Globalizing Women: Transitional Feminist Network - Article Example

TAKE HOME EXAM ESSAY A Paper Presented to (Name of professor) (Name of Institution) In Partial Fulfilment Of the Requirement for the Degree Bachelor of Arts By (Your name) 10th November, 2008 TOPIC 1: IMPEDIMENTS IN PEACE RESTORATION IN POST SADDAM IRAQ The Iraq war left Iraq in tatters in all aspects including economic, social, political, education as well as religious. The war left many people dead both in the military and the civilians. Some were left with injuries that changed their lives completely as a result of weapons of mass destruction used during the war. Families were also separated during the war (Gad, 2004). The humanitarian aid and the peace building program the Direct Aid Iraq (DAI) which is a program for restoration of peace in post Sadam Iraq have not been very much successful in their efforts to fully restore peace in the country which is healing from the consequences of war. This essay focuses on the impediments in peace restoration and the possible solutions to overcome the impediments such as listening to Iraq rather than dictating on what to be done. First the health issue in Iraq is out of control the efforts of the humanitarian aid and the DIA are hampered greatly by this issue. It becomes quite difficult for the various programs by the federal government to assist Iraq recover from the war. The efforts of medical social work are essential among the affected Iraqis. (Robert, 2000). However, the considerations and the responsibilities accomplished by the medical social workers may not be glamorous or newsworthy to the Iraqis. This is mainly because they fail to restore the lives of the people to normal. For example if one lost his sight during the war, nothing much can be done to restore it. Nevertheless the services offered by this group are essential in assisting people to maintain intact lives after the war. Iraqis do not appreciate the close association that exist between peace restoration and medical social work which becomes a hindrance in preservation of peace (Dilip, 2003). Economic instability is a major impediment in peace restoration in Iraq. Despite the continued effort of the US government to assist Iraq to recover from the war, economic markets have not been fully restructured to meet the needs of people. This hampers the development in infrastructure with the greatest concern been the health care. Economic impediment influences the process of peace restoration as it is the basic source of support to various sectors. Iraq’s situation remains far from their expectation. The International community and the US are faced by two major political forces in their efforts to restore peace in Iraq. One of these forces is internal. It should be noted that the after the US invaded Iraq, trust was eroded as the Iraqis suffered. It becomes difficult therefore to be able to cooperate with the Americans in restoration of peace program (Robert, 2000) The other political component that hinders peace restoration in Iraq is the relationship between the various groups in Iraq that is Saddam supporters and US supporters. After the US succeeded in removing Saddam from power, its efforts were embraced by both the international body and the Iraqis themselves, however not all Saddam supporters were ready to surrender to the US and UN success. There still exist some strong groups such as the Al Qaeda that do oppose the operations of the US in the country. This raises concern over the peace restoration mission in the country which posses threat to the UN and US staff in their efforts to restore peace (Alex, 2005). Religious concern in Iraq is significant in peace restoration. Considering that 97 per cent of the population is Muslims, there exist a conflict between Americans and Muslims in Iraq. The previous terrorist attacks against America influenced the attitude of Americans towards Iraqis and Muslims in general. Ali (2007), notes that this conflict impedes the efforts of peace restoration between the two groups who perceive each other as enemies. Some Iraqis believe that the US attack on Iraq was a way to control their resources. This notion also widens the gap between the two countries. This weakens the trust between US and Iraq hence the US effort to restore peace through DAI, which is an initiative led by Iraqis with support from US does not accomplish this goal. External conflicts against Iraq also impede peace restoration efforts. The Kurdish Workers Party poses holds conflict with Turkey for over 20 years. This conflict has claimed the lives of 600 Turkey citizens which raises concern over security in Iraq for fear of revenge attacks. According to Peter (2000), the U.S needs to understand that Iraqis are not victims of natural calamity, but victims of war-human folly, greed and violence. Hence they should know that Iraqis need justice and not charity. Assumptions made by the US about the Iraq such as they hate Americans impede the efforts of some individual Americans in assisting Iraqis to recover from war. The challenges faced in peace restoration in Iraq can be overcome through concentrating on actions that would help Iraqis to regain their ability to build the future of their country rather than building Iraq for them (Peter, 2007). The peace makers should avoid dictating what to be done or what is right, rather they should listen to the views of the Iraqis in order to know exactly what is necessary in acquiring peace. Iraqi problem should not only be bound to the US alone hence other countries can help in reviving peace in Iraq especially through trade and investment. References Alex, C. (2005), Security in the 21st Century: The United Nations, Afghanistan and Iraq. (New York, New York Press) Ali, A. (2007), The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the war, Losing Peace. (New York, New York Press) Dilip, H. (2003), Iraq: In the Eye of the Storm. (New York, New York Press) Gad, B. et al. (2003), The Gulf Crisis and its Global Aftermath. (New York, Prentice Hall) Lokman, M. (2004), The Kurdish Question in US Foreign Policy: A Documentary Sourcebook. (New York, McMillan) Robert, F. (2000), The Middle East and the Peace Process. (London, Rutledge) Peter, W. (2007), Understanding Conflict Resolution: War Peace and Global System. (London, Oxford University Press) TOPIC 2: PROBLEMS FACED BY WOMEN IN MULTICULTURAL SOCIETIES In the modern multi-cultural societies women continue to face various problems regardless of their religious, social or ethnic affiliation. Generally women are subordinated in the society by the culture of male domination which has been in existence since ages. Despite the various efforts by women to liberate themselves from subordination and discrimination in the famous civil rights movement, equality has never been fully achieved in the multi-cultural societies. According to Valentine, (2005) Muslim women are more vulnerable to problems than any other of women in the multicultural societies. This is because of their religious rules which already oppress them. Therefore it is evident that Muslim women face several problems not only from Muslims, but also from non Muslims in the multicultural societies. American Muslim women face many unique additional problems apart from the problems experienced by other non Muslim women. For example a Muslim woman who wears hijab (a traditional head covering for Muslim women), is often ridiculed on the streets and even at work and the careers of such women are in fact jeopardized. They are isolated at work and are denied jobs. In the United States, women who wear hijabs are obvious target as they are obviously Muslim. For this reason they bear the burden of the ignorance of the Americans about Muslims thus they face sexual harassment and their physical safety is at stake. Immigrant Muslims face a complete host of problems including xenophobia. Among some serious problems faced by Muslim American Muslim women face include: abuse of polygamy system, domestic violence, isolation and exclusion from different aspects of Islamic life and abuse of divorce and child custody laws. Discrimination of Muslim women from their own Muslim community is also abundant. This discrimination basically results from ignorance about Islam and introduction of cultural attitudes which degrade women. The interpretation of Islam is often in ways which are sexist and not true to the teachings of equality in the Quaran and the provided model by Prophet Mohamed (Peace be Upon Him). Quaran and Hadith are usually taken out of context by Muslim men to justify certain behavior (David & Ingvar 2000). In India women remain in Poverty, backwardness and the refutation of citizenship rights are some of the problems faced by the Muslim women even after 60 years of independence. This demonstrates the failure of the Indian state as well as Muslim leaders, who cannot augment above their vested interests. In the Gujarat riots some Muslim women became widowed and they suffered as the Hindu organizations distributed 500 rupees to the 3000 widows on condition that they worshipped the Hindu gods (Vrinda, 2001). In general, women are the most vulnerable group in the Indian society due to its patriarchal nature. In India, Muslim women suffer more as compared to other women because Islam is patriarchal in nature and they are not granted freedom and hardly have access to higher education. Primary level education is not easily accessible to Muslim female children. In New Zealand immigrant women who came along with their husband in the 1960’s fought with the problem of loneliness and confinement in home (Suad & Afsaneh, 2003). However in the second generation of Muslim women, Muslim who has been raised in New Zealand, a different set of problem is faced which include: maintaining a balance between Islamic belief and rules, and the secular education that is passed on them at schools, with all its affiliated moral and religious implications (Cotran Et al, 2005). Other problems experienced by the Muslim woman in New Zealand include the protection of the Islamic identity, ethnic discrimination, the absence of Islamic lawful food, the inability to be married to the right man, as well as wearing the proper school uniform or the right attire at work place. The problems faced by Muslim women are numerous and takes many form. In consideration of Islam Muslim women has no place in the society. Things worsen when it comes to multicultural societies where different religions exist. In some African countries where Christianity dominates, Islam has lost its strength (Suad & Afsaneh, 2003). It is common for Muslim women engaging in prostitution or drug selling practices especially when they cover themselves with Hijab. Consequently many non Muslim women use the Hijab in doing immoral things as identity is masked. This leads to Muslim women losing respect as they are seen as sinners. As explained by Eric et al. (2007), the problems faced by Muslim men in multi-cultural societies differ significantly with those of women. The main reason is because men are generally privileged in many societies. Therefore the problems that Muslim men face are minimal as compared to those faced by Muslim women. Women in Islamic religion are not allowed to address any issue in presence of men, therefore they are always unable to address their needs and concern in the multicultural society. Men have the power and rights just as any non Muslim men (Eric et al., 2001). The participation of men in politics gives them an opportunity to address their rights as Muslims in the society. In America Muslim men are harassed due to ignorance of Americans that Muslims are terrorists. In fact they are sometimes referred to as Taliban. However men stand a better chance to stand against this prejudice than their counterpart female. Men acquire some respect and get education in every society and hence Muslim men acquire education even overseas as they do not face any other form of discrimination (David & Ingvar 2000). Education and power differentiates the extent of problems that face Muslim men and women. Muslim men dominate over their women in Islamic Sharia and hence do not face problems from other Muslims unlike women who are discriminated by both Muslims and non Muslims. Many of the serious problems experienced by Muslim women are within Islam. For example a recent case of a woman who was stoned to death for fornication is as a result of the Islam Sharia. This is very unfair and men seem to control the better part of women’s life in the multicultural society (Suad & Afsaneh, 2003). References Cotran, L. Et al. (2005), Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law. (New York, McMillan) David, W. & Ingvar, S. (2000), Islam Outside the Arab World. (New York, McGraw-Hill) Eric D. Et al. (2001), Reflections on International Law from the Low Countries. (New York, Penguin) Suad, J. & Afsaneh N. (2003), Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures. (Michigan, Michigan University Press) Vrinda, N. (2001), Gender and Community: Muslim women’s Right in India. (New Delhi, New Delhi Publishers) Valentine, M. (2005), Globalizing Women: Transitional Feminist Network. (London, Oxford University Press) Yvonne, Y. Et al. (2006), Muslim Women in America: The Challenge of Islamic Identity Today. (New York, New York Press) Read More