Blog #13: Brewer signs bill banning most abortions after 20 weeks

The Arizona legislature has passed measures banning abortions after twenty weeks.. Gov. Jan Brewer has already signed the abortion bill into law. The abortion bill is intended to protect women, argue supporters. Under the new law, abortions would become illegal after the twentieth week of pregnancy except in a “medical emergency.” The bill signed into law Thursday makes other changes to abortion regulations, including the requirement of an ultrasound 24 hours before the procedure. The law becomes effective 90 days after the Legislature ends its session, which is likely to occur later this month. The new restrictions, argue supporters, will reduce abortion-related health risks, which they say increase substantially after the twentieth week of pregnancy. About 200 Arizona women who were more than 20 weeks pregnant got an abortion in 2011, according to the group, a number that tracks with prior years of state data. That's about 2percent of the approximately 11,000 abortions a year in the state. Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, said the new law was "a horrible thing to do to women." "Once again, (Brewer) and the Republicans in the Legislature have decided that they know better than women," she said. "They are again saying that women are incapable of making those decisions.” The new law also allows doctors to prescribe abortion pills only through the seventh week of pregnancy instead of through the ninth.
                I feel that this abortion bill is not really fair when it comes to women’s rights. Government interference should have no place in a woman’s uterus. This is a form of paternalism. At first this bill might seem reasonable, but with closer inspection they threaten to undermine women’s rights. It should be up to a woman to decide whether he wants to risk her health or not; the state should have nothing to do with this. The state should provide access to facts on the risks, not make it as difficult as possible for them to make a personal decision about their own bodies. I feel that this bill strips women from their rights to their body and should have never been passed.

 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/04/12/20120412arizona-abortion-bill-20-weeks-law-brewer.html#commentform#ixzz1sXarlK4B

Canadians OK with higher taxes to fight inequality

According to a new poll released Tuesday, Canadians are willing to pay more taxes to help close the growing income gap and want corporations to pay higher tax rates too. The survey of 2,000 Canadians, commissioned by the left-leaning Broadbent Institute, found that 23 per cent are "very willing" and 41 per cent are "somewhat willing" to pay slightly more tax in order to protect social programs such as health care, post-secondary education and pensions. A majority of Canadians – even wealthy ones – are behind the idea of raising income taxes on people who earn more than $250,000 and more than $500,000. The poll found 83 per cent are in favor of that idea. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has steadily lowered the rates since taking office in 2006, arguing the tax breaks help corporations create more jobs. The NDP and Liberals are opposed to the lower rates, saying they haven’t helped create new jobs and that corporations are just sitting on higher profits. The poll results go against Conservative mythology, said Broadbent, speaking to Evan Solomon, host of CBC-TV's Power & Politics. "It shows that Canadians are way ahead of their politicians… 64 per cent of Canadians say they themselves are prepared to pay more taxes. Not just the rich, not just corporations," Broadbent said. The survey showed that 77 per cent of respondents agree that widening income gaps are a big problem for Canada that will have long-term consequences and 71 per cent agreed that income inequality undermines Canadian values.

                I have to agree that the majority of Canadians are actually on to something here. I feel that it is only logical for the richer to pay more taxes, considering the income gaps. When reducing debt in an economy, you must first remember that your middle class is where the answer lies. The key to a successful economy is a “booming” middle class. Canada is, in many ways, a lot like America; they have a democracy. Therefore, I believe that if the majority if the people (including some of the rich), think taxes should be raised for those earning more than $250,000 annually; there should be action taking place. I don’t see why taxes are the same for all people on the first place. I believe that a certain percentage should be taken out based on your income and there should be no “loop holes” for the rich.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/04/10/pol-broadbent-poll.html

Blog #11: Center seeks to remedy inequality in women's health research

On March 23, Purdue announced the beginning of the Women’s Global Health Institute. The institute is the result of the past 20 years of work in women’s health research at Purdue. Connie Weaver, head of the department of nutrition science and director for the Women’s Global Health Institute, has been working specifically in the field of women’s research since the late ‘80s. According to Weaver, for many years research grants were awarded only when the research focused specifically on men’s health. The reason for this was because many researchers did not want to factor in variables involving women’s menstrual cycles and hormones when conducting health research. Sarah Sayger, medical director for Purdue University Student Health Center, has noticed the inequality and had this to say, “There have been some very large studies in the past on heart health which predominantly involved male test subjects, then the results were applied to women, as well,” Sayger said. “The generalities were not always accurate.” Weaver started noticing a little over a year ago that researchers at Purdue were independently working on research that could benefit women specifically, but that no one had connected the research into one condensed study. After conversing with Susan Butler, the donor of the money used to found the new institute, Weaver realized that starting the Women’s Global Health Institute would be the best option to really bring to light and remedy the lack of woman-focused research globally. If the institute accomplishes research for enhancing women’s health, it could have a positive effect on men as well.

It’s hard to believe that even when it comes to the health care industry, there is gender inequality. Gender inequality is seen globally, but often we don’t think that even here in America, women are treated unequally. We don’t seem to notice, because most of the inequalities are under the radar; take this story for example, I’m sure most American women were unaware of the fact that just because women have menstrual cycles grants were not awarded to researchers to study women’s health issues, for their benefit. The truth is that gender norms and values give rise to gender inequalities. Most people are taught at a very young age what their roles are in society. For example, baby dolls are for little girl and only little girls (in most homes), while toy tool kits are channeled towards young boys. These norms and values are based upon the society in which they are created. I think it’s time our society recreates the norms most of us live by, starting with the unequal treating of women simply because they are women.

http://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_f3ac30d5-fd7a-5f6d-9075-c4f9653bb3a0.html

Blog #10: Egyptians Push To End Military's Trials Of Civilians

Ibrahim, a 25-year-old from southern Egypt, was arrested by the military during a protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square in March of last year, a month after Mubarak was overthrown. While in custody, Ibrahim said, she and six other young women were subjected to a "virginity check" — a forced penetration to check for hymen blood. Amnesty International has called this procedure a form of torture. After her release, Ibrahim filed a suit against the military. Earlier this month, a military trial ruled against Ibrahim; but the verdict only seemed to strengthen the resolve of Egyptian activists who want to put an end to military trials of civilians. This past December, Ibrahim won a case in a separate civil court case to make virginity checks illegal. However, the military court found the doctor accused of carrying out the check not guilty. The ruling was in effect a denial that the incident happened at all. Mohamed Kadry Said, a retired major general in the army who is now a senior analyst at the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, says that this “virgin testing” procedure took place regularly and he called it a "very bad process." Military trials have become the focus of popular anger and debate in the media. Mona Seif, the coordinator for the campaign, says increasing public pressure has been a major factor in changing the way the ruling generals speak about military trials. Morayef says the code of military justice must be followed, but that is unlikely in the short term, she says, because the code guarantees the military's own immunity.

I find this act to be completely humiliating and dehumanizing for women. The powerlessness that these seven women must have felt is horrible to even think about; however, this is not the worst or first form of inequality against women. I think this was done to these women, because they decided to have a voice and take a stand for something they believed in. I think that in many countries women come as a threat to men. For example, globally, women are not as well educated as men; I think this is because men don’t want women to have knowledge. Knowledge is a threat. Though I find the verdict of the military trial to be unfair, I also think it was obvious that she wasn’t going to when. Egypt has a military based government; therefore anyone going against that military is more than likely not going to win. Since increasing public pressure has been a major factor in changing the way the ruling generals speak about military trials, I feel that perhaps a more democratic approach is on its way and I would encourage those harmed by the military to always speak out. I only worry that this speaking out will cause more harm than good when it comes to a military based government.

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/29/149547892/egyptian-activists-push-to-end-military-trials?sc=17&f=

Blog #9: Taxation and Homosexuals

There is a tax time bomb ticking away for California Registered Domestic Partners and Same Sex Married Couples. It is often said by opponents of same-sex marriage that present-day registered domestic partnership agreements offer the same benefits as an "opposite-sex" marriage. This may be true in some respects, but as far as federal, income gift and estate taxes are concerned, there are vast differences. There is a tax-free transfer of property from one spouse to another is called the "unlimited marital exemption”. There is no marital exemption for same-sex married couples or registered domestic partners, unlimited or otherwise. For the majority of registered domestic partners and same-sex married couples this does not matter for now. Five million dollars is a lot of money. The vast majority of people will not leave estates that large when they die. So the "good" news is that persons dying before Jan. 1, 2013, who have estates valued at less than $5 million will generally be exempt from estate tax. This exemption applies to individuals by right of their own personhood and is not affected by marital status. Therefore, most people will not have to worry about paying estate tax if they plan on dying before next year. For opposite sex surviving spouses, it doesn’t matter if the deceased spouse was worth $1 billion dollars: Code Section 1041 allows a tax-free transfer of unlimited property between spouses in death as well as life. Since the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships, this is not the case for these couples. Assuming no other estate planning, once the $5 million estate and gift tax exemption amount is exceeded, every dollar in the estate is subject to estate tax. What is generally not an issue in estate planning for heterosexual partners due to the marital exemption is a huge issue for gay ones.

                Though America is ahead of some other countries when it comes to same-sex marriages, it seems the government always finds a way to get around things; especially when it comes to money. Our government is supposed to be ran “by the people, for the people”, but is it really? Or is it ran by money for money? Personally, I feel that everything revolves around money and people say they want equality, but do they really? Nearly seventy percent of people in the U.S. oppose gay marriage, almost the same proportion as are otherwise supportive of gay rights. Which means that many of the same people who are in favor of gay rights oppose gay marriage? That doesn’t seem fair. But, as we learned in class, people as a species, will always find someone else to target. For example, first it was African Americans, then it was women, then it was Latinos, now its homosexuals. Even if it gets to the point where things are completely equal, we’ll find someone else to blame.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/business_finance/finance/news/131247/marriage_inequality:_surviving_gay_spouse_had_better_plan_for_big_tax_bite

Contaminated Water

Though we’ve seen an increase in awareness about the global water crisis, it's still the number 1 killer of children around the globe. Almost one billion people do not have access to safe water globally and 2.5 billion lack the dignity of basic sanitation. Yes, we fight malaria but poor sanitation increases breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. We spend millions making sure HIV/AIDS patients get the anti-retroviral drugs they need, but they take these drugs with disease-ridden water. Current U.S. funding for water and sanitation development amounts to less than one one-hundredth of a percent of the federal budget. Yet for every dollar invested, there's an economic return of $8. Not prioritizing the global water crisis defies logic. It prevents productivity, increases poverty and inequality for women. There is much work being done to prevent this problem by people all around the world so why is this crisis still so enormous and development work only a drop in the bucket? Because what's missing is not the know-how or technology, and certainly not the need; it's the sense of urgency and prioritization.

                I wasn’t aware that contaminated water was the number one killer of children around the world. I also wasn’t aware of how much women are depended on in other countries to go fetch water for their families. They sometimes have to walk miles just to find clean water and then turn around and carry it all the way back. I have to ponder the same question after reading this article, why this crisis is still so enormous that development work is only a drop in the bucket, but I guess it would be because areas with contaminated water are either underdeveloped poor countries or they are places near big polluting businesses. Things like oil spills or lack of knowledge on how to clean water are issues that can and should be fixed. I think there is a simple solution, there is no complex “it takes more than that” answer, the answer is rather simple, teach those who need to be taught about water sanitation. Many organizations are trying to help underdeveloped countries with this problem, but that’s obviously not enough. Instead of teaching kids useless information for standardized tests, we need to be teaching them about problems such as these and ways to help solve them.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-jack-bemporad/a-sermon-for-water_b_1349480.html

Blog #7: Has Rush Limbaugh finally gone too far?

This article is about recent remarks made by Mr. Limbaugh; a famous radio personality, with major influence on the Republican Party. Mr. Limbaugh made comments to a Sandra Fluke after she testified in support of mandatory employer health coverage of contraception in front of a nonofficial congressional committee. He called her a “slut” and a “prostitute,” while urging her to make public video tapes of her intimate acts. He said, “If we are going to have to pay for this then we want something in return, Ms. Fluke,” Limbaugh said on his radio show earlier this week. “And that would be the videos of all this sex posted online so we can see what we’re getting for our money.” She is a George Town law student and was astounded at these words and had this to say, “All [Limbaugh] needs to know is this is really inappropriate. This is outside the bounds of civil discourse.” Democrats and their political allies were immediately at her defense. Some 75 House Democrats have signed a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R) asking him to condemn Limbaugh’s words. Though some Republicans said they don’t support his rhetoric, they support the point about health insurance Limbaugh was trying to make. One posing the questions, “A law student is now a hardship case? She needs the rest of us to provide her with free contraceptives?” Few commentators predict that Limbaugh will back down. He makes his living saying outrageous things: that’s how he attracts 20 million listeners a day. Even a nascent boycott of Limbaugh’s advertisers organized by opponents probably won’t faze him.

We’re living in a world where gender inequality is a huge problem globally and though some believe it’s not happening in America, this is a prime example that it is indeed going on in America. I can’t help but think that if the situation were reversed and it was a woman making derogatory comments towards a man, on a national radio station, she would’ve already lost her job and been taken to court. I can’t rap my brain around what he said. I mean she was exercising her right to freedom of speech, so that makes her a “slut”? I don’t understand why he hasn’t been fired or furthermore, I don’t understand why he isn’t being sued for slander. The fact that contraception is even being thought about being done away with is mind bottling. This is another example of how men are trying to hinder women by telling them they can or cannot have birth control. How, in this “modern” society, is this even aloud to be talked about? To think that America is actually one of the better societies when it comes to women’s rights is scary; what is this telling our society or better yet, what is this doing to our society globally?

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/Vox-News/2012/0302/Has-Rush-Limbaugh-finally-gone-too-far

High levels of inequality jeopardize Canada’s ability to succeed

   Canada’s high level of inequality and poverty doesn’t just erode social cohesion, but also jeopardizes their ability to succeed in the knowledge-based economy. Last week, the Drummond Report correctly observed that, in the 21st century, “education and innovation will be the key for Ontarians to be prosperous.” However, it’s important to recognize that “education and innovation” isn’t just the product of classrooms and laboratories; they are nurtured through favorable social conditions that are incompatible with elevated levels of inequality and poverty. There is plenty of evidence that “human capital” — the knowledge and skills that make people innovative — is socially determined, but human capital isn’t just about intellectual ability. A person’s health is also an important factor, both in terms of educational outcomes and productivity. Therefore inequality and poverty are worrying from an innovation standpoint as well. Studies show that a person’s social relationships are negatively affected by inequality and poverty. Canada ranks 17th out of 20 peer countries in terms of income inequality. The overall poverty, is ranked 15th out of 20, and drops to 16th spot in terms of child poverty. It’s not just the gap between the richest and the poorest that’s widening, in fact, 60 percent of Canadians experienced a drop in their market incomes between 1976 and 2009. This is a result of massive changes in the global economy which is brought on by the internationalization of markets and advancements in technology. Instead of investing people, Canadian governments have given the tax breaks to businesses in the hopes of innovation, but as Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged in Davos a few weeks ago, this strategy has given “less than optimal results”. It is clear that, a major shift in thinking is needed. Investments in these areas won’t pay off unless underlying issues like inequality and poverty are addressed. Innovation comes from people, not institutions. Public funds are better spent helping people cope with structural economic changes. Most importantly, inequality and poverty are obstacles to, rather than consequences of, economic growth. In the long term, Canadians must find ways of prospering together.

   I completely agree with Anouk Dey and Michael Marin when they say, that “it’s important to recognize that “education and innovation” isn’t just the product of classrooms and laboratories; they are nurtured through favorable social conditions that are incompatible with elevated levels of inequality and poverty”. Inequality is something that, in a sense, keeps the world balanced. It is a very twisted and complicated topic.  “Education and innovation” are socially determined, therefore, the prospective of which the Canadians should look at this situation should be thorough and in depth. There will always be conflict and dispute about how to approach different situations that society has to deal with. It seems to me that the level of consumerism outweighs the economic crisis and little to no action is being taken. In the end, I feel that the society as a whole must come together in order to pick up the pieces of its chaos and bring together an orderly, productive, and equal way of life.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/publiceditor/article/1136037--high-levels-of-inequality-jeopardize-canada-s-ability-to-succeed

Blog #5: Govt to do more to help older Singaporeans live comfortably

   Singapore is striving to be a fair and inclusive society; however, in order to do so they must overcome two challenges- help the senior citizen Singaporeans live more comfortably and try to contain the widening income gap. In addressing senior citizens, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, said that the government is going to do more to help them, especially those who have very limited cash savings. He made it clear that the senior citizens today have lower CPF balances as their wages were much lower 20 or 30 years ago, and they were required to set aside a much lower amount of money. He has this to say, "We will help them use this wealth to boost their retirement income. At the same time, we will give them greater assurance of being able to afford their healthcare". When addressing the income inequality Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that Singapore's income inequality will even be wider than in larger countries, like in many other global cities. Prime Minister Tharman emphasized on the fact that, currently there is evidence of a considerable amount of social mobility in Singapore, pointing out that top students come from schools all around the island. Though evidence is abundant, the Finance Minister said it will get more difficult to keep up this mobility in the coming years, "precisely because we achieved a very high degree of mobility in the past". Stressing on education and jobs as being the success in Singapore, it was said that the government will do more to help better the lives of children from disadvantaged homes, starting earlier in their lives and have  better quality pre-schooling and after school care. "We are also broadening education so that every student can develop their strengths, in and out of the classroom," he added. The government is investing heavily in providing adult workers opportunities to keep up-skilling; however, they are reminded that they should also groom a larger pool of social workers and other professionals, to help lower-income families overcome the more complex problems that many face.

   It’s great that Singapore is striving to become a better nation and help the “poor-man”, but in order to build a nation back up, it take a lot more than just “evidence” of a considerable amount of social mobility. “Social mobility refers to the increase or decrease of the class or status of individuals or groups. This movement requires an open class system or social structure that provides opportunities for changing one’s relative position in the society.”  Therefore I think Singapore has a long road ahead of them when it comes to closing that widening income gap. I agree with the Finance Minister when he said it will get more difficult to keep up this mobility in the coming years, "precisely because we achieved a very high degree of mobility in the past". When a society achieves an extremely high degree of social mobility in the past it is often harder to keep this mobility up or maintain it, in Singapore’s case it’s due to a slowing down in economic growth. Singapore has the highest income gap in developed world. Because of the income gap, medical costs have been rising much faster than average income and for some in the lower income bracket it is now unaffordable, which is why inequality amongst senior citizens should’ve been addressed with a much more importance. The healthcare system worsens the inequality in societies when it becomes a burden. An approach such as providing universal healthcare would be a better fix than just “greater assurance of being able to afford their healthcare”.

http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/My%2BMoney/Story/A1Story20120217-328607.html 

Blog #4: Festival Puts Inequality in Focus for China

   Inequality has become more and more apparent in the last few decades; China is now starting to be highlighted more extravagantly as a high inequality nation.  During their Spring Festival holiday, rich Chinese spent 7.2 billion dollars abroad on luxury goods and this festival is only a week long.  Over the past few years this costly spending has become a trend among the rich in China. In most high-income Western countries, traveling abroad is a status symbol. The more money you make, the better vacation you can go on. However, due to economic crisis spreading throughout the developed world, many are becoming more frugal. China is doing the opposite. While many people are surprised by the spending of rich Chinese, people in rural China, on average, don’t even earn 7,000 yuan (1,100 dollars) a year and more than 120 million still live in poverty at only around 6 yuan a day. Of course, China is not the only country where the wealth gap is widening. Many countries face a difficult year in 2012, and economic inequality threatens to make life more difficult for low-income people. In this difficult time for the global inequality, if China wants to lessen inequality, while still boosting consumption, they need to improve incomes of lower earners and invest more in rural areas to narrow the income gap.

   When you compare this type of spending to migrant workers struggling to travel home and back for that important annual family reunion, with many even riding saddles on motorcycles to save money, it seems a bit ridiculous. There are people committing suicides due to lack of money and then you have presidents spending over 1,000 dollars on a winter jacket. In a documentary we watched in class, titled, China Blue, we saw the inside look of a blue jean factory in China, where teenage workers struggle to make ends meet under harsh working conditions. This provided us with the complex issues of globalization. Though globalization does help the economy, it has negative effects, especially for those that are part of the lower-class. China has become one of the most affected by Inequality and it seems as though the world is almost taking a step back, rather than moving forward with this issue.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-02/09/content_14564793.htm

Blog #3: Israel Leads the Developed World in Social Injustice

    Over the past twenty five years, economic studies indicate that, a steady growth in inequality of incomes has taken place or become more abundant in almost all developed countries. The worst inequality growth curve is in Israel, which is a highly developed country. The average standard of living in Israel has remained the same over the past few decades, however, the position of the bottom 10% worsened, with its income declining by 1.1% a year in Israel. For the top 10% incomes actually rose by 2.4% a year. This means that the gap between the top 10% and the bottom 10% has grown by 3.5% a year, which is 14 to 1. In other developed countries it only grew by 0.6% a year. Though no studies have been done to figure out why this is, in Israel, a number of studies that have been done around the world indicate a number of reasons. Growth in inequality mainly comes from the labor market and in Israel inequality in gross and net pay has raised, yet there is a continuing decline in the employment and working hours of those with low employment qualifications. Uneducated workers compete with Chinese laborers, Thai laborers, and Philippine care givers, therefore, labor laws have been weakened; so an industry of contract workers and part-time employment have found that this contributes to the decline in wages, hours of work, and jobs for unskilled Israelis. There is a great challenge in dealing with these inequality problems, labor laws must be enforced. Otherwise, economic growth will be at risk.

    Though I agree that globalization, technological improvements, and poor regulation in the labor market are the three main factors in boosting inequality and that labor laws should be addressed, after leaning more and more about inequality in the workforce in class, I find social mobility to be way easier said than done. Since, the degree of mobility is related to the rate of growth in an economy and Israeli workers are competitively competing, it is hard to jump classes. For example, if parents have a male and female child, it is more likely that they’d choose their son rather than their daughter to go to college, which is due to the fact that women typically get paid less than men working the same job. Because college education plays a great factor in promoting social mobility, most unskilled workers are women which make it easier to pay less; creating more inequality. Also, because Israeli workers are competing so much with other laborers, simply quitting or going on strike is out of the question.

http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000721629

Blog #2: ZanaAfrica: Greenwich women look to empower Kenyan girls to ecome leaders

         Kenya isn’t exactly known for its equality when it comes to men and women. That was made evidently apparent when the Greenwich-based organization, ZanaAfrica decided to dig deeper in what really goes on. It was found that the second most costly item for Kenyan women are sanitary pads, the second was bread. According to the ZanaAfrica website (http://www.zanaa.org/), Kenyan adolescent girls miss 3.5 million learning days per month, this is due to insufficient funding for sanitary pads. These girls are so poverty stricken, they sometimes turn to dried cow dung to catch their menstrual flow. Some even turn to inserting wool directly into their vagina to block menstrual flow or going through trash to find used pads that they wash and reuse. Not only is this demeaning, but it also leads to health and sanitation issues. Due to losing days in school, these girls are dropping out which just pushes them towards unemployment; that is now about 54% of Kenya’s population. ZanaAfrica is now working to educate and empower these girls to better their lives.

           My first thought to this was wow, my first feeling was anger. This is a prime example of how bad inequality in the world actually is. Women are so lowly thought of, that they have to dig through trash or use animal faeces as sanitary pads. To think that sanitary pads are one of the most costly items for women aside from bread is ridiculous. It’s pathetic that due to the cost of sanitary pads women are at an even higher risk of dropping out of school and ultimately adding to Kenya’s unemployment rate. I feel that this also points out the importance of education. As a society, we all need to take a step back and look at this from the macro-perspective to answer what this is doing to us as a whole.


http://www.greenwich-post.com/online/daily-featured/local-news/99559-zanaafrica-greenwich-women-look-to-empower-kenyan-girls-to-become-leaders.html

Blog #1: Social Inequality; the Real Culprit in India’s ‘shameful’ Malnutrition Problem

India just came out with a survey that covered one fifth of India’s child population. People were astonished when they heard that 42.3% of children under the age of five are underweight, 58.8% are stunted in heir growth, and 11.4% are considered “wasted,” due to such horrible malnutrition. The survey also linked malnutrition with education and sanitation; the less education and knowledge in sanitation, the more likely you are to be malnourished. Some reject the news found in this survey and reject the news that malnutrition in India is not improving. However, malnutrition has only declined maybe two or three per cent since their economic liberalization period, two decades ago. Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, decided not to let this go and released a report (http://www.naandi.org/CP/HungamaBKDec11LR.pdf) about these figures and said it was, “a national shame.” Shockingly, this has less to do with India’s poverty rate and more to do with India’s inequality rate between men and women; according to the Globe in 2009.

I find this to be, for lack of a better word, sad. Children are starving for what reason; inequality. Inequality is a major problem around the world and is causing damage to our future generations. After reading this article I went and did a little research on India as a whole. I found that India is, in fact, a “booming” country. They have technology, middle class, restaurants, and they’ve even sent a rocket to the moon; so why are they so behind on equal rights? The truth is, a lot of nations are and it’s extremely damaging, globally. I’m not saying that the only reason we have malnutrition is because of inequality, but when I sit and really think about it; poverty is due to inequality and economic disparity which ultimately leads to hunger and malnutrition around the world.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/social-inequality-the-real-culprit-in-indias-shameful-malnutrition-problem/article2309403/