Selling Afghan Women Out

Hamid Karzai, America's favorite candidate in the recent Afghan presidential election, issued a law (not through Parliament) which has restored Taliban like restrictions on women. These new/old regulations apply only to Shi'ite women, but who can say they will not become more widespread? The law permits child marriage, allows a husband to withdraw all support for his wife if she does give sex on demand and permits a woman to leave her home only for "legal reasons" in "accordance with local customs." So, if local customs do not allow women to go to school or work outside the home, what then? No doubt, Karzai issued this law to win the votes for the hard-line members of the Shi'ite minority. But, how can we continue to support him?

Can we continue to support the Karzai government? Is this why we are fighting in Afghanistan - to see women oppressed? Doesn't there come some point when we have to do what is right and not what is politically expedient?

The Zimbabwean Dollar Is Dead

I'm a little late with this. The Zimbabwean government stopped printing the Zimbabwean dollar on April 12. So, it is officially dead. The government replaced it with the U.S. dollar and the South African rand. Where does this leave the Zimbabweans who have only Zimdollars, as they are called? A bus ride in Harare costs 50 U.S. cents or 3 trillion Zimdollars. People without relatives outside the country to send them hard currency are using Zimdollars as IOUs or have returned to a barter system. One woman paid a bus driver with a live chicken! President Mugabe is demanding a return to the Zimdollar even though it was his policy of just printing up money which caused the hyperinflation crisis. However, the finance minister is a member of the opposition party who joined the government as part of the power sharing agreement between Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change. He refuses to return to the valueless local currency. Oh, by the way, there is one place where Zimdollars are doing well. The trillion Zimdollar notes are a favorite with collectors and are selling well on eBay.

What do you think? Can a country heal its financial problems by getting rid of its own currency? What can the average Zimbabwean do? Any thoughts?

Help for Women

This Sunday's New York Times magazine is devoted to women's issues around the world. Be sure to pick up a copy of it if you can. Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn wrote the cover story.

Their main thesis is that just as slavery was the most important moral issue the world faced in the 19th century and totalitarian governments of both the left and right were the the major moral challenge of the 20th century, in the 21st century "it is the brutality inflicted on so many women and girls around the globe: sex trafficking, acid attacks, bride burnings and mass rape."

Do you agree? In the 21st century, in many places of the world, half the population is still being kept powerless through lack of education and oppressed by some horrific practices which sound as though they come from the Dark Ages. Half the population!
Can we in the developed world do anything about this? Should we? Ideas, anyone?

If you can't get a copy of the newspaper, the cover story is at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?_r=1&hp

Nick in O Magazine!

Is there no end to the number of people who are getting to know "our" Nick? His wife and he are in O magazine about their new book, "Half the Sky." Check it out. Can you think of ways we can make a difference? Do you agree that women are the key to progress in underdeveloped countries?

http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200909-omag-power-kristof

Nick's new book

Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn have a new book coming out in September. It is why he was on sabbatical for the first half of Conflicts 267. It's called "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide."

"“We wrote a book devoted to women in the developing world because if you want to fight poverty and extremism, you need to educate and empower women and bring them into the economy. A country can’t grow and be stable if half the population is marginalized. Mercy Corps is helping spread this message through their One Table campaign. And you can help advance the cause by registering your book club on this site. You'll receive a moderator's kit to help guide the discussion and guidelines on how to host a fundraising event to support Mercy Corps' work with women and families. Please join the conversation, because we all have a role to play.

“Thank you.”

—Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

They are speaking at the World Affairs Council in Philadelphia in October. But, check out what Mercy Corps is doing to spread the word. The site is:

http://onetable.mercycorps.org/halfthesky

Christina, in a round about way, this discusses your comment about people feeling helpless to change things in the world. Does anyone have any ideas about how we could form a book club and do this?

Update on Mukhtar Mai

Many of you are familiar with the case of Mukhtar Mai, the Pakistani woman who was raped on the order of a local tribal court. Mukhtar's brother allegedly had done something to dishonor a higher clan, and the local leaders decreed that this clan could regain their honor by having Mukhtar raped in front of her father and uncle by four men of the court's choosing. In cases like this, which are more common than would ever be expected in the 21st century, it is generally assumed that the woman will go home and quietly commit suicide or at least disappear. Instead Mukhtar went to her local Muslim cleric. This Imam encouraged her to report this crime and accompanied her to the police to have the men charged with rape. Her case became an international cause. Support and money poured in from around the world. This shy, illiterate woman used her new fame and money to open schools for girls, start a women's shelter and establish an organization to work for women's rights. She has made many enemies in traditional, rural society in Pakistan and her life has often been in danger. And now she faces a new threat.

The family of Mukhtar's best friend and chief of staff has been caught up in a violent dispute which could effect all Mukhtar has worked for. A female cousin of Mukhtar's friend married a man from another clan for love infuriating the men of her own clan. In July, the two clans engaged in a gunfight and both the young husband and wife were killed. It appears that the wife was killed by her own family in a kind of honor killing. The husband's family is outraged and seem to want to punish the entire family including Mukhtar's chief of staff and her husband. The traditional leaders who have always resented Mukhtar are using this incident to attack her work. There have been demonstrations against her and the police have raided her home. The fear is that tribal authorities will use this as an excuse to attack her school, shelter and compound and destroy all the work she has done. Since she works in a remote part of Pakistan where tribal law rules, there does not seem to be much the federal government can do to help her. After all she has endured and all she has accomplished against incredible obstacles, it would be a tragedy if her work is undone.

I am left to wonder how the western world can ever understand this type of tribal society which the U.S. is facing in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Can we find common ground between our world and the world of Mukhtar Mai? Is it even possible?

Rape in Africa : Who Cares?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the midst of an historic seven nation tour of Africa. So far, her trip has been overshadowed by her husband’s trip to North Korea to bring home the two captured American journalists and by the health care debate in this country. The media seems to be interested only in her looking a bit silly while trying to dance with some Africans who greeted her and by her annoyance at being asked a question about her husband's opinion on an issue. Her trip deserves more attention, and the issues she is investigating deserve more respect than they are receiving. Remarkably, Mrs. Clinton went to Eastern Congo, site of the worst conflict since World War II. Five million people have been killed in this conflict since 1998. And, one of the worst weapons of this conflict has been the use of rape. This is not rape as collateral damage. This is rape as a tactic and strategy of the war itself. Clinton visited a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma which is ground zero in this conflict. There she met with some rape survivors including a woman who had been gang raped when she was eight months pregnant. Her baby died, and villagers saved her life by stuffing her womb with grass to keep her from bleeding to death since there was no hospital nearby. Mrs. Clinton pledged $17 million dollars to help combat sexual violence in this ongoing East Congo conflict. Hopefully, more important than the money will be Mrs. Clinton’s presence in East Congo. Perhaps this will call the world’s attention to an area which the UN has already labeled “the rape capital of the world”. As I was reading the story of her visit in The New York Times, I turned on ABC’s Nightline. Their story of controversy for the night? Child beauty pageants. What is wrong with this picture?

Is it just that the world does not care what is happening in Africa?

Or is it that the world does recognize that rape can be a weapon just as surely an IED?

Or is it that, like Mrs. Clinton who was described as “emotionally drained” by her visit to the refugee camp, we are too emotionally drained by issues as horrific as this and would rather think about the problems with child beauty pageants?

North Korea : Was the Price Too High?

What a dramatic ending to a dangerous and risky situation with the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee from North Korea today. Although Bill Clinton went to North Korea as a private citizen, no one in this country or especially in North Korea saw him that way. The coverage shows that North Korea acted as though this was an official state visit with the greeting at the airport by high officials, the dinner with Kim Jong-Il and the photo ops. No doubt, North Korea will use this event to try to re-instate their standing within the community of nations. From all reports, it was North Korea which demanded a visit from someone with the stature of a former president before it would consider releasing the two women. In other words, blackmail. Tonight, there can be nothing but euphoria by the families of the two journalists that they are safely on their way home. And I am sure most of us share that euphoria and great admiration for Bill Clinton for his willingness to participate in this staged negotiation in order to bring the women home.

Unfortunately, there may be serious consequences from this release. Has it set a precedent? Will Iran try to replicate this scenario before we can gain the release of the three hikers captured on the Iran-Iraqi border this week? Both North Korea and Iran are suffering from international censure because of their nuclear programs. The U.S. has been in the forefront of this international pressure and isolation of the two nations in order to pressure them to alter their programs and nuclear agenda. Will the U.S. have to ease up on this pressure on North Korea as part of the deal to gain the release of Ling and Lee? And will the U.S. have to also back down on its criticism of Iran in order to gain freedom for the three students currently held in Iran? Did North Korea and will Iran use captured Americans as bargaining chips?

Is the price of freedom for Laura Ling and Euna Lee and (hopefully) the future release of the three students too high? What do you think?

Are women leaders better than men?

The death of Curazon Aquino, the former president of the Philippines, brings up the issue of women as political leaders. Mrs. Aquino was a political novice who was thrust into the spotlight after the assassination of her reformer husband. Despite her political inexperience, she was swept into office through a wave of "people power," after President Ferdinand Marcos claimed victory in a fraudulent election which most people believed Mrs. Aquino had won. She was able to guide the Philippines through the difficult transition from the autocratic government of Marcos to democracy. Although she rose to power by non-electoral means, her position was validated by a democratic constitution the next year. Her non-violent overthrow of Marcos has been an inspiration to a number of non-violent uprisings throughout the world. Although she was a rather mediocre president, she managed to start the Philippines on the road to democracy and provided the democratic movement with a leader when it needed one. The Philippines has had two successful electoral transfers and two more attempts at "people power" uprisings since she left office. She used her inexperience and what she called "my sincerity" to offer the Filipino people hope for the future. She became the conscience of her nation. Her leadership is considerd the highpoint of modern Philippine history.

She is part of a very exclusive group of female leaders including the very impressive Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia. So here is the question. It is very simple. You only have to answer yes or no.

Would the world be a better or different place if there were more women in positions of leadership of nations? Yes or No? Vote now.

Americans in Iran - Oh no, not again

Just months after two American journalists were captured after somehow crossing the border into North Korea, three American students have apparently been "detained" after accidentally cross the border into Iran from the Kurdish area of Iraq. A Kurdish government official reported the students had “trekked into Iranian territory, knowingly or unknowingly, and found themselves detained by the Iranians.” It sounds ridiculous until you read about what the area is like. It is not as though there are border markings or signs saying "You are now entering Iran." The New York Times describes the area as "a popular resort and hiking area" and that " It is not uncommon to see American and other Western tourists traveling there without security guards." For the same reasons, it is a popular area for smugglers and Kurdish rebels opposed to the Iranian government.

These students were not inexperienced. They were studying Arabic in Syria so they had to be somewhat familiar with the Middle East. It brings to mind the idea which Nick Kristof floated that a person could not consider themselves truly educated if they never visited the half of the world which lives on $1 a day and visited only Paris or Sydney or Florence.

So here are the questions. Should people stick to the safe and not venture into areas which could possibly present problems? Are these students to blame for what has happened to them? Were they just stupid not to know where they were? And then, what does the U.S. do considering our relations with Iran?