he doesn't really mention the wages and inequalities in Germany. This article was helpful, but could have included much more information on Germany's economic status, especially within manufacturing jobs for families to show a comparison of them and the United States. Shank mentions both US and Germany's percentage for the GDP that the manufacturing sector contributes, which is fair, but he doesn't show what their minimum wage is in comparison to theirs, as well as many other statistics. Otherwise, I do personally think that the US and politicians that represent the US should take a look at the way successful countries are running their sectors. Germany seems to be doing well within manufacturing, but its hard to tell with the lack of information in the article.


Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-shank/what-americas-manufacturi_b_1299260.html

Blog 6: Being a Lesbian Activist in Uganda

In Uganda, a very Christian, West African country, homosexuality is illegal (technically a sexual act with someone of the same gender.) Lawmakers of Ugandan government are debating a bill that would impose severe punishments and even lengthier sentences for homosexuals. Just last year, a bill was turned down that proposed the death penalty of Ugandan homosexuals, if convicted. There are many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activists and human rights organizations that are trying to stop this bill from being passed in Uganda, who are not protected and very prone to death threats, violence and sometimes murder. Last year, an activist was murdered due to a Ugandan newspaper publishing his name under a headline stating "Hang them!" The current sentences for homosexuals in Uganda are misdemeanors and the individual can spend anywhere from 30 days to a year in prison, including being tortured by police or prison officials. This is not all though, many lesbian women in Uganda are subject to rape by their fellow clansmen or others to try and make them "proper" women. Sometimes these crimes are taken too far, LGBTI peoples have been raped, tortured and beaten, and killed due to their sexuality alone.
 The LA Times spoke to Jay Abang, a 28 year old LGBTI activist that is a program manager for Freedom and Roam Uganda, a human rights organization trying to fight the law. Abang states that the Ugandan community has become more hostile and are willing to enforce the law, if passed. She also states that a main reason for this issue is because of the community being ignorant, uneducated, and misinformed. Many Ugandans believe that homosexuality is all about sex, rather than thinking of the people as human beings wanting to be in a relationship with another human being. Many meetings hosted by human rights organizations, specifically pro-LGBTI organizations, are being disbanded by government officials and making accusations of the organizations. These accusations include telling people how to recruit people to be gay and having homosexual intercourse in the room of the meeting. Coming out as a homosexual in Uganda can set the stage for being disowned by your family, even your clan or village. Many LGBTI people end up running away from home due to safety issues.
This is a huge problem that needs a lot of work. The hatred located in Uganda has stemmed from the fundamentalist Church, which is a large part of Uganda as a country. One way to take care of the problem is to go back into the church and advocate, educate, and create awareness about the truth of homosexuality. Because of Uganda being a very Christian nation, it is very hard to go within the church to host awareness of homosexuality due to the violence. Many LGBTI Ugandans are looking for international help and awareness. There are many petitions going around via internet to make other countries around the world aware of the problem, which has started to receive a lot of attention. Many countries have stood up and spoke out, saying that the bill is not right. Uganda may listen, especially because they are very dependent on aid for their country. Hopefully this bill will not pass and L

Blog 5: Gender Inequality within the Olympics

On Thursday, February 17, 2012, the chairman of the London 2012 Olympics, Sebastian Coe, asserted the fact of gender inequalities within the Olympics. These inequalities were focused on certain countries, those being Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the small southeast Asian nation of Brunei. These countries were especially criticized by the Human Rights Watch. The Olympic charter has a pledge to equality, which many are saying is broken specifically by Saudi Arabia. In these three countries mentioned, women and girls who want to play sports are not allowed to train, nor participate in any part of the Olympics and have never been able to. The nation of Qatar has mentioned their intention of sending women to the London 2012 summer Olympics this year, but it has not been confirmed.
The Human Rights Watch has reported a case of systematic discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia, specifically in sports and other activities. Gender discrimination is very prominent in Saudi Arabia, including women being banned from driving and requiring permission of a male relative to be able to work and travel. Brunei and Qatar have recently supported the right of women to participate in athletic competitions but have still never sent a female athlete to the Olympic games. Sebastian Coe stated "I think you can use sport in a way to encourage social change at a sensible rate. The world is diverse, it's very complex, there are sometimes barriers that are not going to be broken down overnight," also mentioning that the International Olympic Committee will be confronting the core Olympic value of equality.
I think that this social problem of inequality can be solved, like Coe stated, but that it will take some time and will not happen overnight. To know that only these three places around the world are the main problem causing gender inequality within the Olympic games shows us how far that we've come in history of gender inequalities. These three areas, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Brunei, are all very conservative places, having very strict views on what women should be able to participate in. Qatar and Brunei have shows their acceptance of women being able to participate in the Olympic games, which is a good start, but considering neither have ever sent a women to the games shows that soon enough they will have to stand up to their word on gender equality. Saudi Arabia, being the main issue, is a very tough country to challenge considering their nation's problem with gender inequality. We can hope that these countries will soon learn to accept women's rights and let them participate in whatever they please, especially the Olympic games. I hope to see women from these areas participating in London's 2012 games. At least we are seeing some type of forward movement with gender equality in sports, but we've still got some work to do.


Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/nationworld/wire/sns-rt-us-olympics-chairman-womentre81g0dd-20120216,0,4349993.story

Blog 4: Fighting for Gender Equality in Iraq

In the article Fighting for Gender Equality in Iraq by Rebecca Burns is written in an interview style format. Burns interviews Yanar Mohammed, who is the president of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI). OWFI is helping Iraqis express their feelings toward social issues of gender inequality and other problems facing Iraqi peoples, especially Iraqi women. The OFWI experienced an attack involving sexual assaults in June of 2011 during a demonstration, and threats are made to the organization frequently. Mohammed's main goal is to defend Iraqi women from domestic abuse and sex trafficking, and to promote women's voices and demands in the struggle for a true democracy in the government of Iraq. Burns interviewed Mohammed about the changes of gender equality in Iraq due to the United States government invading their territory to try to create a democracy for their government, and failing on a high level. The U.S. troops have recently withdrawn from the country, leaving them with a military-style social life due to almost one million Iraqis being recruited into the military or security agencies. Mohammed claims that women's status in Iraq has gotten worse (after U.S. troops withdrew) instead of improving. OFWI has a main shelter located in Baghdad now, housing peoples under threat or escaping some type of abuse. Mohammed considers herself a feminist but wants to encourage equality, stating: "Inequalities cannot thrive in the third millennium, and that's why everybody's on the streets. Feminists, especially in the Arab world, have had a big say in these public squares of political struggle, because women are the face of a political change."

I am really interested in this gender struggle that is going on in Iraq. I wasn't very aware that Iraq's government is almost more corrupt now than it was before the U.S. military invaded the country. Mohammed spoke of a heavily militarized society after the U.S. military withdrew from Iraq. Because of our military recruiting almost one million Iraqis into the army or a security agency, the people living Iraq might as well be living in a military camp. It is a terrible thing that our government's military has invaded this country trying to make things "better" and in the end making things way worse (especially socially) than they were before. On the bright side, because of this organization OFWI, these Iraqi women are attracting more eyes to the social problem of gender inequality in the country of Iraq and in the Middle East. Many women are attacked by men, especially female protesters, because men want them to feel ashamed and for them to hide their faces from the public. Sometimes these women are even forced victims of "honor killings" because they may have been raped or harassed. I think that OFWI is a great start to combat gender inequalities, especially in the Middle East. My suggestion would be that OFWI have more recognition around the globe, then growing as an organization, receiving donations, and all other benefits of being an international organization. Mohammed is interested in what feminists from the United States have to say, and I think that now is a great time to put in some thought and possibly provide progression for women living in Iraq.


Source: http://inthesetimes.com/article/12583/fighting_for_gender_equality_in_iraq/

Blog 2: "An Economy Built to Last"

This past week, Obama addressed the nation with the State of the Union address. The theme of his speech, “An America Built to Last”, explained to all American’s what Obama’s plan was to better our country as a whole. A major part of Obama’s speech was his plan to better the American economy. The way that Obama wants to execute this plan includes bettering the American business, yet being involved with trade agreements in countries around the world and also in-sourcing jobs back to the American economy so that we can sell our products on a global scale. Some of the proposals that Obama has to support American business would be to lower tax rates for companies that do business within the United States, require companies to pay a minimum tax on overseas profits, double the tax deductions for high-tech manufacturers who make production in the United States, and provide financing help for companies who relocate to communities that lost factories during the economic recession.

From a sociological perspective, the inequality of incomes in America (the 99% vs. the 1%) is a huge social and national problem. Rather than global, but by being a national problem, we can find ways to solve it by being involved with the rest of the world. Obama has signed three trade agreements (as stated in the state of the union address.) These trade agreements are with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. The agreement with South Korea is estimated to support 70,000 American jobs, and the agreement with Colombia is suggested to increase the United States gross domestic product by $2.5 billion. A third agreement with Panama guarantees access to Panama’s $20.6 billion services market.

Obama has also proposed the “Buffett Rule” which states that if an individual makes over 1 million dollars per year, they must pay at least thirty percent in taxes. Currently, a quarter of millionaires pay a lower tax rate than millions of middle class families. This rule also states that if an individual has a salary of less than $250,000, their taxes should not go up. This could greatly solve the inequality struggle within the United States.

There are many other proposals that Obama mentioned in his state of the union address, but unfortunately I’d be writing for days if I wanted to break down every part of that. The main focus here is that our President wants not to eliminate the global market, but make the United States a bigger part of that market by in-sourcing American jobs to therefore create more products and goods to sell to other countries around the world. From a sociological perspective, these proposals are logical, but there must be cooperation from many different components of the government, American people, corporations, big businesses, small businesses, and many other components. As the president stated at the end of his speech, we must all work together, just like the Navy Seals that worked together to accomplish the capture of Osama Bin Laden.

source: http://www.barackobama.com/state-of-the-union?source=DNC_HDL

Blog 1: Income Inequalities - A Threat to Economies Worldwide

The 2012 Global Risks report was released on Wednesday, with information that leaves us uncertain of our economic future. The Global Risks report is a 60-page analysis of risks that the World Economic Forum discuss during an annual meeting that lasts two weeks long. The people that attend these meetings are politicians, central bankers, and business leaders. In the article I've read, Global Risks Report 2012 Find Income Inequality To Be A Threat To Economies Worldwide, there is a huge rise in youth unemployment, retirement of peoples with debt, high levels of government debt, and the conflict of inequalities. As we've seen in the United States with the "Occupy" movement and protests occurring in the Arab world known as Arab Spring or the Arab Awakening, as well as other places in the world, people are getting upset by these inequalities of upper class people being part of the 1%, while the rest of us (99%) are getting paid nowhere near what these corporate executives are making. along with many other things that could use some fixing. "For the first time in generations, people no longer believe their children will grow up to have a better standard of living." This quote from the article really shows how realistic this global social problem really is. Children at young ages are realizing that they aren't headed to a stable future, realizing they must attend college, if not, graduate school to make a good earning in this country, as well as other countries all over the world. And sometimes that's not even a possible choice for a person.

One of the problems with this "Global Risk report" is that the people that are discussing it are the people that are actually part of the 1%, central bankers and business leaders, along with the politicians. I am hoping that in the years soon to come these people will take into recognition the effects of the Occupy Movement and other movements such as Arab Spring and do something to try and help this economic stress that we're under, as a world. "The Arab Spring demonstrated the power of interconnected communications services to drive personal freedom, yet the same technology facilitated riots in London" said by Steve Wilson, who is the chief risk officer for general insurance at Zurich Financial Services. This shows these corporate monsters how fast word gets around due to social networking and how more people are getting involved with social movements. I hope that these social movements turn into revolutions and continue to impact decisions as a globe.