60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights

Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights, the main text that declares that every person deserves a life of dignity, respect, and the opportunity to pursue happiness, health, and a good quality of life free from prejudice and persecution.

The event was celebrated by thousands around the world.

If you want to read more about the events, check out the Amnesty International Web site.

Here's an interesting picture from the BBC:

 

A woman squeezes herself into a transparent suitcase to raise awareness of human trafficking and mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Preamble

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore,

The General Assembly,

Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.


Article 1

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11

1. 1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. 2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13

1. 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. 2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14

1. 1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. 2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15

1. 1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. 2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16

1. 1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. 2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. 3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17

1. 1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. 2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20

1. 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. 2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21

1. 1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. 2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.
3. 3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23

1. 1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. 2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. 3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. 4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25

1. 1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. 2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26

1. 1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. 2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. 3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27

1. 1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. 2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29

1. 1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. 2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. 3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Anorexia Videos

For the final videos, please click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS2mfWDryPE and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKUSGOB-0V8&feature=channel

The Cholera Epidemic in Zimbabwe

For those of you who attended the AIDS banquet on Friday, I thought I would post a couple of articles to the cholera situation in Zimbabwe that Ms. Berk talked about.

As you might know, Zimbabwe has been experienced some serious unrest for the last twenty years or so. Robert Mugabe, the current president, is a corrupt dictatorial man who refuses to give up his position, despite the run-off elections against him earlier this year. In fact, during the elections, he rounded up people from the opposition, imprisoned them, had them beaten, and despite all of that, they still won. Not satisfied, he set himself back into that position, and refused to acknowledge the new cabinet. The United Nations has come out with a statement condemning his refusal to step down, but being who he is, he has been unaffected.


He has arguably single-handedly destroyed Zimbabwe's economy, health, and social cohesion, and drove the country into unprecedented chaos. He has violently opposed homosexuality, took land from the white minority, and advocated, for all intents and purposes, torture to his opponents.

The cholera crisis, however, is probably one of the worst events that the country has seen in recent years. Because of the severe poverty that has plagued Zimbabwe, the lack of access to clean and safe water, and lack of infrastructure, a disease outbreak can essentially bring the country to its knees. Which is exactly what happened a few months ago. Two of the main hospitals in Harare, the capital, closed because of lack of resources, along many of the local smaller clinics throughout the country.

Although cholera outbreaks are not new in many poverty-stricken areas, the toll it has taken on the country has been utterly devastating. In the last month, people have reported raw sewage running down the streets, the water sources have been shut off because the main sanitation company says it ran out of money for purification. Many highly populated areas of the capital have been without adequate water or sanitation for months now. To make matters worse, people who want to leave cannot access their money in the banks because of lack of cash currency, so they can't even leave their country or buy medicine.

The incoming rainy season has definitely made matters worse, as rain is washing the bacteria into shallow wells, where people dig for water, further spreading the contamination. Over 600 people have died so far, and many more are at risk. Dehydrated cholera victims are unable to receive adequate rehydration, especially when they leave hospitals. A doctor in Harare has said:

"To me nothing can explain this better, it's genocide, simple.

"Patients are dying needlessly; drugs are not there; prescription papers are hard to get, tubes for blood collection are difficult to come by; food for patients isn't available; surgical operations for patients have been stopped and doctors are only attending to emergencies.

“There are no more patients inside the wards, just empty beds.”

At the country's major referral hospital, Parirenyatwa, there are no more surgical operations.

"The two theatres have been closed, even the one for caesarean operations," he says.

"Everyone is being referred to private clinics, and if you don't have money, you die."(Source: BBC Online)

 Mugabe has asked for international aid to help deal with this crisis. However, because he has alienated the world over, leaders are refusing to help if he does not agree to step down.

The UNICEF is predicting a jump to over 60,000 cases in the upcoming months, due to Zimbabweans' already vulnerable health and immunity due to the high rates of HIV/AIDS, poverty, and other diseases in the country.

The UNICEF is also reporting that the outbreak has now spread to neighboring South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana. Unless this is brought under control, the situation will be deteriorating very rapidly, and might spread to the rest of the continent.







All images (c) the BBC 2008

You can learn more about Cholera at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera

Plastic Surgery Statistics

Your Hesse-Biber article refers to statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). If you are curious as to look at more recent data, you can visit the ASAPS Statistics page: http://www.surgery.org/press/statistics.php. It contains data from the last ten years.

America's Health Rankings 2008

A new report came out about health state rankings. As we saw the first week of classes, when compared to the rest of the country, the following observed trends tend to hold true:

1. Overall, health indicators are worse in the South than other regions of the country
2. Overall, New England seems to be the healthiest region with Vermont holding the highest ranking in the country in terms of health
3. Infant mortality in the United States, which seems to be holding at 6.8/100,000, is the highest in the industrialized world. When broken down by ethnic background, tends to be worst among Blacks (13.5) than Whites (5.7) or Hispanics (5.6) (Source: CDC Health Data for All Ages 2000-2004)
4. Obesity rates in the US are also the highest in the industrialized world
5. Comparatively, for all these indicators, non-Hispanic Blacks tend to compare worse than Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. In fact, in almost all measures, NHBs tend to have almost double whatever rates the other groups have. Talk about disparity!

The report has a clickable map of the US where you can view details of specific states. You can find the report here: America's Health Rankings 2008.

Infant Mortality Breakdown from the CDC:

Race/Ethnicity	All causes	Rate
All	685.7	6.9
White	572.7	5.7
Black	1351.4	13.5
American Indian/Alaska Native	860.5	8.6
Asian or Pacific Islander	475.5	4.8
Hispanic	560.3	5.6
Non-Hispanic	715.2	7.2
Non-Hispanic White	571.9	5.7
Non-Hispanic Black	1369.5	13.7

Mauritania video

Part I



Part II

Tyra Banks video

Forced marriages in Pakistan

Here's a story from the BBC about forced marriages in Pakistan. The reporters recount the story of Alia, who was taken from the UK on vacation to Pakistan, and then forced to marry her 15 year old cousin. She has been trapped with her in-laws for eight months with no possibility of leaving.

The High Commission in Islamabad has taken it upon itself to rescue girls who are victims of forced marriages. Commissioners, as soon as a girl contacts them, will go to the in-laws, and rescue the girl, sometimes in the cover of night. The girls are then taken to a safe house and protected as divorce procedures get finalized. In light of the previous story that I posted on this blog, you can truly see the threat that girls live under on a daily basis. Many of the girls who threaten to leave bad marriages are either beaten, burnt with acid, and sometimes in extreme cases, killed.

There are many justifications for such horrific acts of violence, of course, not the least of which is the extreme devaluation of women and their role in society. Yet, if you think about it, they embody the culture's and their clan's honor. So... are they as powerless as we think?

 Tough choice between freedom and honour

By Emily Buchanan
BBC News world affairs correspondent

For officials from the High Commission in Islamabad, rescuing forced marriage victims is a tough, frontline job.

Their latest case takes them on a tortuous five hour car journey into the hills of Kashmir. They have little to go on, except a brief call from a distressed teenager from the Midlands.

Her mobile phone battery low. She resorted to a few text messages to communicate where she was being held captive.

In the first nine months of 2008, the Foreign Office's Forced Marriage Unit handled more than 1,300 cases - about half of these involving minors.

The BBC obtained exclusive access to the Pakistani branch of the operation which rescues British nationals from such forced marriages.

Alia, not her real name, was forced by her parents to marry her 15-year-old Pakistani cousin.

She's been trapped with her in-laws for eight months with no means of escape. There's no public transport in this remote part of the country.

The consular officials, backed up by a police escort, eventually find the house and ask to speak to Alia alone.

Intimidated

She tells them she wants to leave her in-laws' house straight away. The prime mover in this rescue strategy is Albert David, a Pakistani working at the High Commission.

He has the delicate and sometimes dangerous job of breaking the news to the father-in-law.

He comes back with the message that Alia's family wants to speak to her. She refuses, too intimidated to stand up to them in person.

Albert tells her: "We will go out this door with whatever possessions you've got. The car is waiting outside, so you don't have to face them."

Alia agrees immediately and they rush her out the back door into the consular car. So far, there's been no sign of her husband, but then he too is only a teenager.

Most cases of forced marriage involve British women of South East Asian origin. Often, their families' motivation is to help poor relatives obtain a spousal visa so they can live in the UK.

The British government estimates that two-thirds of forced marriages of British nationals are linked to Pakistan, and many of them involve poor families in remote rural areas.

Walking out of her marriage has been a momentous step for Alia - but she knows defying her parents' wishes will be seen as betrayal of the family, especially as the marriage was her grandmother's dying wish.

Every day, Albert David sees the price the women he rescues have to pay.

"This is a very big step for a young person. They know by doing this they are cutting themselves off from the family and they are going into a very uncertain future," he says.

Honour

Vice Consul Theepan Selvaratnam describes another woman he's just visited, a woman who we'll name Rubina.

"She's in a terrible state. She had injuries on her arms and neck. She said she'd been beaten, pushed against a wall, grabbed by the throat.

"Initially, she wanted to come with us. Then she spoke to her husband and decided to stay."

In the car on the way back to Islamabad, he and Albert discuss whether she decided to stay under duress.

"I think she was under their influence and felt threatened. She was worried about her mum and her sister," Albert says.

"If she leaves, what will happen to them?" he asks.

Three days later, Rubina's family allow her to visit the High Commission and speak to consular officials alone.

She is shocked at how hard it is, even with her British education, to stand up for herself against her husband.

"I've never seen anyone with a temper like this," she tells the staff.

"You think because you're a British girl you can stand up for yourself, but it's so difficult. You feel so lonely.

"There never used to be a day I didn't go out with my friends. But here your husband is supposed to be your everything." 

You can read the rest of the article, as well as listen to the report and view a video here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7754280.stm

Acid attacks and wife burnings of women in Pakistan

The New York Times ran a very moving op Ed yesterday about acid attacks and wife burnings of women in Pakistan.

Terrorism That’s Personal

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Terrorism in this part of the world usually means bombs exploding or hotels burning, as the latest horrific scenes from Mumbai attest. Yet alongside the brutal public terrorism that fills the television screens, there is an equally cruel form of terrorism that gets almost no attention and thrives as a result: flinging acid on a woman’s face to leave her hideously deformed.

Here in Pakistan, I’ve been investigating such acid attacks, which are commonly used to terrorize and subjugate women and girls in a swath of Asia from Afghanistan through Cambodia (men are almost never attacked with acid). Because women usually don’t matter in this part of the world, their attackers are rarely prosecuted and acid sales are usually not controlled. It’s a kind of terrorism that becomes accepted as part of the background noise in the region.

This month in Afghanistan, men on motorcycles threw acid on a group of girls who dared to attend school. One of the girls, a 17-year-old named Shamsia, told reporters from her hospital bed: “I will go to my school even if they kill me. My message for the enemies is that if they do this 100 times, I am still going to continue my studies.”

When I met Naeema Azar, a Pakistani woman who had once been an attractive, self-confident real estate agent, she was wearing a black cloak that enveloped her head and face. Then she removed the covering, and I flinched.

Acid had burned away her left ear and most of her right ear. It had blinded her and burned away her eyelids and most of her face, leaving just bone.

Six skin grafts with flesh from her leg have helped, but she still cannot close her eyes or her mouth; she will not eat in front of others because it is too humiliating to have food slip out as she chews.

“Look at Naeema, she has lost her eyes,” sighed Shahnaz Bukhari, a Pakistani activist who founded an organization to help such women, and who was beginning to tear up. “She makes me cry every time she comes in front of me.”

Ms. Azar had earned a good income and was supporting her three small children when she decided to divorce her husband, Azar Jamsheed, a fruit seller who rarely brought money home. He agreed to end the (arranged) marriage because he had his eye on another woman.

After the divorce was final, Mr. Jamsheed came to say goodbye to the children, and then pulled out a bottle and poured acid on his wife’s face, according to her account and that of their son.
“I screamed,” Ms. Azar recalled. “The flesh of my cheeks was falling off. The bones on my face were showing, and all of my skin was falling off.”

Neighbors came running, as smoke rose from her burning flesh and she ran about blindly, crashing into walls. Mr. Jamsheed was never arrested, and he has since disappeared. (I couldn’t reach him for his side of the story.)

Ms. Azar has survived on the charity of friends and with support from Ms. Bukhari’s group, the Progressive Women’s Association (www.pwaisbd.org). Ms. Bukhari is raising money for a lawyer to push the police to prosecute Mr. Jamsheed, and to pay for eye surgery that — with a skilled surgeon — might be able to restore sight to one eye.

...

Acid attacks and wife burnings are common in parts of Asia because the victims are the most voiceless in these societies: they are poor and female. The first step is simply for the world to take note, to give voice to these women.

Since 1994, Ms. Bukhari has documented 7,800 cases of women who were deliberately burned, scalded or subjected to acid attacks, just in the Islamabad area. In only 2 percent of those cases was anyone convicted.

For the last two years, Senators Joe Biden and Richard Lugar have co-sponsored an International Violence Against Women Act, which would adopt a range of measures to spotlight such brutality and nudge foreign governments to pay heed to it. Let’s hope that with Mr. Biden’s new influence the bill will pass in the next Congress.

...

You can  read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/opinion/30kristof.html?_r=1

Reabolish Slavery

Thank you Sarah for bringing this to my attention.

This is a very interesting ad against human trafficking:

The informal health care sector

At the beginning of the semester, we discussed how women's care to an elderly parent or a spouse considered to be an informal health care sector. The New York Times today has an article that gives some very interesting figures.

The article notes that "[t]he unpaid services of America’s family caregivers amounted to some $375 billion in 2007, up from $350 billion in 2006." The report also estimates that

34 million American adults provide an average of 21 hours a week of care to another adult, usually an elderly parent or spouse, worth $10.10 an hour in the marketplace.

 The article further notes the following, which is the most relevant to our class:

That’s a bloodless way of thinking about the typical caregiver, who is defined in a series of benchmark studies as a 46-year-old woman, married, employed and looking after a widowed mother who needs help with everyday tasks and medical issues. But you know who they’re talking about: You.

You have a full-time job, a demanding husband, probably children of your own. You spend nights and weekends neglecting your own family while doing your mother’s grocery shopping and visiting her because she rarely gets out anymore. When she has a doctor’s appointment you skip work. She’s fallen a few times and you’ve raced from the office, or a Little League game, to the emergency room. You’re always tired. You don’t have enough time for anyone, and you have no time at all for yourself.

...
The AARP report also notes the other costs of caregiving. Out-of-pocket expenses for our hypothetical 40-something daughter — on groceries, home repair, medications for her mother — average $5,531 a year. If mom lives in Florida and you in New York, that’ll be $8,728 a year because of travel, long-distance telephone and the like.

 You can read the full article at the New York Times Web site by visiting this link: http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/loves-labor/?hp

Global AIDS day

Today is the 20th anniversary of the World AIDS Day Campaign. It's a day when politicians, activists, academics, and people who are affected by this disease stand in solidarity with one voice and one mission, and renew their pledges to do everything they can to combat AIDS.

The Global AIDS Campaign has a site where you can read more about what's being done around the world, plus ways to become involved.

This year's theme is Leadership, an ideal that is sorely needed in this fight. From the campaign's Web site:

Leadership encourages leaders at all levels to stop AIDS. Building on the 2006 theme of accountability, leadership highlights the discrepancy between the commitments that have been made to halt the spread of AIDS, and actions taken to follow them through. Leadership empowers everyone – individuals, organisations, governments – to lead in the response to AIDS. (Source)

Health and Human Services (HHS) has an AIDS campaign that contains facts, news, testing information, prevention, and treatment and care.

The HHS has identified ways that you can participate in getting the word out about today:

Participate in a Blogging Call to Action on December 1st

AIDS.gov and the National Institute on Drug Abuse are partnering with Blog Catalog to host “Bloggers Unite on World AIDS Day. ” We invite bloggers to write about HIV/AIDS on December 1. If you are not a blogger, ask your favorite blogger to join the event.

Link People to HIV Testing Centers via Text Messaging

To find an HIV testing site near you, send a text message with your ZIP code to “KNOWIT” (566948) or visit www.hivtest.org. Promote KNOWIT by copying the code at http://www.aids.gov/knowit.html and pasting it on your profile, website, or blog.

Attend the World AIDS Day Event in Second Life

Join us in Second Life for a World AIDS Day Musical Festival on November 30 and on December 1 for a World AIDS Day event that will feature HIV/AIDS presentations and displays, tours, writing workshops, and virtual red ribbons and t-shirts. For more information, visit the Second Life World AIDS Day page .

Tell people about the CDC’s New HIV Incidence Data

CDC recently published national HIV incidence (new infections) that showed an estimated 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in 2006—that’s substantially higher than the previous 40,000 estimated annual new infections. Visit the CDC’s website to learn more.

So, on this day join me in spreading the word about AIDS, and make or renew your pledge to do everything you can to protect yourself and others, help protect yourself and others, and demanding that your country's commitment to stop this disease is being followed through.

Here's more about the story from Somalia

From the BBC

Somalis grow fearful of Islamists

By Mohamed Mohamed BBC Somali Service

Public anger at the recent stoning of a 13-year-old girl in Somalia shows the growing resentment towards radical Islamists who have gained control of much of the south and centre of the country.

Insurgents from the militant group al-Shabab are seen as authoritarian and unaccountable - unlike the Islamists who were in control of the capital, Mogadishu, in 2006.

Asha Ibrahim Dhuhulow was stoned to death for adultery in the southern port city of Kismayo, which was taken control by al-Shabab and its allies in August.

I don't know what crime she committed other than being raped - and I was not even allowed to see her body Asha Ibrahim Dhuhulow's aunt

Her 62-year-old aunt told the BBC that the teenager had in fact been raped by three armed men - and she took Asha to the police station to report it.

Several days later, after two suspects had been arrested, she was asked to return to the station with her niece.
To her surprise the girl was taken into custody too.

"I tried to speak to the police but they said they were not talking," she said.

Three days later, after Asha had been tried in an Islamist court, she was stoned to death.

"They said that the girl had chatted up these men and had confessed to adultery," she said.

But the aunt said the authorities clearly failed to notice her age, how mentally disturbed she was by her experience, or her history of mental illness.

"She was only 13 years old. I have got her card from Hagarder refugee camp which has her age on it. She might have looked a bit older, but you could tell her age by talking to her," she said.
 
Law and order
Other critics point to the lack of lawyers, witnesses or appeal process.

The Islamists were reported to have announced their verdict the day before the stoning from cars with loudspeakers.

But Asha's aunt was not informed of the court's decision - despite repeated visits to the police station.

 

"I was not even told that she was to be killed, I just heard it from people after it happened.
"I don't know what crime she committed other than being raped; and I was not even allowed to see her body," she said.

Al-Shabab in Kismayo has refused attempts by the BBC to discuss the stoning.

It is almost two years since the Ethiopian-backed interim government ousted the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which had ruled much of Somalia for nearly six months.

In 2006, the UIC was generally welcomed for the law and order it brought to a country bedevilled by more than a decade of civil war and clan fighting.

UIC fighters launched an insurgency following what many Somalis regarded as an Ethiopian invasion. Its youth and military wing, al-Shabab, gained notoriety for its determination, despite its much smaller numbers.
 
Fear
The group, which is on the US terror list and is said to have links with al-Qaeda, has since split from the UIC, angered by its current peace negotiations with the government.

It does not work against the UIC, but it favours co-operating with other groups including:

• The Kaanboni, led by Hassan Turki, who is also on the US terror list
• The Islamic Front, a new group about which very little is known.

For example, since mid-August, when they captured the Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Gedo regions from local clan militia, they now share the administration with existing officials.

 

According to well-informed sources in the regions who requested anonymity, these groups instil fear among the local population.
"You keep quiet and follow the commands of the Islamists, or emigrate to neighbouring countries, or simply die and leave this world," one of them said.

In Mogadishu, al-Shabab insurgents are said to move around the city freely - often in vehicles captured from the government.

The government forces and troops from Ethiopia and the African Union are limited to the airport, port, presidential palace and a few military camps.

Besides the central city of Baidoa, these are the only areas government forces now hold.

When they attempt to move between these points, they are often ambushed by the Islamists.

A few weeks ago, al-Shabab held a military parade in a former military camp in the capital, where they carried out a public flogging of two men sentenced by an Islamic court over a family dispute.

The flogging took place in front of crowds of local residents, and was orchestrated to show just who is running the show.
 
Death threats

Al-Shabab insurgents have a countrywide organisation, threatening anyone they perceive to be supporting the government with text messages.

They are wrong if they committed a kidnap. They will have to be punished under Sharia law Hiiran's al-Shabab Chairman Sheikh Ali Dheere

One human rights activist outside the capital told the BBC that he was ordered to close down his offices.

He said he began receiving quite frequent threatening messages on his mobile. So he stopped using his phone.

Eventually a relative brought him a stern message from al-Shabab. It said if he did not stop his work, he would be killed.

As the government has lost ground over the last five months, the number of attacks on civil society activists, local non-governmental workers and international aid workers has increased.

Some have been shot dead point-blank; others have been kidnapped and are still missing.

Most suspect that those behind the attacks are al-Shabab insurgents, even if no-one dares say so publicly.

In the central Hiiran region, where most towns have seen a presence of al-Shabab and the more moderate UIC since July, people have been more vocal in their complaints.
 
'Not Islamic'

A former army engineer and political activist detailed examples of those targeted because of their association with Ethiopia or the West.

"They have killed 17 civilians without reason or due process including two teachers and a well-known traditional elder, Da'ar Hirsi Hooshow," the man, whose name is being withheld for his own safety, told the BBC.

The teachers worked at a school that taught English and employed foreign staff.

The shooting of Mr Hooshow, who was known to be holding talks with Ethiopian troops before he was shot dead on 10 October, prompted angry scenes in Beled Weyne.

Town residents stoned al-Shabab centres believing them to be behind the killing.

And while the UIC may share al-Shabab's aim to see the Ethiopians leave the country, it has distanced itself from its former allies.

On Monday, UIC authorities in Beled Weyne arrested nine al-Shabab members for allegedly kidnapping an official over the weekend

"We didn't ask them to do any operation at all," Hiiran's al-Shabab Chairman Sheikh Ali Dheere told the BBC.

"They are wrong if they committed a kidnap. They will have to be punished under Sharia law," he said.
But many fear that law and order is not al-Shabab's priority.

"They are holding this region with the barrel of the gun, and it has nothing to do with Islam," the Hiiran political activist said.

 

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7722701.stm

Published: 2008/11/12 01:16:45 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Oh for the love of ....!

I decided a while back that I would not share a lot of the horrible stories that are going around the world so as to allow us to take a level-headed approach to our topics.

But, in the last couple of weeks, the stories have been getting more and more harrowing, and it's no longer possible to keep an dispassionate look on what is going on.

I am truly outraged at these stories. There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for these injustices!

It's absolutely devestating, disheartening and heartbreaking that life is getting to be so incredibly hellish for so many millions around the world!

What or who is to blame for this?!

Here are the two stories that got me all fired up:

From today's news on the BBC:

Acid attack on Afghan schoolgirls

Attackers in Afghanistan have sprayed acid in the faces of at least 15 girls near a school in Kandahar, police say.

They say that the attack happened shortly before at least six people were killed in a bomb blast near a government building in the city.

Doctors say that the six girls were wearing Islamic burkas or veils which provided them with some protection.

Correspondents say the attack is likely to have been carried out by those opposed to the education of women.

A spokesman for the Taleban denied involvement in the attack.

The former Taleban government - ousted from power in 2001 - banned girls from attending school.

'Not safe'
"We were going to school on foot when two unknown people on a motorcycle came close to us and threw acid in our faces," 16-year-old Atifa told the BBC.

"I want to ask the government that why they cannot protect us, we girls want to study but the the government is not helping us. We want better security."

She said that the attack took place on Wednesday morning outside the Mirwais Nika Girls High School.

Officials say that that two attackers used a toy gun to spray the acid and fled as soon as people came to the assistance of the girls.

Atifa said she did not know why anyone would have attacked her and the others.

"I don't know why they did it," she said. "Kandahar is not safe. But we can't stay home, we want an education."

The BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul says that the incident has shocked ordinary Afghans.

Nato-led forces in Afghanistan condemned the attack as cowardly.

COWARDLY??? That's all they can say? These attacks were cowardly?? Where is the outrage? Where is the justice? How are women supposed to get anywhere in life, if everytime they try to get ahead, they are killed, maimed or burnt??

And, here's the other story from last week's news:

Somali Girl stoned to death


http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7707000/7707683.stm

13-year-old Somali girl raped and stoned

(Trigger warning.) Last week, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, a 13-year-old Somali girl was stoned to death by insurgents because she was raped. They called it adultery.

"Reports indicate that she had been raped by three men while traveling on foot to visit her grandmother in the war-torn capital, Mogadishu," Unicef, the United Nations children's agency, said in a statement.

"Following the assault, she sought protection from the authorities, who then accused her of adultery and sentenced her to death," Unicef added. "A child was victimized twice -- first by the perpetrators of the rape and then by those responsible for administering justice."

As if that wasn't terrible enough, she was killed by 50 men who buried her up to her neck and pelted her with rocks until she died. In a stadium in front of 1,000 spectators. The details of this crime are just wrenching. At least some in the crowd tried to stop it:

Inside the stadium, militia members opened fire when some of the witnesses to the killing attempted to save her life, and shot dead a boy who was a bystander.

Cara at the Curvature and Tracy at Broadsheet have more. Cara writes,

But in the end, whether she was killed because of a rape, because of consensual sex, or because of sexual contact neither consensual or non-consensual because it was entirely imagined, it's not the point. To emphasize that Asha was murdered because she was raped, and that's why her death is a tragedy is to suggest that it would be less tragic if she actually had committed consensual adultery. Asha's life was taken from her, quite simply, because she was a woman.

The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women has a letter-writing action:

You can write a letter to the representatives of Somalia, the African Union, and various UN human rights offices to encourage them to take action by investigating this murder, bringing the perpetrators to justice, and denouncing the actions of these insurgents.

None of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow's killers have been arrested.

Source: http://www.feministing.com/archives/012146.html

You can hear more about the case, and first hand accounts, from the BBC at this link here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7707000/7707683.stm

For any students who are reading this, what do you think?

New Hampshire State Senate

As I mentioned last night in class, New Hampshire now has more women than men in the State Senate (13 women out of 24 men). This is the first in the country.

If you click on this link: New Hampshire Senate President Sylvia Larsen talks to host Jacki Lyden about the election. You can listen to a 3 minute interview on NPR about that.

Update on the rescued girls from sex slavery

Here is an update about an earlier story that I linked a while back. The reporter goes back to Cambodia to see how the girls are doing. This is very moving.

Worcester Women's Health Night

October 29, 2008, 4:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

The YWCA and UMass Memorial Medical Center have joined together to bring women of all ages an evening of health and wellness at a Women's Health Night, October 29, 2008 from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m.

The evening will include a health expo with community resources, health screenings, exhibits and more.

Participants also will have the opportunity to attend a variety of health-related workshops from an advocacy workshop titled "Stand Up for Women's Health" to a workshop on non-toxic cosmetics and body products provided by the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition.

New this year, the Department of Public Health will hold a flu clinic in conjunction with the Women's Health Night, offering free flu shots to adults 18 and over.

Other highlights include Medication Safety Presentations sponsored by The Partnership for Healthcare Excellence and UMass Memorial Medical Center.

FREE.

For more information about Women's Health Night, contact : amartire@ywcaworcester.org

Woman: 'They wanted to destroy my body and spirit'

(CNN) -- Eve Ensler can't find the right words to describe what she's seen and heard.
"Obscene. Horrible. Out of control...." The activist tosses out a cluster of angry words, trying to describe what is, in some ways, indescribable.
She talks about a woman being gang-raped by 15 soldiers. Some violated with sticks and knives. Cannibalism. She has returned from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where thousands of women and girls have been systematically raped during a 10-year war that some say has cost more lives than any other war since World War II.
"It's 'femicide,' " Ensler says, using another word to describe the treatment of Congolese women. "It's the systematic destruction of women. It's an economic war fought on the bodies of women. It's the destruction of the Congolese people and life itself."
Ensler and others are trying to stop the gruesome attacks against women by launching a series of campaigns that pivot on what Ensler says is a debatable premise -- people will care what happens to dark-skinned Africans.
The centerpiece of Ensler's campaign is "The City of Joy," an all-female village in Congo where rape victims can recover from their physical and psychological wounds. Other groups such as UNICEF have mounted similar efforts to empower Congolese women and encourage the world to act.

Read more of the article here, and you can view the film below.

Khifadh (clitoridectomy) in Egypt

(Thank you Cassandra for this link)

The following link takes you to a video from Youtube where you can view a debate between two Islam scholars from Egypt. Dr. Malika Zarrar, a woman, argues that no matter what, circumcision is brutal. On the other hand, the scholar from Al-Azhar University (one of the leading Islamic institutions in the world), Dr. Muhammad Wahdan, argues with her for circumcision. His argument is that if the clitoris is too long, then it will excite the girl. It was also beneficial in preserving chastity and honor.

Interestingly, the interview was conducted in 2006, and aired in Kuwait. Last year Muslim scholars from all over the world met for a week to debate this issue, and they came up with the admonishment that female circumcision was not only not Islamic, but that it was, in fact, anti-Islamic. That was a very powerful statement. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have had much impact.

Anyhow... here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUvrHsPaTSo

Birth control methods

In preparation of our Thursday class, please take a look at the following site from Planned Parenthood on Birth Control methods available.

Read about Norplant from the Population Council - one of its original developers.

An article from the ACLU entitled Norplant: A New Contraceptive with the Potential for Abuse

Incidentally, Norplant has been discontinued in the US since 1996, but is still used in other developing countries like Bengladesh.

Abortion: The World Health Organization "Preventing unsafe abortions" site has some statistics about abortion related deaths around the world.

The debate tonight

I encourage everyone to watch the debate tonight. If you would like to discuss it, just come to the class at 5:45, and we can discuss it as a group.

In the meantime, if you want to read more about each candidate's stance and voting record on particular issues, CNN has a pretty good page where you can do a side-by-side comparison: CNN Election Center 2008

More specifically to our class, the Kaiser Permanente site is one of the best out there about health issues. Click here for more information. You can choose specific issues like women's health, and global health care, and view each candidate's plan.

Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone

(Thank you Cassandra for sending this story)

From the Washington Post:

A Mother's Final Look at Life: In Impoverished Sierra Leone, Childbirth Carries Deadly Odds

Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone is one of the highest in Africa. For those of you who have watched the film Blood Diamond, you might remember that the country has experienced extreme poverty, ethnic conflict, and a civil war, which was made worse by the diamond industry.

The story recounts some women's experiences with trying to deliver where access to modern technology, trained physicians and health care professionals, and to hospitals is severely limited or non-existent. Ophtamologists, and poorly trained midwives are the only personnel who can provide any obstetrics care to the women.

UNICEF, CARE, and Catholic Charities have collaborated to fund 54 public health clinics staffed by one nurse each, around the country. Patients are indeed expected to pay for the services they receive, the drugs, and supplies, at the tune of $10 per vaginal delivery, and $70 for C-section. The article notes that:

Patients must pay for all the drugs and medical supplies used in the hospital, in addition to fees for delivery -- about $10 for a regular deliver, and $70 or more for a C-section. Some operations are delayed while husbands run out to buy rubber gloves for the surgeon.

"I'm worried about how I am going to pay this bill," said Barrie, 32, who said he earns less than $100 a month making jewelry in a local market.

Moreover, the clinics are not open 24 hours per day, so that when women go into labor, they must wait for the clinic to open. This makes complications all the more dangerous for the women and their babies.

This is another one of those examples where structural barriers directly impact women's health, and can, in extreme cases, be fatal.

The article has a very touching slideshow, which you can view by clicking on this link.

Here is the video that accompanies the article.

Who does what in the world economy?

CNN has an article which I'm copying here in its entirety that explains who does what on the world economic stage. Read between the lines, especially when describing the IMF and the World Bank.

SOURCE: CNN Date: Sat 10/11/2008

(CNN) -- Organizations that have a role in the global financial system:

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn speaks Saturday in Washington on efforts to heal the economy.

Bank for International Settlements: The BIS is an organization of central banks that serves as a central bank for those institutions, focusing on monetary and financial cooperation.
 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.: The FDIC is a U.S. government corporation that insures deposits at member banks.
 
Group of Seven: The G-7 is the meeting of the finance ministers of seven industrialized nations: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States.
 
Group of Eight: The G-8 is the annual meeting of the heads of state of the G-7 nations plus Russia.

International Monetary Fund: The IMF manages the world's financial systems, primarily by implementing the policies of its 185 member-countries, in particular exchange rates between countries and how payments flow between countries.
 
Securities and Exchange Commission: The SEC is an independent agency of the U.S. government tasked with enforcing laws relating to securities and regulating the securities industry and stock exchanges.

World Bank: The World Bank provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries, with an emphasis on reducing poverty. Its programs are carried out by two development institutions -- the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association -- which are owned by the bank's 185 member-countries.

World Trade Organization: The WTO settles trade disputes and negotiates international trade agreements.

South Africa changes its policies on HIV/AIDS

A couple of weeks ago we discussed the situation in South Africa with regards to its policies on HIV/AIDS. Specifically, we read Sonia Shah's article on AIDS denialism in South Africa under the "guidance" of President Thabo Mbeki, and about the various rumors about how HIV/AIDS is "cured" through herbal remedies, unprotected sex, and rituals.

Last week, a new Minister of Health was sworn in in South Africa. She brings with her a renewed commitment to combatting HIV/AIDS, and has made it her mission to dispell many of the common misconceptions about the disease. Also, one of her goals as incoming Minister, is to facilitate access to anti-retroviral drugs.

Most importantly, her ministry has for the first time in over a decade, admitted publicly that there is no denying that HIV causes AIDS. Remember, that was a point of contention under the former president, Thabo Mbeki, and health minister, "Dr. Beetroot"/"Dr. Garlic", Ms. Tshabalala-Msimang, who described ARVs as "toxic", and strongly advocated replacing them with traditional herbal medicine.

Some data for you:

HIV/AIDS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Number of people with HIV: More than 5.5m

Percentage of the population with HIV: 11%

Patients receiving ARVs in June: 495,000

Patients in need of ARVs: 520,000

Reported HIV/Aids deaths: 591,000

Sources: South Africa At A Glance 2008-09, UN Human Development Report 2007, Avert

This is going to be very interesting to watch the impact of the new policies, and whether or not the tide will turn on the spread of HIV, and the number of HIV/AIDS related deaths in South Africa

Sources:
CNN: S. Africa U-turns on HIV/AIDS treatment
BBC: New era for S Africa Aids fight?

Violence and the economy

A while back we spoke about the relationship between economic hardships and violence. We then discussed the man in California who shot himself and his family after losing his job, and the elderly woman who shot herself in the chest after she could not pay her mortgage. This, unfortunately, seems to be a rising trend around the country.

has a feature about the rising violent trend this week in an article entitled "As economy sinks, officials fear violent solutions"

Of special interest is the following quote:

Across the country, authorities are becoming concerned that the nation's financial woes could turn increasingly violent, and they are urging people to get help. In some places, mental-health hot lines are jammed, counseling services are in high demand and domestic-violence shelters are full.

And, here's another one:

Karthik Rajaram, 45, left a suicide note saying he was in financial trouble and contemplated killing just himself. But he said he decided to kill his entire family because that was more honorable, police said.

The saddest statement, however, comes from a woman in MA who committed suicide after she became too overwhelmed by the mortgage woes:

After falling 31/2 years behind in payments, the Taunton, Massachusetts, housewife had been intercepting letters from the mortgage company and shredding them before her husband saw them. She tried to refinance but was declined.

In July, on the day the house was to be auctioned, she faxed the note to the mortgage company. Then the 52-year-old walked outside, shot her three beloved cats and then herself with her husband's rifle.

Notes left on the table revealed months of planning. She'd picked out her funeral home, laid out the insurance policy and left a note saying, "pay off the house with the insurance money."

This is a very sad state of affairs. I hope it gets better, but there's a real fear that it will not anytime soon. It's the women who are either getting killed, or killing themselves because of these problems. This is yet another example of how women tend to be in the most vulnerable situations in society, and when things get difficult, it in fact, becomes dangerous for women.

Modern day sex slavery

It seems there is a renewed interest in human trafficking and sex slavery in the United States. I have, in the last two days, seen two features on two different cable news stations related to this issue. I thought I would post some of the videos here for you to check out.

Here is the first one from CNN. I am looking forward to the film coming out.The first scene is just heartbreaking.




And, here's a feature from MSNBC.com report about the story of a young girl who was a sex slave in the US.

The accompanying story can be found here: Teen recounts horror of abduction into sex slavery: Many young victims of human traffickers treated as criminals themselves

Welcome to the course blog

Hello everyone,

Rather than spamming your email inboxes with daily messages, I thought I would start this blog here for us. I will use it to post relevant news items, related course content, and general links for you to check out.

You are welcome to contribute to this blog. All you have to do is email me and let me know that you are interested in contributing content (news or pages), and I'll give you writing priviliges.

If you have any ideas for features, please let me know.

This is our course blog, so please feel free to comment on anything you find of interest.

I look forward to "seeing" you all on here.