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 13: 1980s Mountain Man Abductor Seeks Parole

A notorious "mountain man," who abducted a world-class athlete in 1984 to keep as a wife for his son, once wrote that blame for the "incident" lies with her and a would-be rescuer whom he shot and killed. Don Nichols undoubtedly will need to be more contrite later this month in front of the historically stern Montana Parole Board. Nichols gained international notoriety for the bizarre crime and prolonged manhunt in the wilderness northwest of Yellowstone National Park that ended when a sheriff stormed his camp. He is now a frail, 81-year-old convict with a weak chin whose 150 pounds stretch over a six-foot frame. Nichols and his son, Dan Nichols, were known to spend long stretches in the mountains living off the land. Prior to the abduction, they had lived for a year poaching game and growing hidden gardens at various camps they set up — earning them both a "mountain man" moniker they embraced. The elder Nichols comes up for parole April 27. He has a good track record in prison, where he has worked on the yard crew, and over the years has reportedly become a bit more apologetic for taking Kari Swenson.  Nichols' new parole hearing comes five years after another request for parole was met with close to 200 letters in opposition from people who strongly remembered the kidnapping and five-month long manhunt that remains one of the state's most notorious crimes. Nichols is serving an 85-year sentence for kidnapping Swenson, then a 22-year-old world-class biathlete. He also was convicted of killing Swenson's would-be rescuer, Alan Goldstein.  I believe that it is important that this man not be released for parole.  He obviously is not sorry for what he did, so he does not deserve a second chance.  People like Nichols are sick.  They don’t have the necessary tools to be able to function properly in society.  

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/15/180s-mountain-man-abductor-seeks-parole/

Blog 13: The Woods of England Nov. 25 Lauren Epperson

A conservation group in England thinks that there needs to be more focus on the quality and woodland management of woods instead of the number of trees. Many of the forest in England have become overrun with trees. This has caused many of other small bushes and shrubs not to grow as well because all the trees cover the sunlight. Andy Byfield works for the conservation group believes that the government needs to have a target of the number of trees they plant and think about managing the woodlands. The trend in English management of woodlands started around World War I when the trees were being used for resources. They also used traditional techniques in the forest to harvest materials Since the 1950’s the woodlands have changed from mainly low growing shrubs to 97% of high growing trees. This has really changed the landscape of the forest. Byfield thinks that there needs to be “intelligent planting” for the forest and the future. The Woodland Trust Policy director have made a point to help the woodlands by expanding existing woods and plant more low lying plants to provide more benefits.

The growth in society has demanded more of the environmental resources that are available to use. In World War I the English relied heavily on the wood to provide them with the necessary resources to run the factories to produce goods. This required many of the forest to be stripped. So many trees were used by the 1950’s environmental groups were urging people to plant lots of trees to replenish the resources. This has created a new problem because now we do not use as many trees to run everyday society, we have other resources. Now there are too many trees any some changes in thinking are going to have to be made. The English government is looking for new sustainable development through intelligent planting. The Woodland Trust Policy director wants to expand woodlands and changes some of the landscapes of the forest. This is going to impact society because they might be policy changes in regards to the environment and wood protection. This might put restrictions on what industries or how much people can use. If changes were made to the woods landscape then that would change what resources the woods provide for society.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15870782