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The Right to be Equal
David Porter
One of the most challenging tasks the United Nations has ever set out to accomplish is the Millennium Development Goals. By all standards these goals will be little realized in any timely fashion. Under goal number three, "promote Gender Equality and Empower Women" , Afghanistan has one the most difficult roads to travel. "Afghanistan has one of the lowest female literacy rates, violence against women is a pervasive and silent epidemic due to the low status of women".
Throughout history women and men have strived for a society that is perfect. Since everyone may have a different perception of perfect, there exists the inherent conflict of individual pursuits. Thomas Hobbes has described this individual world as the state of nature. In this state of nature Hobbes envisioned a world that is sad, nasty, brutish and short. For some people that is exactly what life is and because we live in a dichotomous world, others live in the opposite of what Hobbes described. If the balance of a peaceful society is to be maintained, there has to be a great effort and focus towards equal human rights. The impact and results of our intensions and actions will need to be corrected at some points and changed. The pursuits of perfection is a balancing act that must be diligently acted upon everyday. For most of our history the balance has been tipped mostly in the favour of men.
As we look into the past we can see where the equal balance of human rights has been completely one sided. In the course of history the balance of human rights has just begun to be noticed as a serious issue. Just recently The Universal Declaration of Human Rights became a reality in the overall time frame of our existence. Not only have we realized the need for a declaration on human rights, we have come to understand that we have a responsibility to protect those rights. Those that are forced to live in a state that openly violates the basic human rights set out in the declaration are no doubt praying that we do our level best to bring equality into their lives. The issue of women's right in reality has also been brought to our attention just recently.
Women's rights have lead society to a greater understanding of human rights the world over. It is quite apparent that the world is a balance of female and male. We as a species can not survive without each other. Here in Canada we have made great steps towards the unending task of achieving equal human rights for women. The social changes that have come about through efforts for change are in part due to many great accomplishments of individual women. The goals of each woman started out as a desire to have women and men treated as equals. Their desire for women's rights quickly leads [url=http://www.utseus.org/robotic_bbs/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1816720]woolrich outlet Why You Should Do Regular Pest Control in Your House - written b[/url] to the abolition of slavery and the goal of human rights in general for all. Today this fight continues in many other areas of the world.
To get a deeper understanding of the vast differences that still exist, we need to look at where the efforts of human rights have taken hold and an area where human rights is just beginning to take shape. For the purpose of this exercise I will compare the struggles of the women we have studied to the situation in Afghanistan.
During 2001 a declaration on women's rights in Afghanistan was put together and sent around [url=http://www.sidegemeinde.com/peutereyoutlet.php]peuterey outlet[/url] through email. The declaration set out seven points of minimum requirements of the new government of Afghanistan. These seven points are:
1.An end to Islamic rule and the establishment of a secular government
2.Complete and immediate abolishment of sexual apartheid
3.The immediate abolishment of compulsory veiling. The recognition of freedom of dress
4.Prohibition of torture, execution, lashing, retribution and other Islamic punishments
5.Equality of men and women
6.Recognition of women's civil liberties including the right to work, education, travel and divorce
7.Recognition of the freedom of [url=http://sl.fjtcm.edu.cn/home.php?mod=space&uid=138033][/url] activity of women's rights organisations in Afghanistan.
These seven points will require a great deal of patience and education. The most important stage of any change is education. Every person that is studied in this course has leaned into the fact that education must take place. The education of society must support the reality that women and men are equal and the target audience for lasting change has to be delivered to the children. In order for the children to be taught, a general understanding in society of human rights (not just women's right) has to take place so that disruption of education does not happen.
During this course we have read about the transformation of women's equality and rights in everyday society. We have also learned through recent events that everyday life can be easily usurped by tragedy. That is why a diligent mind needs to maintain a constant vigil for the pursuit of equality for everyone. The above seven points are an indicator to the depths into which human rights can be ignored. Those seven points have already been extolled by activists for women's rights and are quite similar to those demanded by Maria Steward, Sarah Grimke, Nellie McClung and others. Before we go further into the seven [url=http://www.shewyne.com/woolrichoutlet.html]woolrich sito ufficiale[/url] points a brief background on each woman and the plight of women in Afghanistan should be provided.
Maria Steward was born during 1803 in Hartford. She was orphaned at the age of five and bound out to home in Boston headed by a clergy man. Steward accomplished two firsts, one being the first American born women to lecture in public (1832) and the other being the first black American to lecture in defence of women's rights. Steward saw herself as a "warrior" for God. Her main point was that resistance to oppression is the highest [url=http://www.jeremyparendt.com/Barbour-Paris.php]barbour france paris[/url] form of obedience to God. She warned that forces of rebellion and destruction would act as instruments of God's punishment, although she did see herself as a passive instrument of God. Steward also advocated for the abolition of slavery and linked the freedom of slaves to rights of women. Steward knew the bible extensively and used the scriptures to support her ideology.
Sarah Grimke was born in South Carolina to slave owners in 1792. She worked towards the abolition of slavery and the equality of the sexes. Grimke urged women to be more active in the interests of their communities. She also encouraged women to obtain a greater education other than in domestic labour. Her letters to the president of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (Mary Parker) were advertised in 1834 and drew support form other women to denounce slavery.
Nellie McClung was born in Ontario during 1873. She was instrumental in obtaining the right to vote for women in Canada as a member of the "Famous Five" and having women recognized as people before the eyes of the court. This case is known as the "Persons Case" in 1929. McClung worked tirelessly to improve society in her numerous writings and public apreances. Her work towards the temperance movement, equality of women and the right to vote provided her with wide recognition. McClung was an elected member of the Alberta Legislator, took the Manitoba Premier, Rodmond Roblin to task on the issue of women's suffrage and represented Canada at the League of Nations.
These three women combined have lectured at one time or another on the topics covered in the Declaration on Women's Rights in Afghanistan. Although they lived some time ago, Afghanistan history was being shaped through wars. More recently, Afghanistan has been in a state of chaos for over thirty years. Under the Taliban women were not allowed to be seen in public without a chaperone and even then that may not have been allowed. Punishment for such a crime [url=http://www.sandvikfw.net/shopuk.php]hollister outlet sale[/url] included beheading, stoning, amputations and flogging. According to the United Nations Consultative Group on Human Rights a women was not allowed to wear white socks or shoes because that was the colour of the flag or shoes that made noises. To get a further understanding of the oppression of the Taliban, Shari'a law had outlawed any depiction of human life. Even medical books had to be destroyed.
During the past thirty years, war has resulted in a change of ruling factions in Afghanistan at least three times. Currently Afghanistan is in a state of flux. Depending on where you live you can be ruled by the Afghanistan government or the Taliban. Under the Taliban the governing laws are a mixture of Shari'a or Islamic law and tribal laws. While the Taliban ruled, women had been banned from education, healthcare, employment, freedom of movement as well, they had to wear hejabs or chadari.
The reality of the comparison is that the women we study in this course would have been executed if not severely tortured in public view under the Taliban. Barbaric though the situation in Afghanistan has been, the support of the international community has come to their aid. The only sad part about such struggles is that we allow situations, (as women have to endure in Afghanistan) to reach such appalling levels we can no longer turn away. One of the major steps towards supporting Afghan women was their arrival at the Global Women's Conference of 2005.
Social change is not just for the neighbourhood that we live in, it is the entire world that we live with. Changing the laws of an entire country is no small task yet it is the first point in the Declaration on Women's Rights in Afghanistan. The establishment of a secular government is the first point. In the reading we have been assigned the idea of differing opinion came up many times. Both Sarah Grimke and Maria Steward discussed the misinterpretations of the bible.
For the Afghan women as well as the men the interpretations of Islamic law has had dire consequences. Not only are the punishments for breaking laws poorly understood but a more common practice of forced marriages also has taken its toll. Up to eighty percent of marriages in Afghanistan occur without consent of those being married. The results of these marriages are felt throughout the community and often destroy the lives of those forced to be married. Arranged marriages have been practiced by many cultures yet it is slowly being phased out. According to Islamic law, marriage contracts have to be consensual.
Being told what to do based on misinterpretations was also discussed in our readings. We have read in a number of our readings the misinterpretation of the Bible in Genesis i 27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them". Maria Steward also references Genesis and makes a point of interpreting of the Bible, "...he hath made all men free and equal. Then why should one worm say to another, Keep you down there while I sit up here; for I am better than you"
Not only was there an issue with the interpretation of the bible, the fact that women were [url=http://www.teatrodeoro.com/hollisterde.php]hollister deutschland[/url] being told how to think by the clergy compounded the error. Activist like Steward and Grimke pleaded for people to educate themselves by reading the Bible, in an effort to have a greater understanding of what scriptures actually preach.
Education and understanding of the Koran as well as the Bible has produced extremist and fundamentalist. These interpretations of Islam have produced the similar situation in Afghanistan as the spheres of public versus private. The role of woman belongs in the house. The role of man is in the public sphere. The roles of the sexes are dealt with in point number two of the declaration. The discrimination based on sex is still evident in Canadian society today. We are all familiar with the term "glass ceiling".
We also learned about the degrees in separate spheres or woman's work. Nellie McClung wrote about this segregation of girls and boys as well. "It is a poor preacher [url=http://www.jeremyparendt.com/Barbour-Paris.php]barbour pas cher soldes[/url] who [url=http://www.marrakech-hotel.fr]hollister france[/url] has not a lengthy discourse on Women's True Place" she continues on to state "...the fine scorn with which a boy regards a girl". McClung continues on in this article to explain that it is the education of the children by mothers to think and act in this manner that is most disturbing.
The segregation of women in Afghanistan is at such a level where they must hide themselves completely in clothing. The problem of segregation in Afghanistan came to a great deal of attention in 2002. "When Rights and Democracy hired an Afghan woman as its first Project Coordinator in Kabul, she became the first Afghan women to be hired by an International NGO". This indicates that progress is slow and that education and awareness are important tools to success. The environment that we are working in sometimes takes over and we act in ways that we would never have intended. This is described as the "power of the situation"
For such examples as Afghanistan, it is difficult to understand how an entire society could be motivated to act in such atrocious ways. In the case of the Rights and Democracy organization they were shocked to learn that no other international NGO had hired an Afghan woman. The same can be said of those that witnessed the horrors of slavery yet still thought of themselves as very pious individuals. Psychologists relate these attitudes to "Attribution theory". They attribute the actions of an individual or a group based on the situation or their disposition.
On point three of the Declaration on Women's Rights in Afghanistan the issue here is with clothing. The strict rules of what women are allowed to wear seems ridiculous yet we have touched upon this as well in our course. There was a time when women were not allowed to enter a church at all. This was relaxed to allow women only if they were veiled. "The Western Diocese of New York, refused the sacrament to those women whose heads were uncovered". Even to this day the veil exists in wedding ceremonies. Now of course we see the absurdity of such rules yet it makes you wonder what rules we follow today that will be seen as ridiculous in the future.
As the Declaration is studied there are areas of overlap, which is preferable to gaps or loopholes. The fourth point will encompass other points as well yet it is still quite a serious matter that needs to be on its own. The fourth point deals with the issue of punishment or atonement of sins. This point has been in the news as of late because of the book the Da Vinci Code. There has been some discussion about the Catholic organization named Opus Dei. This group engages in ritual lashings and acts of subordination to atone for sins. Obviously there are degrees of atonement and what point four is dealing with is the executions, lashings, floggings, amputations and other forms of torture.
Another form of punishment is the devaluing of women. Devaluing of women had been discussed earlier yet it is also an area that women are punished for giving birth to a girl. Matilda Joslyn Gage discusses this issue, "The birth of girls even under Christianity has everywhere been looked upon as an infliction and thousands have been immured in convents, there to die or linger through years". Having to leave a newly born child at the door of a church because it is a girl could result in untold mental abuse or torture, that is missing form this Declaration. Having to live in a society that idolizes one sex and vilifies another baffles us in Canada yet it continues today. Ownership of women is one such example. There are passages in our readings that refer to the ownership of women, "Who gives this woman away?" is a phrase in a wedding ceremony that Nellie McClung mentions. Seeing women as property, leads to the issue of slavery and the caste system.
Moving down the declaration we can amalgamate points five, six and seven. These points are the equality of men and women, the recognition of civil liberties, the right to employment, education, travel, divorce, and the freedom of activity of women's organisations. Every item on this list is an attempt to balance the equality of men and women. Sarah Grimke sums up the view that needs to be realized sooner than later, "My idea is that whatever is morally right for a man to do is morally right for a women to do. I recognize no rights but human rights." It is the last sentence that is the most poignant. The advancement of woman's rights or men's rights is in essence the advancement of human rights.
In [url=http://www.smtiger.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=111222&do=blog&quickforward=1&id=1468454]barbour sale Losing weight in the Abdomen - writte[/url] Canada we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In this charter we have a section that is titled "Fundamental Freedoms". This section outlines four basic freedoms which are, "freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association". This section of our charter sums up points six and seven of the above declaration. When the Taliban emerged in 1994, they quickly struck down any form of social [url=http://www.fibmilano.it]woolrich outlet[/url] interaction with and between women.
Life for women in Afghanistan has been a trying ordeal. Access to healthcare, education, employment and to a certain degree even their friends had been banned. The sphere of association had diminished within moments. The restrictions of rights and freedoms were not only placed on women, the men suffered as well. Using Afghanistan as a case study we can see how women's rights are in fact human rights. This understanding is reaffirmed in article 2, section a, paragraph 4, of the [url=http://www.sidegemeinde.com/peutereyoutlet.php]peuterey sito ufficiale[/url] Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, "Aware that a change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and the family is needed to achieve full equality between men and women"
As new governments form, the rights and freedoms will have further support, as well as be challenged and perhaps restricted. There is also the threat of war as we have seen in Afghanistan and more recently the restrictions enacted because of threats of violence. The greater the understanding of religion and all the individual perceptions of what the scriptures intend the more we can work to avoid the infringements of human rights. Are we going to stop these violations of human rights? That I would have to say is near impossible, the best we can do is curtail the cases that do arise.
Here we are today in Canada, we have achieved such great accomplishments only to realize that our diligence can never subside. The struggle for equality will ebb and flow as most balancing acts will do. Yet with the supportive words of Sarah Grimke, Maria Steward, Nellie McClung and others, we have ample tools to continue on. These strong and influential people preached the need for education both in the family and in society so that some day the balancing act can be a subtle swaying motion instead of large violent jerky motions. Because of the work of these women, everyone is now born with the right to be treated equal. These rights have been enshrined in many charters, declarations and documents around the world. The only task we have now is to live up to those documents and make sure that as many people as possible enjoy them freely.
Bibliography
Brunet, Ariane, Isabelle Solon Helal. Women's Rights in Afghanistan. Rights and Democracy. Dec. 6, 2002.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Christie, Daniel J., Richard V. Wagner, Deborah DuNann Winter. Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology for the 21st Century. [url=http://www.thehygienerevolution.com/hollister.php]hollister[/url] Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2001.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Fry, Douglas P. The Human Potential for Peace. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 2006.
Gage, Matilda Joslyn. Woman, Church and State: A historical Account of the Status of Woman Through the Christian Ages: with Reminiscences of the Matriarchate. The Truth Seeker Company, New York, 1893.
Kirkpatrick, Frank. From Shackles to Liberation: Religion, the Grimke Sisters and Dissent. University of New York, New York. 1985.
McClung, Nellie. In Times Like These. McLeod and Allen, Toronto, 1915.
Moghadam, Valentine M. Revolution, Religion, and Gender Politics: Iran and Afghanistan Compared. Journal of Women's History, Vol. 10 No. 4 winter 1999.
Myers, David, Steven J. Spencer. Social Psychology. McGraw Hill Ryerson, Toronto, 2004.
Physicians for Human Rights. Taliban's War on Women: A health and Human Rights Crisis, Physicians for Human Rights, 1998.
Steward, Maria. Religion and the Pure Principles of Morality, The sure Foundation of Which We Must Build. The Liberator, Oct., 8, 1831.
United Nations Development Fund for Women, Gender Advocacy in Afghanistan. Vol. 1. March 2005.
United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs, Report of the DHA Mission to Afghanistan, UNDHA, June 15, 1997.
United Nations Development Program. Millennium Development Goals.
United Nations Development Fund for Women. Gender Advocacy in Afghanistan. Vol. [url=http://www.shewyne.com/woolrichoutlet.html]woolrich outlet[/url] 9, March 2006.
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The Right to be EqualArticle Summary: Throughout history women and men have strived for a society that is perfect. Since everyone may have a different perception of perfect, there exists the inherent conflict of individual pursuits. Thomas Hobbes has described this individual world as the state of nature. In this state of nature Hobbes envisioned a world that is sad, nasty, brutish and short. For some people that is exactly what life is and because we live in a dichotomous world, others live in the opposite of what Hobbes described. If the balance of a peaceful society is to be maintained, there has to be a great effort and fo
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