The Politics Of The Veil

3. How does the author come to the conclusion that “rather than resolving the problem of integrating Muslims into French society, the law banning headscarves has exacerbated it”? (179)

In the conclusion of The Politics of the Veil Wallach believes that the French may have good intentions with trying to implement Muslim women into their society but the idea of banning the veil, a religious staple in Muslim culture may be distasteful to some. The author went on to say that “surely there are better ways to deal with terrorism than banning someone’s headwear.” But looking at a different perspective Wallach stated that as the French are trying to implement the idea of equality for all and getting more women into jobs and careers the Muslim religion doesn’t believe in equal rights for women. French people view Muslims who think this way as inferior or less evolved. But what we’ve learned throughout the course of the semester is the idea of the 30 basic human rights. Crafted by then first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and a host of other foreign diplomats in the UN back in 1948, these rules or guidelines were put into place to make sure that the average global citizen could live a stress free life. In article 2 of the document it states that Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Some would say after looking at this that France and arguable the United States are going against this very right by controlling what people wear and discriminating people based on what religions they practice. Its our job as global citizen to learn from each other, respect one another and take on anyone who seeks out terror on this world for personal gains. Basically what Wallach is saying in the Politics Of The Veil is that the French should do a better job of respecting ones religion and its up to the people who practice the Muslim religion to be more current with the times and allow more equality and opportunity for their women. Recently Saudi Arabia just had its first election where women were legally allowed to vote and make a difference and I believe this is a massive step towards the right direction, an inclusive one. 

Final Blog

I learned a great deal this semester about the world around us. Far to common we as American's are placed in this bubble that the world is revolved around what we do but what I learned is the idea of globalization and that is the idea of what one country does has a direct effect on other countries sort of like a domino effect. I think the biggest problem regarding the world today is the topic of immigration and who should be allowed into what country. Recently with the rise of ISIS or ISIL and the fear and terror they have placed on the likes of Turkey and France respectively with the recent Paris attacks, the idea of having refugees from the middle east who practice the Muslim religion has been heavily discussed. I cannot pinpoint one single guest lecture but I would say what Dr. Brooks taught us week in and week out has opened my eyes a lot. I did not know going into the semester that Detroit, Michigan has the largest Muslim community outside of the Middle East. What we also learned throughout the semester is the history behind the 30 basic human rights and how modern day governments violate these privileges. With November 2016 elections around the corner we have discussed throughout the semester of the different candidates and their agendas and its shocking that one of the leading candidates Donald Trump who has one of the more radical immigration plans is leading the GOP polls. In his plan he wants to build walls on the southern border and deny anyone who doesn't practice the typical Catholic/Christian religion. He claims that this would be beneficial for the country going forward but it violates on of the founding amendments for this nation and that is the freedom of religion also noted in the 30 basic human rights. How can we as Americans go against rules implemented by our founding fathers?  This course was very beneficial for my development not only as a student at the University of Missouri but its helped me become a better global citizen. 

Final Post

The guest speaker that I found most interesting and informative was Peter Mueser.  His presentation on economics was helpful in understanding globalization a bit further.  It was interesting to hear about the different economies throughout the world and how, in many ways, our economies link us all together.  As a business student, this speaker was easy to relate to because I feel like many of my classes tie lessons to different parts of economics as well.  Mr. Mueser took my thinking of globalization to a different level.

Chart showing the different types of economies throughout the world today. www.budget.gov.nl.ca

During my time of doing research on Thailand I gained so much knowledge of the country and it’s citizen’s way of life.  It was so interesting to learn about a place so different from the United States but in many ways the two can relate.  I gained insight on many of the problems that Thailand is facing but continues to grow stronger and overcome many of these problems as a country.

An example of this is Thailand’s environmental issues.  It seems like very quickly the country started running into the effects of environmental damages as they grew industrially.  But now that they’ve realized the damage that is and was being caused the country as a whole has started being more careful and attempting cleaning up the mess that was made before. 

I also gained a lot of insight about Thailand when writing the paper over an NGO.  The NGO I chose was the Shan Women’s Active Network, http://www.shanwomen.org.  I chose this NGO after we talked about sex trafficking in class and I wanted to learn more about the problems Thailand faces with this.  This NGO was very inspiring because they help woman in Thailand do many things they wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to do.  Offering internships and classes for women in Thailand helps lower the number of women who end up in sex trafficking. http://www.humantrafficking.org/organizations/248

Girls learning in a course provided by SWAN. www.facebook.com

It has been so interesting to learn more about the growth of the people in Thailand.  I really enjoyed learning more about the woman’s groups because in so many countries women are held to a different standard.  NGOs like SWAN are so inspiring.  Overall, I’ve really enjoyed learning more about Thailand.

Last Blog Post

 

I found the lecture on Cheslatta First Nation to be very informative and interesting. I had no idea about this history. The traditions of this place and the people that held on to their hope and religion were very inspiring. The distress that the people of this Cheslatta faced was indecent. Through it all they continued to hold to the traditions of their ancestors.

I gained so much insight doing research on South Korea. I learned about their government and the issues they faced with it. I saw how some of their traditions related to the U.S. I investigated their environmental issues. There are a number of environmental issues in South Korea. These include pollution, land use, and habitat preservation. Other issues include water pollution from sewer discharge and industrial effluents, acid rain, drift net fishing, and wasteful packaging of consumer goods. As South Korea became a developed economy on the world stage, the country’s priorities have changed and the South Korean government has passed a number of environmental laws. Green belts and emission restrictions have markedly improved Seoul’s air quality. In fact, South Korea’s biggest air quality problem is dust blown from expanding deserts in China. In pursuit of better air quality around its capital, the South Korean government launched its “1st Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Control Master Plan (2005-2014)” in 2005. Measures under this law included projects to lessen exhaust gases from vehicles, administration of emission facilities and controls over energy utilities and cities.

Guest Lecture and Insights on North Korea: Last Blog Post

In my opinion, the most informative, inspiring, and challenging guest lecture for class would have to be Professor Amy McCombs from the journalism school. I think she was the most informative as well as being the most engaging. I felt as though her information was accurate, interesting, and kept the attention of all of the students in the room. I also think her lecture correlated into class discussion because we were talking about human rights and the rights to privacy. I found it very interesting when we talked about the United States and its citizens right to privacy. During the lecture we found out that most people think the United States has the most free speech when we rank low on a list of countries with the freest speech. 

After spending the semester researching and blogging about North Korea, I have found myself much more knowledgeable about the country and its peoples wellbeing. Some of the major insights I have found out is that North Korea's government is extremely controlling of its citizens and where they go and what they are allowed to see. I have seen it compared to an overprotective parent with extreme consequences. Some of the consequences of disobeying the North Korean government are inhumane and often times include starvation, one of the countries biggest issues. 

The issue of hunger in North Korea has driven its citizens to do things we as Americans would never dream of. Some die from starvation and others die trying to escape the conditions. The hunger epidemic has been going on for years and many North Koreans try and leave to go to South Korea to send their families money for food. While doing this they often are driven into sex trafficking or caught and sent back to North Korea to only enter into a prison camp where the conditions are often worse that starvation alone. 

This is an image of a North Korea farmers trying to plant seeds in order to survive

I have also learned that the environment in North Korea is barren and mostly dead from lack of care. Most of the animals are gone because they have been eaten, and anything edible, including trees and grass, is gone as well because it has been eaten. 

It is interesting to me that most of the problems regarding North Korea have to do directly with the hunger issue. However, the American government has partnered with many different NGOs in order to help relieve the hunger in this country. It may not be a long-term fix, but at least the people can eat enough food to survive for a little while. Some NGOs like MercyCorps and World Vision are working with the United States government on a long-term solution. To do this they are working wit the North Korean farmers and giving them the tools to farm things such as apple orchards that will be there for the long haul to help feed the citizens and create economic growth. 

For more information on the Farming in North Korea, check out this link:

Spring release

Over the course of the semester I have come to notice that all of the issues that North Korea has base back to hunger and the lack of government assistance when it comes to this. I think it is up to countries, like America, to step up and address the human rights issues that are being violated. If the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was enforced, then North Korea would have almost no issues. However, from class we have learned that it is almost impossible to make sure that every country in the world is following these rights we as humans should be guaranteed. 

Sources:
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21645252-tantalising-signs-change-are-emerging-whether-they-signal-more-profound-shifts-less
http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

Final Blog

Dr. Soren Larsen’s guest lecture on Oct. 27 was the most informative for me.  His discussion of the Chesletta Carrier First Nation in British Columbia, Canada really brought to life the idea of state crime.  The Canadian Department of Indian Affairs mirrored our own such department in a tragic way, coercing the populace and using forgery to force people out of their homes. 

China is participating in the Paris climate talks
in an effort to curb emissions

Additionally cruel was its 10% compensation rate for lost possessions.  These possessions, by the way, were torched and flooded.  There was little effort to recover any lost goods.  Burial grounds were desecrated, causing poverty and various other domestic issues.  Additionally, the government did not pay for the transportation of the people from their homes to the new land.

I was happy to see that in later years the cemeteries were brought back and some “power” was restored to the people.

I learned a lot about China this semester.  More than anything, I learned that its environmental degradation is a crippling issue that it is working to solve.  For instance, I learned that China’s Carbon emissions have been increasing by 7.5 percent annually since 1997 (as reported by Reuters).  However, these statistics are up for debate given China’s history of providing false statistics on energy consumption.  The variance, however, is not great enough to undermine the fact that China has been the world’s leading polluter since 2006 (per the Center for Climate and EnergySolutions). On the same Center webpage, I learned that China has been taking a five year approach to counter these statistics.

 “China’s twelfth five-year plan (FYP), covering 2011-15, spelled out a number of reforms to domestic energy and climate policies. The headline targets were to reduce energy intensity by an additional 16 percent, and carbon intensity by 17 percent, by 2015. It has been widely reported that China is currently on track to meet these 2015 targets. The thirteenth FYP is expected to be announced in early 2016.”

Additionally, as I’ve stated multiple times in my blogs, China and the United States have been working together for about a year now to mutually curb emissions by 2030.  These talks have helped spearhead the current set of talks happening in Paris as I type this. 

The NGO paper opened up my eyes to the street children problems that China is facing.  The Baoji Xinxing Aid for Streetkids provides children with poor or non existant home lives the food, medicine, shelter and education they need to be productive members of society.  I argued in my paper that educated citizens is exactly what China will need as it continues to combat global climate change. 

The Politics of the Veil

3. How does the author come to the conclusion that “rather than resolving the problem of integrating Muslims into French society, the law banning headscarves has exacerbated it”? (179)

            The law passed by the French government that bans the wearing of religious affiliated signs is aimed towards larger, more noticeable displays of religion.  This law is to make sure the state and religion remain separated.  The Politics of the Veil discusses that small, discreet religious signs like small crosses or small Korans are acceptable, but more noticeable signs like large crosses or turbans are banned.  This regulation is believed to mainly target Muslim girls wearing headscarves.

            This law is supposed to unite the entire French community.  The headscarf, known more commonly as a veil, is abrasive to French customs.  For this reason, the society is attempting to eliminate the differences to unite the people.

Artwork on a building in France showing the integration of Muslim women and their headscarves by painting them the colors of the French flag.
susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com

            Joan Wallach Scott uses examples of women being rejected from jobs or service, in general, for wearing headscarves.  Scott quoted a woman, “The veil is a 100 percent handicap in French society.”  Employers will not hire a Muslim woman who wears a veil.  Many employees will not serve a woman wearing a veil.  An example in the text talked about the teller of a bank rejecting service to a Muslim woman wearing a veil because of the fear of being robbed.  This was the really the only example that had any reason to reject service because of a veil, and the other instances just damaged the human rights of these women.  Other examples included teachers refusing to interact with parents wearing the veils just because it was “forbidden.”  Even thought the Muslim woman in the example was a mother of five and elected to the position of the delegate of the parents’ association at the school, the teachers still refused to listen to what the woman had to say.  Reasons like this are discriminating and, no matter the law, uncalled for in any society.

            The French society is attempting to integrate the Muslim community by minimizing the differences between the two cultures.  Joan Wallach Scott has come to this conclusion through the analysis of the confrontations the law is causing.  Without this law in place, the Muslim woman wearing the scarf who wanted to speak with her child’s teacher would have had little difficulty expressing ideas to that teacher.  But now that people, like the teacher, have grounds for the discrimination they aren’t afraid to be outspoken about it.  Wearing headscarves would typically just be a part of the normal Muslim culture that the French society would grow to respect but with this law in place, the French citizens are able to single out the differences between the cultures.

            The law itself does make sense.  Separating the state and religion would be helpful in integrating all French people with different cultural backgrounds without religion interfering.  This law is just not being implemented correctly.  Banning such a large part of the Muslim culture takes away from the human rights these people deserve.

Muslim women in France protesting for their human rights.
www.barenakedislam.com

            Joan Wallach Scott makes a great point when arriving at the conclusion that this law has done the exact opposite of integrating Muslims into the French society.  If the society is encouraged to shun the Muslim women for being different, the society will only become more separated.  Turning the headscarves into a “handicap” for Muslim women makes their lives in France much more difficult. 

Politics of the Veil

1. Despite reservations about the headscarf, the political scientist Mossuz-Lavau argues against the law to ban headscarves. What is at the crux of her argument? Is it valid? (162)
Mossuz-Lavau’s argument against headscarves is certainly one of empathy. When she passes by a woman wearing a headscarf, her initial feeling is a “pang of emotion.” This response is onset by her personal experience, as she was once deprived of sexual liberation. In her mind, this gives her a connection to the woman with scarves, while it also evokes emotion based on the principles of sexual freedom. I understand where Mossuz-Lavau is coming from, and she clearly feels very strongly about this matter for the right reasons. However, regardless of the emotional ties she feels to these women, her opinion is still simply her own opinion.
2. What are the implications when we talk about bringing Muslim women up to the standard of their French sisters (or western sisters)? (172)
The idea of “bringing Muslim women up to the standard of their French sisters” lies within the culture of these two groups. It is quite evident from the readings that the French and the Muslims hold very different standards of identity in regards to gender and sexuality. The French believe that “the individual is the essential human, regardless of religion, ethnicity, social position, or occupation. When they are abstracted from these traits, individuals are considered to be the same, that is, equal”. On the other hand, the Islamic belief is that “sex and sexuality pose problems that must be addressed and managed… Modest dress, represented by the headscarf or veil for women and loose clothing for men, is a way of recognizing the potentially volatile and disruptive effects of sexual relations between women and men” (Scott).
These implications are urging the Muslims to be open to more westernized views about women roles, sexuality and gender equality. In my opinion, comparing these two cultures and attempting to change one to be like the other only creates tension and causes further problems. The Islam culture may be extremely modest and unfair to women, but I cannot imagine that encouragement to copy another culture will be taken anything but offensively by them.

3. How does the author come to the conclusion that “rather than resolving the problem of integrating Muslims into French society, the law banning headscarves has exacerbated it”? (179)
The author’s conclusion is put into the context of discrimination of veiled women in France. There is extensive confusion when it comes to these laws, and questions are raised regarding the regions in which headscarf laws are allocated. It is this misinformation of the scarf that causes confusion of the two cultures. Essentially, the French culture is oppressing scarf-wearing Muslim women. It seems to me that if both groups were more educated on the other group and the situation, these issues could be solved.
https://youtu.be/SLVbjrPYsLM

Politics of the Veil: Integrating Muslims into French Society

This photo is the cover of Politics of The Veil

Throughout the years France has show their opposition to immigration in their country and it has been clear through many of their attempts to remove the headscarf from the Muslim culture. There have been 3 instances in French Society where the government has tried to remove the veil, in 1989,1994, and 2003, all for different reasons. Politics of the Veil discusses the right of Muslim women to wear the veil (or headscarf) in France. There are sections of the book that talk about sexuality, veils in the public school system, possible oppression of women through wearing the veil, and much more regarding the idea of the veil and its implications on women living in France.

Joan Wallach Scott comes to the conclusion that "rather than resolving the problem of integrating Muslims into French society, the law banning headscarves has exacerbated it." (179) Some think that in order to better integrate Muslims into French society they should abide by the "universal" ways in order to be a united, singular entity. By doing this some French think that women should not be allowed to wear the headscarf. Some that oppose the veil assume that it is a way of oppressing women. While others believe that the veil is a symbol of Islam's resistance to modernity. By bringing so much attention to the controversy of the veil, ultimately the French people have created more of a divergence between the Muslims living there and the French.

Many of those who oppose the veil assume that they are doing the right thing because wearing the veil would oppress the woman who is wearing it. It is discussed that Islam is seen by many to oppress women and that French Republicanism is seen to liberate them. This gives the illusion that by allowing women to wear less clothing, the French are giving them more equality.

Some more of the fears of veil that the French have are that by letting the Islamic community express their culture at school and throughout the country of France, that the French culture and history will diminish. Many French view their country as a "timeless superiority" and do not want to come to terms that the world is changing into an integrated society. Joan Wallach Scott brings to the audience's attention that by bringing so much attention to the differences between the Muslim and the French culture, people have inherently created a huge racist divide between the people. It is interesting that the French consider themselves a universal society and accepting when their enforcement of homogeniety has in fact divided those that live there.

Another point brought up in the reading that children that are forced to remove their veil when they enter the classroom feel as if they are reminded everyday they are not welcome and that they do not fit the mold. Many have said that wearing a headscarf in the French society has been an extreme handicap for them. According to the reading, veiled women have been turned away from employers, being witnesses for the courts, marriage ceremonies, and much more. To me, one of the most interesting things that Scott said in Politics of The Veil is that the "oneness" that is instilled in the French culture is providing exclusiveness rather than inclusiveness. So by bringing so much attention to the fact that Muslims are different by trying to get them to be the same, racism has been created in the French society.

The following video is of Joan Wallach Scott discussing her book and her opinion of the veil in French society. It also discusses the issues of French gender inequality. To learn more about the book and about modern Islamic society please watch this video to be informed.

Sex Trafficking: Taiwan

Sex Slaves in Taiwan 

In my region of Far East Asia human trafficking has been a major issue for years.  In places like Thailand dubbed by humantrafficking.com as the “source, transit and destination for prostitution.” Victims after being kidnapped from their homes start there and are then transported internationally to places like China, Malaysia, UAE and even in some cases the United States. Upwards to 600-800,000 people mostly women are forced into sexual labor for their trafficker(s). As far as Taiwan is concerned, In the mid to late 1990’s the Taiwanese government implemented many different statues and laws, in ’93 the Child Welfare law enables juvenile welfare bodies, prosecutors, and victims to apply to courts for termination of guardianship  if they have been forced into prostitution by their parents. This eventually led to prostitution being abolished by the Legislative Yuan. In the small island off the coast of China there have been tons of NGO efforts being made to combat this problem. Organizations like Garden for Hope and Taipei’s women’s rescue foundation work to rescue women who have been abused. They provide counseling services to children affected by trafficking and domestic violence as well. I think the next step we as a society should take on to prevent this from continuing is to further educate our women and keep them in school. Making sure everyone has the right and ability to go to school shouldn’t be an issue. Just making sure that women get their education and work to contribute to society increases any country’s GDP to 9% and in some cases it could be even higher. This is a challenge that I think can and should be taken on and organizations like the TWRF are trying to find ways to ensure that one day this does in fact become a reality. More recently Michelle Obama has been a major advocate for educating women across the world. Her latest campaign Let Girls learn is a government-wide effort that will leverage the investments we’ve made in primary education in America to help expand the education of adolescent girls in impoverished situations. Keeping women in school will prevent the opportunity for more of them to be kidnapped, sold and used in the human trafficking world; things like this can be prevented. The SDGs suggest that the use of social media is the best thing the average person can do to aware others and combat sex trafficking.  The SDGs stress that people use of the hashtag “#Action2015” to raise awareness. 

Sex trafficking is the new age slave trade and something must be done to get rid of it. I believe if everyone becomes conscious of this situation and do things to help the many NGO’s out there like increasing school retention rates for adolescent women change will eventually happen.