Archive for
March 8th, 2007
Stories
The Middle East and North Africa on Women's International Day
While half the world is today celebrating the International Women's Day, the other half seems to be blogging about it I suppose.
Here's a run down of some of the reactions and acknowledgement the day received in the Middle East and North Africa.
Our first stop is in Israel, where blogger Stephanie congratulates women on the occasion and cites some statistics from her country about their condition here.
“The average woman earns $800 less per month than her male counterpart; Women work about 35 hours per week/men work nearly 46; The average marrying age for Jewish women is 25 (and rising, say reports); Most have a first child at age 30; Number of kids per household hovers around 2.69 (where’d the other .31 of that kid go?); Of a 2.7 million civic workforce, 1.3 million is women; Moslem women in Israel marry at age 22 and average four children and Christian women living in Israel marry at 24 and average 2 children,” she writes.
As Stephanie says, we sure “have our work cut out for us…” (more…)
South Asia: International Women's Day
Today is International Women's Day, and I've been poking my nose a bit to take a look at what the blogs have to say. A post on adhunika blog poses a question asking what the readers would want changed. While this other post doesn't mention Women's Day, adhunika blog talks of wedding related expenses for middle class Bangladeshis. As it is in most cultures, the bride's family has to have the deeper pockets.
My observation reveals that it is mostly women who are the show pieces of the extravagance at the weddings. The brides today have to have 5/6 layers on their neck, heavy earrings, their head covered in different gold items, arms full of bangles, mantashas and rotonchur’s. They are consciously or subconsciously in a contest with their friends or family in wedding expenses and the (often exaggerated) social status of their grooms.
scribble pad on the usual
anyhow. if you think im grumbling about all that, contrary to appearances, im not. i was steeling myself for the absolute inanities that i would inevitably hear about how women dont have those (insert every single very much still contemporary issue here) problems any more. and yaay, who just lost a bet with me? i sure did.
iFaqeer on women in Pakistan.
As I started to say above, even with all the attention focused on Pakistan and Muslims since 2001, these women demonstrate in all they say and do, and in how they say and do it, something no amount of ink–print or electronic–has been able to capture and convey. And that is that one can live in a dictatorship, one can be victimized in the most barbaric way, and yet, even in this day and age, stand up and speak truth to power, demand justice while continuing to have and draw strength from a very strong and personal faith (as Mukhtaran Mai does) and advocate strongly for things like human rights, civil society, and civil rights in the context of, and with respect for, faith, family, tradition, and values.
The Blank Noise Project asks contributors to talk about their (more…)
Madagascar: Development and Protection of the Environment: mutually exclusive ?
(courtesy of Tattum)
A recent headline in the news has created a buzz in the world of the environmentalists and among Malagasy bloggers. The Pan African Mining corporation undertook the creation of a new mining site in the Southern region of Madagascar that many environmentalist groups believe will have a major negative impact on the way of life of the locals and the ecosystem in the region.
The debate has led to the production of a documentary “mine your own business” funded by the mining company blaming environmentalists for obstructing the economic development of the region.
Harinjaka notes that:
Pour l’instant, peu de gens l’ont vu, moi y compris. C’est un documentaire qui fait déjà beaucoup de bruit, car il accuse les écolos d’ètre à l’origine de la pauvreté de nombreux pays, dont Madagascar[…]J’ai remarqué qu’on n’entend pas du tout les réactions des environnementaliste français (qui sont aussi nombreux chez nous ?). C’est peut-être parce que le film n’est pas encore diffusé dans les pays francophones ?
For now, not many people have seen it (the documentary), and I have not either. It's a documentary that is making noise because it accuses environmentalist groups to be one of the cause of poverty in many countries, including Madagascar. I noticed that we have not heard anything fro French environmentalists (who are numerous In Madagascar ?). Maybe the reason is because the movie is not yet shown in french-speaking countries?
The debate over development vs protection of the environment has been around forever, especially in Madagascar ; However Tattum wonders if the two have to be mutually exclusive. Tattum discusses that there are other options. For instance, in the ecology vs tourism paradigm, she says that there is an alternative:
(more…)
Four presidents, schools without teachers, grassroots activism, film on tour and the gay issue
Blogs continue to provide a venue for Swahili bloggers and their readers to question every action of political leaders. Sure, there are blog posts devoted to other issues - film, fashion and even socio-political commentary with a light touch, but this week one cannot help but notice a series of posts by Tanzania's leading photoblogger Issa Michuzi. He has devoted five posts to the four presidents who have ruled Tanzania so far asking his readers to discuss their performance.
The first two presidents, Mwalimu Nyerere and Ali Hassan Mwinyi escape fairly unscathed from reader's comments - with exceptions of Nyerere's inability to sack his corrupt lieutenants, a charge that is thrown at Ali Hassan Mwinyi too.
On Nyerere, one reader writes:
alisahau sana mambo ya ndani ya nchi na kusaidia sana majirani, aliwabeba watendaji wake wabovu kwa kuwabadilisha badilisha hao hao tu wakiendelea kuharibu, Alikuwa dikteta kiani lakini wakati ule ilifaa, alikuwa na huruma kwa watendaji wake wabovu ambao ndio walikuwa waharibifu wakubwa wa nji
Some blog readers praise Ali Hassan Mwinyi for liberalising the economy after Nyerere's socialist economic policies, but they are critical of his support for laissez-faire principles:
Aliweza kufungua nafasi za kibiashara baada ya mfumo wa kijamaa ambao ulianzishwa na mtangulizi wake. Ila udhaifu wake alishindwa kuendesha miaka 5 ya mwisho ya uongozi kila mtu alikuwa anajifanyia analotaka bila kufuata na taratibu za nchi, rushwa ilishamiri sana kipindi cha mwinyi, na mwisho mfumuko wa bei ulikuwa katika kiwango cha juu.
Taiwan: Kevin Lin completed across Sahara
After 111 days, Kevin Lin from Taiwan completed the ultra-marathon across Sahara desert, the largest desert in the world, on 2/20/2007 with other two runners.
This ultra-marathon was first proposed by Charlie Engle, who went to Matt Damon's production company (LivePlanet) to persuade them to film a documentary for it. This film documented not only the endurance to run the ultra-marathon, but also the nomadic people in Sahara desert and their daily struggle to find water. Another goal of the ultra-marathon is raising awareness for the clean water nonprofit group H2O Africa.
There are three runners, Charlie from USA, Kevin from Taiwan, and Ray Zahab from Canada. Their original plan was running 50 miles per day for 80 days (4000 miles in total) (the length for regular marathon is 26 miles). It began in Senegal, went across Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and ended in Egypt . The runners and their support team had to negotiate when they met treacherous terrain, including minefields, as well as risk of disease, war-torn regions and bureaucracy. A series of detours added more than 500 miles (800 km) to the route. They finally finished the ultra-marathon in 111 days for 4562 miles (7300 km).
Links for Thu, 2007-03
After reminiscing disillusioned early engagements with Haitian feminist groups and an instance where she was not allowed to commission her son's birth certificate without her husband's authorization, Nancy Chapoteau of Notedor.com concludes (Fr): “When will there be concrete and just actions in our country in women's favor? … Haitian women, wake up, you're in the 21st century.”
Barbados Free Press takes issue with a luxury resort's portrayal of racial dynamics in the country.
The Varsjinskij Prophecies sees a possible collision between China and the United States in Africa, “The fact that Hu’s visit and the announcement of AFRICOM coincided was most likely a coincidence. The Pentagon has been planning AFRICOM for years, and China’s involvement in Africa is hardly new. That said, it’s obvious that both powers are sinking more assets into the continent at a time of growing instability and greater competition for resources. Although they may be ultimately drawn to Africa for different reasons, the United States and China could be headed for a collision in the most unlikely of places.”
A parliamentary committee debate on the Act that governs marital rape in Jamaica proves blogger Ria Bacon's point that “ratifying and adopting are easy; actually implementing change is more of a challenge.” Bacon recounts how a remark by a senior member of a leading women's NGO restores reason to the debate, while setting the stage for the Attorney General to employ some shockingly unscientific terminology.
A very controversial post about a controversial South African song, De la Rey: “Up goes the cheer, and then comes the song - an Afrikaans folk number about a Boer war general that has become a sensation in South Africa as an anthem for young whites who say they are tired of being made to feel guilty about the apartheid past.”
Mario Blanco4 posts 
Joshua Foust31 posts 
Winglok Hung10 posts 
Deborah Ann Dilley221 posts 
Carolina Rumuat16 posts 
Eduardo Avila2031 posts 
Abdoulaye Bah5 posts 
Marwa Rakha142 posts 
Linda Annan1 posts 
Judith Townend4 posts 
Steve Sharra21 posts 
Helge Fahrnberger1 posts