Women: Tradition v Modernization

This has certainly been the year when women's issues are finally being given some of the attention they deserve. It is due to books like "Half the Sky", but many other sources also. Conflicts classes across the years struggled with various "women's" issues such as FGM and whether Westerners had the right or even the responsibility to go into another culture and try to change it - even with the best of motives and to help powerless victims. Was this interference or intervention? Was this humanitarianism or cultural imperialism? Well, Judah Ferst (260) posted a video about women not having to choose between their traditions and western (modern?) ways. She discusses using traditions to bring about the change within culture, instead of abandoning tradition for western culture. It is powerful. Hope you will get a chance to look at it and tell us what you think.

http://www.ted.com/talks/kavita_ramdas_radical_women_embracing_tradition.html

Why I Hate Mugabe

Never a year went by when I was teaching where classes did not question why Africa is so poor and backward after being the birthplace of the human race, toolmaking, language and so many things which make us human plus numerous great kingdoms in its golden age. We've discussed Jared Diamond's theory about the lack of large mammals able to be domesticated. (Gun, Germs and Steel) And then there is the loss of 50 million people in the Atlantic slave trade plus the resulting social and economic disruption to African societies. And, then colonization with its complete denigration of African culture. All these are historically true, and all help explain the plight of Africa today. But, let's forget history for a moment, and talk about current politics. Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of Africa and a leader in prosperity, has been brought to absolute destitution by one man - Robert Mugabe. The man who refuses to die, to go into exile and who manages to escape overthrow through his complete destruction of the opposition. Nick Kristof has just returned from Zimbabwe, described as "undisclosed location" while he was there. He went in as a tourist since foreign journalists are not allowed in. Read his latest column on the tragedy of Zimbabwe and the amazing resiliency of the human spirit.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/opinion/11kristof.html