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.