Chapter 14: What You Can Do

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi

For the last chapter, Kristof emphasizes his hope to see a broad movement emerging to battle gender inequality and pushing for education and opportunities for girls around the world. The time is just right and "ripe" for a new emancipation movement to empower women and girls. The challenge is to prod the world to face up to women and girls who are forced to abide by all the cruel patriarchal traditions. And Kristof points out in order to start a successful and effective moment, we should adhere to these following principles:

• Resist the temptation to oversell
• Helping women does not mean ignoring men
• American feminism must become less parochial, so that it is every bit as concerned with sex slavery in Asia as with Title IX sports programs in Illinois.

As a class, we discussed the final chapter of "Half the Sky" titled "What You Can Do." The chapter starts off by examining the historical events that we can learn from and apply in the battle of fighting gender inequality. These include American Civil Right movement and environmental movement. A video that we didn't get to in class expands on the history of the Civil Right movement:

We compared slavery and sex trafficking by looking at this specific quote: "Slavery did not exist in Britain itself, only in British territories abroad, so for the average English family slavery was out of sight. As with sex trafficking in India today, it was easy to cluck about the brutality of it all and then move on" (Kristof 235). Indeed, the lack of global awareness of brutality that stems from gender inequality is preventing us from making more intentional effort to make a difference. As a class we came up with some of the ways that can spread global awareness. There were many different strategies including TV commercial, documentary, internet ads (YouTube ads), motivational speaker, art and music.

We also compared the Civil Right movement and global poverty. "Most people agreed on the American values: individualism, respect for private property, and belief in equal opportunity. The key problem was that we believed in equal opportunity, but didn't actually provide it." As from the previous discussion, it was evident that the US was not the most progressive country in providing citizens with equal opportunity regardless of their gender. Similarly, many around the world are aware of global poverty but people often underestimate the power of one and as a result, do not take action. However there are different opportunities we are given to partake in the movement. These include donation, volunteering, writing letters, visiting third world country to understand the depth of these issues and talking about the gender inequality to people around us. One of Heifer's model was introduced to show how a cow can transform lives of families in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

The chapter also includes a story of Tererai Trent, a Zimbabwean woman who wants to provide every girls in Zimbabwe with an access to education. As a class, we were encouraged to see these educated women going back to their homeland to improve the conditions for the girls. Although women in these countries once thought they had no hope and did not understand the meaning of "achievable," Tererai proved that education can change everything. Reading about these inspirational women made each of us motivated to take our opportunity to speak up for the women empowerment to promote this change in the world for the better. Their testimonies taught us not to underestimate the power of one and a difference one can make in bringing about a positive change in the world.

THE LAST LECTURE :(

Closing Lecture

"A woman brought you into this world, so you have no right to disrespect one"         - Tupac

For this last discussion we decided to focus on gender equality on a local scale. Statistically speaking, one out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. And while this statistic focuses on the entire nation we, as young college students, decided to focus our discussion on the realities of the sexual assaults and rapes that involve young teens and youths in school. This first video is a CNN news report on two high school football players from Steubenville, Ohio who were charged with rape. 

We found the video controversial because CNN grieved for the two boys who were given the charges because it would ruin their bright futures. CNN strayed from admitting that the two boys were indeed rapists, and even sympathized for them. However it is questionable if sympathy truly is in order for them. At the end of the day they committed a vicious crime so should one feel bad because they had bright futures in football?

Other sources of media also touched upon this idea as well. Here we have a video that portrays a satirical understanding of the issue. 

While the video seems quite ridiculous, it brings attention to the "privileges" that American society gives to male athletes when associated with crimes like rape. Though much more extreme, it touches upon the opinions shared by the CNN crew casting the story about the Steubenville, Ohio rapes. People feel that because they are athletes they should not face the same consequences.

We also decided to look into and discuss sexual assault, and the overall safety for women as it pertains to our own campus. We found out that here at UC Davis there were forty cases of sexual assault reported in the past year, which is the most reported on any UC campus. But can we really trust that statistic? As college students many of us have seen the partying and alcohol/drug consumption that takes place on our campus, as well as the dangers that can come from, especially towards women. Sexual assaults are a very common occurrence, which makes it disheartening to hear when there are only forty cases reported this year alone. There are probably three or four times that actually taking place, but people are afraid to speak out and get help.

We also talked about media's positive impact on women's rights here in America. This next video is from the infamous rap artist Tupac in his music video performance of Keep Your Head Up. The song lyrics focus on empowering women and society's critiques on poverty and gender inequalities in the United States.     

We also looked at Queen Latifah's video UNITY music video, which also focuses on the empowerment of women. 

In American society, women tend to be treated as second class citizens. For example, in the work place women are not paid as much as men. Socially, many women are referred to by men as "bitches" and "hoes" which can undermine a women's value. As we see in these videos, both Tupac and Queen Latifah shine a light on these issues in hopes that there can be more cultural awareness towards gender equality. As a class we also decided that it is important to educate ourselves on these ideas and to watch what we say and do as well, because it could have a negative and demeaning connotation that could hurt the feelings of a minority. 

Lastly, we ended with a reflection of the book Half the Sky and discussed what particularly stuck out to us from this class. Many of us talked about the stories in the book, but a lot of people also talked about the current issues brought up in lecture. 

Here is the list that we made to talk about what we plan to do going forward from the new information that we learned in this class. These plans, if implemented into our daily lives, will allow us to positively impact the world and allow us to carry on the strong lesson shown both in this class and in Kristof's book Half the Sky.

On a personal note, it has been a pleasure getting to know all of you in this class, and I wish you all the best of luck with all your future endeavors!!  

Chapter 13: Grassroots vs. Treetops

Grassroots vs. Treetops

Are women human yet? If women were human, would we be a cash crop shipped from Thailand in containers into New York’s brothels…? Would our genitals be sliced out to “cleanse” us…? When will women be human? When? – Catherine A. MacKinnon, Are Women Human?

During this lecture we discussed the cultural acceptance of Female Mutilation. As a class we went over the positives and the negative aspects for cutting. What we came up with was a unanimous decision that the practice of cutting was enforced and encouraged due to social pressures. The message that came with embracing the practice of cutting is, "If you are cut, then you are pure and proper for marriage " This idea has been instilled in these communities, which is why the practice of Female genital mutilation still continues today. The facts showed that over 130 million women get the procedure done from ages 1-15. Female genital mutilation (FGM) refers to several different harmful practices involving cutting of the female genitals. "FGM is a practice that is founded upon traditional values and continues because it is a social convention upheld by underlying gender structure and power relations."  (UNICEF- Female).  The negative perspective of this procedure is obvious health risks and damage to the woman's body. However, we discussed in class the outcomes of refusing the FGM procedure could lead to a ruined marriage arrangement, and social outcast situations. 

The conclusion, we came up with was to figure out a local way to spread education on the health consequences through channels of: Seminars, posters, booklets, and music. Pretty much any route to create a better awareness and educate the people on the effects with FGM, would be the quickest and most effective solution.

The conclusion, we came up with was to figure out a local way to spread education on the health consequences through channels of: Seminars, posters, booklets, and music. Pretty much any route to create a better awareness and educate the people on the effects with FGM, would be the quickest and most effective solution.

This video forces the viewers to deal with the reality of the situation. This exercised practice is an issue that can no longer afford to be ignored. The health risks and consequences of this procedure are extremely dangerous. Everyone in the video seemed against Female Genital Mutilation. As a solution, the directors try to raise a greater awareness of the issue in order to educate the viewers of FGM. 

Another video we watched was on a breakthrough with community development. Molly Melching is the founder. And this video summarizes all the aspects of Tostan. Tostan is a self ran program and provides seeing the message easier for natives within the communities to inform and enforce new laws. It is evident in this video and within the book, that Molly creates an awareness and allows a choice.

 Pg. 224 ( Half the Sky)

One of the most successful efforts to end cutting, Tostan tries to always remain positive, preparing people to make their own decisions through discussion of human rights and health issues. In doing so, Tostan has been widely criticized for not taking a stronger stand against cutting. What are your thoughts about this approach? Are you aware of any groups or issues in the U.S. where the Tostan approach may be more successful? 

This video, then led into the discussion of effective approaches and implementation of reaching out to people and educating them. This was the heart discussion of the chapter, surrounding the ideas of the Grass root approach vs. the Treetop approach. The grass root approach involved getting the local people involved. This approach seemed most effective in Grass root situations. People tend to listen better to directions given within their own community of people. There is a sense of similar understanding and appreciation of  advice  from those who have lived through the same experiences. As for the Treetop approach, when it comes to situations like dealing with diseases such as Malaria, having authoritative figures telling you what to do, for the best interests of thousands, is an effective approach. 

Pg. 229 (Half the Sky)

The grassroots model as opposed to the treetops model is the “crucial way forward for a new international movement focusing on women in the developing world” according to Kristof and WuDunn. What changes will need to be made to our existing means of service delivery as a church or as a country? What shifts in thinking need to take place? What challenges will the local church face in trying to shift paradigms?

The second part of the Chapter talks about what girls learn and talks at school. This stresses the importance of having a better awareness. 

Towards the end of the lecture we read an activity article on Cultural Perspectives  called, "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema." This article proved to be very mind blowing, because after reading the article, you realize that the author is talking about unusual behaviors perceived by other countries of the United States. Nicirema is actually America spelled backwards, and they are making fun of how we spend money to go to the dentist and brush our teeth.

This article got us into the discussion of not judging other countries based on their unusual behaviors, because that is what is normal to them.  Certain examples were thrown out such as: 

• RIGHTS OF PASSAGE
• PREPARING CERTAIN FOODS
• BODY PIERCINGS
• POLITENESS POLICIES
• IDEALS OF BEAUTY 

To conclude class discussion we watched one final Misrepresentation video. This showed us the worries and social pressures that exist within our culture today. The accepted ideas that we have to look and act a certain way in order to be accepted by society. In a lot of ways, this video showed me that our country, is not very different then those discussed in the books when it comes to social pressures. 

Chapter 12 - The Axis of Equality

"A women has so many parts of her body, life is very hard indeed." 

- Lu Xin, "Anxious Thoughts on Natural Breasts" (1927)

For this week's discussion, we focused on the axis of equality. We started off by talking about women's successes we see in today's society. In the book, "Half the Sky", Kristof and WuDunn give an example of women's successes by telling the story of a Chinese woman, Zhang Yin, and how she started off working $6 a month to becoming the world's richest self-made woman. Through Yin's story, we were surprised to know the fact that 6 out of 10 richest self-made women in the world today are Chinese (206). Looking back at China in the past century, from the period when foot-binding, child marriage, concubinage, and female infanticide were practiced, to the present days, we can clearly see how the view of women's role in China had evolved. Nowadays, Chinese women are more involved in the working fields; they are thriving to contribute to the society and also to earn a living for their families. Seeing how women helped the economy in many ways, as a result, China has moved on from many of its cultural traditions and is starting to have a higher respect to women in the working fields. 

In comparison to women's successes economically, we then discussed about how women are view in playing male dominant sports. Viewing from the media, we don't normally see women in national teams.We also pointed out that UC Davis women sports are hidden from other sports. Even though not many women participate in male dominant sports, we do see examples that women around the globe is beginning to get more involved in male-dominated pursuits such as Xie Jun, who became the first woman's world champion in chess in China, and Abby Wambach, a famous American professional soccer player. 

We then moved on to discussing how women involved in politics. In the book, Kristof and WuDunn give credit to Rwanda as being a great example on how women are involved in politics. 

In the video, "Women Rank High in Rwanda's Government", it talks about how Rwanda's recovered from the 1994 genocide through concentrating in getting more women to be involve in government. It was very inspiring to see the reconciliation between the two groups, Tutsi and Hulu, to be united again after the genocide. What is more encouraging is knowing the fact that Rwanda is now the nation with the highest share of women members of any parliament in the world (212). If interested in learning more about the genocide and its victims, feel free to check out the book, "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust" by Immaculee Llibagiza. 

Next, we discussed the second half of the chapter about the organization, Women for Women International. This organization connects women sponsors with needy women that are in conflict or post-conflict countries  (257). More information of this organization can be found through this website: www.womenforwomen.org.

An activity we did was to imagine our selves being one of the sponsors in Women for Women International and to write a letter to the woman we are sponsoring. Questions that arose were: how will we start that relationship? Is there anything we want to know about them?

In summary of the activity, here is some of the points and questions that came up which we would like to add in the letter: 

• a basic introduction of our selves
• What do they enjoy doing?
• What is one thing that they really wanted? Is there anything else that they want besides money?
• Is there any challenges they have overcome or might still be facing?
• What are some of their goals?

From this activity, we pointed out that money might not be the only thing that these women need, but friendship as well. Besides money, these women need a friend who will encourage them, check on them from time to time, and help them grow and prosper. Through writing letters, sponsors can build this relationship with them.

In the section, Tears Over Time Magazine, of the chapter, we were introduced to Zainab Salbi, the founder of  Women for Women International. Here is the video about Zainab's story and how she created Women for Women International:

During the discussion, the question of how does the organization select the women they wanted to sponsor arose. We were curious to know whether or not if there is an interview processor, as well as how these women join the organization. To answer these questions, here is a picture of the process taken from the Women for Women International webpage:

Zainab's story had inspired so many people to get involve in helping other women in needy countries. One who were greatly inspired was Lisa Shannon. After sponsoring two raped victims through Women for Women International,  Lisa started her own organization called Congo for Women, which turned out to be very successful. Here is a video about Lisa Shannon and Congo for Women:  http://www.oprah.com/world/Lisa-Shannon-Visits-the-Women-of-the-Congo-Video

Lastly, here's a video that we didn't have time to watch in the discussion. The video talks about one of the themes of our seminar: law vs. society & culture.

Chapter 11 - Microcredit: The Financial Revolution

As part of our continued discussion on finding ways to empower women, the idea of microcredit is relatively unusual and fresh. Lending money to people in poverty might sound foolish, but it turns out that these people have an extremely high repayment rate. The loans are often once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to change fate and step out of poverty for these borrowers. Moreover, giving these loans specifically to women can yield incredible results as demonstrated in Saima’s narrative.

What’s interesting in her account is that after she became successful, Saima did not abandon her husband. “And what about finding another wife who might bear him a son? Saima chuckled at the question: ‘Now nobody says anything about that.’” (p. 187) Perhaps, the cultural expectations are different. In conservative locations, marriages are much more bounded and a man may still be necessary in a household.

In another example, we see the challenges aid organizations face as a result of the conservative culture of women. “Many Pakistanis also believed that no unmarried woman of honor would leave her parents’ home and live on her own, so that Kashf women staff attracted leers and frowns. In later years, Roshaneh had to bend to reality and hire some male branch heads, because it is so difficult to find women willing to relocate to poor villages.” (p. 190) Getting a loan can be seen as a sign of weakness. For a woman to get a loan, that puts even further pressure on family pride.

“It is not uncommon to stumble across a mother mourning a child who has just died of malaria for want of a $5 mosquito bed net and then find the child’s father at a bar, where he spends $5 each week. Several studies suggest that when women gain control over spending, less family money is devoted to instant gratification and more for education and starting small businesses.” (p. 192) Because mothers spend more time in the family, she actually sees the needs in the family and children. While fathers typically go out and work, he is away from family and does not see the problems at home as much. Mentally, he thinks he’s already making a huge contribution to the family by providing income, and is more like to spend money on bars or prostitution as a self-reward.

“Because men now typically control the purse strings, it appears that the poorest families in the world typically spend approximately ten times as much (20 percent of their income on average) on a combination of alcohol, prostitutes, candy, sugary drinks, and lavish feasts as they do on educating their children.” (p. 192-193) Education is a continued investment that requires years to see any tangible returns. Thus, it becomes less convincing for families to pay tuition year after year when instant pleasures such as alcohol and prostitution offers quick escape from reality. It’s like buying inexpensive fast food that fills you up versus buying a healthy but more expensive salad that may leave you hungry still. For people in poverty, their goals are usually short-sighted because there is just no way for them to plan for even the year ahead, let alone five or ten years down the road.

These challenges are seen every day in development work, but what makes microfinance unusual is that it almost tries to bring business-driven commercial banks into a non-profit charitable environment. In the video below, we see a contrasting standpoint compared to the personal stories from Kristof. The borrowers are referred to as “clients” and the organization is focused on building a sustainable business. However, it is commendable that they provide essential training on financial management and give value to “private relationships.”

In another video, we see the woman, Goretti Nyabenda, mentioned in the second half of Chapter 11.

In a different perspective, Hillary Clinton discussed the important of nutrition and agriculture. There has been a lack of emphasis on these subjects in recent years, leading to a bigger demand in graduates of these fields. Though we have discussed the importance of education throughout class, nutrition is just as important. It’s like giving a flower sunlight but not water if we do not provide children with adequate food. Food security and agricultural development ensure proper brain development, and when parents send their children to school, that’s how their children can get the most out of it.

In the latter part of class, we conducted an activity in which a female president has supposedly been elected in the United States. What's the platform she was elected for and what are the challenges she may face? In groups, we try to answer these questions:

1. What was her platform to get elected/what did her campaign ads highlight?
2. What is the primary focus of her presidency?
3. What are her major challenges as president? 
4. What will be her legacy/how will she be remembered as president?

Collectively, we agreed that negotiating on the world stage will be difficult for a female president. This is especially true if she is in talks with a conservative country where men hold all the leadership positions. But she will definitely be remembered as the first female president of our country, the first commander-in-chief. She will be the world's most powerful person, and promote women to equality with men.

Lastly, here's a video we did not get to in class. What would the world be like if women ruled the world? Women experience life differently than men, and that experience affects how problems are perceived and how solutions are developed.

Chapter Ten-- Investing in Education

Chapter Ten-- Investing in Education

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."-- Derek Bok

Retrieved from Google Images  

What better way to celebrate the middle of the week than a two hour discussion on Half the Sky? Written by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheyrl WuDunn, Half the Sky focuses on "turning oppression into opportunity for women worldwide." This week's chapter was on investing in education, a solution that has become very pertinent in our weekly discussions. 

Class began with a brief discussion about what education means to us. Most answers were focused around the act of learning and gaining knowledge.

Our first activity was a "Life in the Village" Simulation organized by USAID (United States Agency for International Agriculture Development). The goal of the simulation was to get an idea about the difficulties people in developing nations face. We broke into small groups, now classified as "households," and were given a a spreadsheet of incomes and expenses, as well as "rules" each family must obey. The task is to simulate four years of financial decision making while enduring unexpected events, thus emulating real life. Below is the spreadsheet full of family information, income, and expenses.

After calculating each year, we reconvened and discussed what we had chosen to do. Some years curve-balls were thrown at families. For example, one family had an unexpected death in the family and had to pay for funeral services which completely wiped out their total savings. Other families were obliged to give money to their cousins if needed, which meant that one could be obliged to pay for his/her nieces and nephews to go to school, thus leaving no money to pay for his/her's own children's education. That really amazed me. That in some countries, family ties are so strong that one could jeopardize his/her own family because of having to pay that stipend. 

 If money was limited one year, households chose to only send one or two (out of three) of their children to school. It wasn't a surprise that most families kept at least one child in school, because we have been focusing on the power education has on communities. However, I did this simulation in my International Agriculture Development class  and every time money was tight, education was the first expense to be cut. When the majority of students (or people in a real world situation) do not understand how important education is, it does not become a priority. I think the decision for cutting education and it's expenses, as done in the International Agriculture Development class, depicts real life situations worldwide. While I fully believe that education is the key to solving all world injustices, how does a family sacrifice buying food to send their children to school? How is a father supposed to justify letting his family go hungry, just so his children can get an education? While my answer to my own question would to be create free education worldwide, that goes off into a whole other topic and creates a much larger discussion. 

Retrieved from Google Images

Going back to the simulation, I really enjoyed it because it gave us an insight to how families around the world have to manage their finances. It painted a bigger picture about struggles  people face. There is a Native American proverb that says, "Don't judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins." It is one thing to sit around and discuss how education is important and should be implemented everywhere, but it is a completely different thing to be in the situation where one must choose to get an education, or let their family starve. As far as I'm concerned(and my apologies if I am incorrect), none of us have ever had to endure this.

To relate education back to us locally, we quickly discussed the poverty line in the United States. Even with public education, education is expensive and most families are just barely getting by. To learn more about poverty relating to education in the US, check out this link:  http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/07/12/poverty-rate-still-high-among-us-children-report

We then shifted gears and watched a video titled, Class Dismissed, The Death of Female Education (posted below). It focuses on Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani student and education activist. At the age of 11 years old she wrote a blog about her life under the Taliban rule. She began doing interviews and was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize. Of course this heavily displeased the Taliban and on Monday October 9, 2012 Malala was shot while she was in a school bus on her way to school. She survived the shooting and has gone on to create a petition, using the slogan "I am Malala" demanding that by the end of 2015 all children worldwide must be in school. Malala has won many awards, and in April 2013 she was featured on the front cover of Time magazine as one of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World." Mahatma Ghandi once said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." To say Malala Yousafzai is an inspiration would be an understatement. Through all of her struggles and battles she has had to overcome, she is still pushing to change the world. 

Key points and incredible facts from the video:

• "Schools are not places of learning, but places of fear and violence." --Anonymous student.
• "There are people who want to stop educating girls through guns." -- Sahudin Yousafzai
• Schools for girls in Swat Valley are under attack by the Taliban.
• Boys schools remain open, but more than 200 girls schools have been blown up by the Taliban.

Retrieved from Google Images

After we learn about something going on oversees, we try and relate it back to the United States and then more locally to our UC Davis campus and/or hometowns. We continued the discussion by watching a TEDTalk called How to Escape Education's Death Valley by Sir Ken Robinson. Sir Ken Robinson is an English author, speaker and adviser on education. Originally born in Liverpool, he now lives in Los Angeles. Robinson believes that creativity must be integrated into education. In the video below, Robinson describes three principles that are needed for the human mind to flourish. While Robinson is very accredited, he is also a great comedian! I encourage you all to check out his video

Main points from Robinson's speech:

• Robinson suggests that education has three pillars:
• 1. Diversity, Schools should offer a broad curriculum and encourage individualization, because all children are different.
• 2. Curiosity, All humans are curious, and it is "the engine" of achievement
• 3. Creativity, There should be less emphasis on standardized testing and more emphasis on alternative learning techniques and processes
• "No Child Left Behind Act" is ironic because it is leaving millions of children behind.
• Education under "No Child Left Behind" is based on conformity
• America spends money on education, but in the wrong direction
• Within the American culture it has been a trend to de-professionalize teachers
• Dominant culture of education has come to focus on testing. Emphasis  on standardize tests needs to be lowered, (which is not to say that they should be completely gone).
• Testing should support learning, not obstruct it.

As said many times throughout the book, education is the key to solving all world problems. As humans we should strive to create equal and free access to education systems around the world. As Nelson Mandela once said,"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Retrieved from Google Images

To finally conclude class, we came to a decision about our group project. After being blown away by this book, and considering that there is a "What You Can Do" chapter, our class decided that we wanted to get involved and do something. We have decided to raise money for Camfed, a British based NGO that is dedicated to eliminating poverty in Africa through the empowerment and education of girls and young women. Our class goal is to raise $100, enough for a few girls to get an education. If you would like to make a donation or find out more about Camfed check out the link below! 
https://camfed.org/donate/personal-fundraising/218-uc-davis-first-year-seminar-half-the-sky/

Chapter 9

Is Islam Misogynistic?

"A majority of the dwellers of hell will be women, who curse too much and are ungrateful to their spouses."--Muhammad Imran, Ideal Woman in Islam

Today we began class by, not attempting to directly answer the question italicized directly beneath the chapter number, but by analyzing smaller pieces of the whole. What I find to be one of the most controversial topics when speaking about Islamic traditions, and I'm sure many other people do as well, is the question of whether or not women are forced by Islamic religion to wear a Hijab/Niqab, and if they do, for what reasons exactly are they supposed to? Is it to spare men from lustful thoughts by the women hiding most of their bodies except for their eyes or face? And if it is, why aren't men under the same pressure to conceal their physique to protect them from the lustful thoughts of women? Or if not lustful thoughts, just protection from the judgement of character based off of appearances? The discussion leader showed a very enlightening video clip that allowed us to listen at Muslim women attempting to answer those very questions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXzUuKdfnRE

Next, we moved on to the bigger picture; a look at whether or not women truly are oppressed by the word of Allah spoken in the Qua-ran, and is it our place to judge? With current Islamic states in what we view as a constant state of turmoil, it seems to me that the Islamic faith, and those who practice it, are given a bad rap, at least by a lot of westerners. The real question here, is whether or not these Islamic states are oppressive towards women because that's what the Qua-ran says, or because that is their abstract interpretation of it. The class discussion leader then showed us a video of a converted British women speaking on behalf of Muslim women, and another Muslim woman who grew up in one of these Islamic states, witnessing first hand the kinds of laws created based off of the religion. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP2FsLrraxE

After the video we discussed whether or not it was our place to judge the Islamic faith, based off of just a few of the radical events we've witnessed, and I think the general consensus the class came to was that, while we have no right to judge and draw conclusions, it's often hard not to. Relating to this though, the question was brought up on whether or not Western society places just as much pressure on women and there appearances--surgical enhancements, weight-loss medications, makeup, etc. So who's to say we're not the oppressive ones? 

These issues are not irrelevant to our everyday lives. What happens in those Islamic states, and what  Muslim radicals do, directly affects the lives of Muslims here in the United States, many who are just trying to live normal lives and practice their religion in peace. It's important that we educate ourselves on what Islamic religion means to them, and not patronize their practices with a pretentious mindset in an attempt to "liberate" them. Below is a link for a CNN article about an Islamic American teenager who chooses to wear a hijab, and what its affects are on her lifestyle, and what it means to her. 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/12/generation.islam.hijab/index.html?eref=time_world