Education Response Paper

The accessibility of education is important but the quality of the education received is just as important.  In the case of Nigeria, even when girls have access to education, it does not often counteract, but rather perpetuates, the cultural tradition of patriarchy by causing girls to internalize these subordination values.  This creates a gap between the number of women who have received education and the number who utilize it in the work force.  Also, it supports an attitude towards education as irrelevant to women if they will not eventually use it in the labor force (Anugwom 131).  In addition, there is a trend towards educating women about anything but math and science in the curriculum of many schools.  The number of women who study and then teach in engineering, for example, is incredibly disparate to the number of men, in comparison to the much smaller gender gap in fields such as the arts (Ojobo 100).  Thus, in the case of Nigeria, despite improvements in enrollment and drop-out rates for women, education still remains inaccessible to some and, even if attained, does not outweigh some cultural factors in order to reach its full potential for development in political, social, economic, and health-related areas.

In Defense of Anti-Literacy.... (not really but proving the point that knowledge is power no matter how it gets to you))

The Power of Film: Bringing Essential Information to People In Need

   

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Khan Academy

Khan Academy - Free, online education for anyone. REALLY neat.

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It Begins with Me. It Begins with You. It Begins with Us.

It Begins with Me. It Begins with You. It Begins with Us.
Thoughts and Actions Around Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming


http://itbeginswithme.wordpress.com/


This blog was created to document UNHCR’s 2009 evaluation of the organization’s Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming strategy and to encourage thinking, dialogue and action around the challenges and rewards of AGDM within UNHCR and beyond. You’ll find the mission, methodology and the milestones of our evaluation as well as posts about films, audio, books, paintings, programs, partners, news, op-eds… anything that helps add to our greater understanding of AGDM. We encourage feedback and contributions from our partners and friends and look forward to the conversation. Views expressed here are not the official stance of UNHCR.

Education Questions

1. What are your thoughts on the following: "The aim of educational policy should... be to give every person a chance of developing his/her inherent potential? Agree/ disagree? Is education enough to ensure that someone is actively able to develop their potential?

2. Do you think school will inevitably "encourage a drift of youth and talent to urban areas and... divorce young people from their community and culture?

3.In what ways have our readings over the semester supported or discredited the following? "Discrimination against women is 'ingrained in society' in many countries"

Discussion Qs

1) In the book chapter entitled "Women's Education in Developing Countries," there were many striking charts and stats. Something I found interesting was that Latin America women were relatively well-represented in the technical/vocational fields. I don't really know enough about that region to say why, however. I wonder if anyone wishes to comment on this. Also, along the same lines, why are women in other regions not well-represented?

2) In the same chapter, the authors note the importance of literacy. They stress the fact that, with retention rates often low, many female students in the developing world may not achieve functional literacy. The author alludes to the point that if the child does not achieve literacy, he/she has essentially not been educated. Do you agree?

3) In this class in the past, we've talked about how educating women definitely unlocks potential and therefore contributes to the overall productivity and wealth of a country. I thought an interesting point in the readings this week that I had not thought about was that not educating women actually limits men's potential as well. It's not only the country as a whole that suffers in uniquely financial terms, but it has a direct effect on men more specifically. Men are tied to women in many ways, and lifting up women in the areas of worker rights, productivity, and quality of life will inescapably affect men in the same areas. Everyone benefits?

Women as a key to development

Follow-up to our discussion this week on unlocking the potential that women have to contribute to development efforts

http://www.unwomen.org/2011/04/rule-of-law-and-development-remarks-by-ms-michelle-bachelet-at-the-general-assembly/

Questions on Education

1. Why do think, as many of this week's reading argue, that a woman's education typically has more of an impact on the well-being of the family as a whole than a man's education? Is this merely the gender roles of societies at play?

2. Roudi-Fahimi and Moghadam write that "In the Gulf states, jobs not considered appropriate for MENA women, such as waitressing, are often filled by imported female laborers from South and East Asia." Do you think this is yet another instance of devaluing a set of people because they are "the other"?

3. In Half the Sky, they discuss the fact that the Camfed alumni also often become philanthropists too. When we met with the former President of the Global Women's Fund she noted that they encourage all women's organizations to contribute however much they can even if it is only a few dollars to help other women's groups. She noted that this too was empowering for the women. Do you think giving back to other girls' education is similarly empowering for the Camfed alumni?

Response Paper

Legal and Political Rights of Women Response Paper

            Out of the past several units, I have not found there to be as many parallels to my daily life as in this unit. Two distinct parallels that I have noticed focus on shifting the culture of disengagement in the local government and discovering the relationship between customary and formal law in cultural attitudes. Regarding the first parallel, governments in developing countries often struggle to engage women in their politics because they do not make women feel like their agenda is relevant to women or that they would be necessary to the process. This reminds me very much of the student government situation at the University. Students outside of SGA seldom feel like SGA is accomplishing anything of importance to them and even if they did care about something, they are not given the impression that anything would be done about it. In both sides of the parallels, though the governments want to engage their populace, there is a lack of communication and a general failure at proving relevance.

            The second parallel is related to how customary and formal law are intertwined and how they effect change in cultural attitudes. In developing countries, it is difficult to change any norm without both kinds of law following suit. One may begin with changing formal law out of necessity or some outside pressure, but customary law will follow suit usually soon after that and then there will be a shift in the cultural norm. Or, the customary law will change and then the formal law will respond to the desires of its populace and then the shift occurs. This situation is fairly similar to that of Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights Movement in the South. During the 60’s, formal law was changed as a result of pressure and then customary law, or the behavior of some individuals and the change in expectations, began to transform over time. Granted, the issue of racial equality is not resolved completely in any way by this point in history but it must be acknowledged that times have at least changed.

Education Week 1 Discussion Questions

1. In ‘What Works in Girl’s Education’, it says that World Bank studies have concluded that an extra year of education beyond average boosts girl’s eventual wages by 10-20 percent. The studies also showed that girls receive a higher benefit for their education then boys do. Why do you think that is?

2. In ‘What Works in Girl’s Education’, it says that the gender gap matter more than woman’s overall level education in determining fertility rates. Why do you think this is?

3. In ‘Empowering Women, Developing Society’, it discusses the quality of education in the MENA region. It says that the curricula and teaching materials used in the MENA region often reinforce traditional roles that may deny women opportunities for full and equal participation in society. Do you think that the resolution to this problem could be found in the creation of all girls schools in the region that focus on the type of education that girls need?

Brait, Response paper 3

Political Involvement and Women’s Rights

What I found most interesting in our discussion on this topic was the discrepancy between culture and the legal system in developing countries. In many countries, there are laws in place protecting the rights of women and there are changes being made to the legal system to improve the lives of women in developing countries. However, the culture of these societies prevents these laws from being carried out. We discussed the necessity of cultural change for affective change to take place at legislative level. I think that for changes to be widespread and truly affective, the culture must change, however this does not necessarily have to come first for changes in legislation to take effect. Even if a law criminalizing honor killings may not stop every honor killing, the law is there and will be effective in preventing some and making those aware of the laws think twice before committing the act. Is this good enough? Of course not. However, it is a step in the right direction and this is what can help cultural changes to move forward. Laws which promote gender equality set in motion the idea that women should be equal to men and that some practices within a society are not right and should be changed. Laws cannot effect total change in a society, because culture is engrained in the minds of citizens and it is what they believe in. However, the steps taken through changes in legislation are necessary to effect the cultural change that is required to change cultural practices.

We also discussed women in politics and the effect that it had on the governing body and on the society as a whole. I was surprised to find that a few of the articles which we read talked about changes brought about by women in politics with reference to changes in the way that the parliament was run. In South Africa, changes to the work day were made to accommodate the women in parliament and the environment of parliament was also altered. I did not expect articles to focus on this. However, thinking about it more, this is an important step to making changes overall. The way in which a governing body works is reflected in its decisions. If a parliament functions in a way which is conducive to a man’s lifestyle, then the decisions that come out of that body will be more beneficial to males. However, the changes that were made incorporated the lives and livelihoods of women, forcing the men in parliament to think a different way and work in a different atmosphere. These changes have the potential to effect change in the decisions that parliament makes which are beneficial to women and promote more gender equality.

Another point that the articles brought up was the changes in ideals that women go through upon entering parliament. Though it seemed that more women who entered parliament had a vision of gender equality and the promotion of women, the articles pointed out that not every woman parliamentarian continued to focus on the same ideals. Women were subject, just as men are, to being sucked into the world of politics, where your ideals and values can be put aside in the craze of it all. I thought that this was an important point to make, as it happens in developed countries as well. Increasing women in politics is not a surefire way to increase gender equality or women’s rights, because these women can get caught up in politics as easily as men can. One article discussed which effected the most change, women in politics or women in society pressuring the government. Though I don’t think that either would ever be completely effective, between the two groups, positive change for women can be made.

My research last week clearly showed the extreme human rights issues that come with the OCP in China, specifically issues which strongly affect women. In looking at the OCP this week, I looked at it in regard to international law. The question raised was, is the OCP a violation of human rights? When looking at the policy separate from the ways in which it is carried out, it can be argued that it is not a violation of human rights. The policy’s goal is to control the population of China, so that its citizens may live better lives and that their human rights will not be violated. The OCP is not a violation of human rights as considerations for society as a whole must come above certain human rights as laid out by the Declaration of Human Rights. The right to choose the number of children is one such right which is subject to the needs of society as a whole. However, the issue comes in when the way in which the policy is carried out are taken into consideration. This policy inherently brings about violations of human rights because of China’s views on human rights. As a whole, the Chinese legal system does not believe that there are any human rights problems in China. This view leaves the door open for the violations which follow.

Response Paper

Hey guys, I'm currently at home in Maryland, being there for my best friend's family because her 16 year old sister died in an accident. I had already written half of the paper due this Friday so I will post that as soon as I can get back to my computer. But I just do not have the mental capacity right now to do the research half. I can do that at a later date if needed. Thank you.

Questions

1) In the table of percentages of women involved in politics in certain countries, what do you think causes so many "developing" countries, with cultural trends of disempowerment of and disregard for women, to have higher percentages of women in their governments? Especially in comparison to the US?
2) In terms of garnering involvement of women in politics, is it more effective and expedient to focus on empowering many women at local levels of government or working first to provide an image of success with several women in much higher positions?

Brait, Women's Health Response

Women’s Health in the Developing World

What struck me most in our discussions about women’s health in the developing world was that the women with serious health issues were unaware that they weren’t alone. I saw this most vividly through the stories of women with obstructed fistulas in, ‘A Walk to Beautiful’. Living in a world where the large majority of what women do is talk to other women about a wide variety of things, it’s hard to imagine that in African countries and other developing countries these issues with regard to women’s health are not shared or discussed. The lack of access to medical care makes it difficult for women to get the help or information that they need. Of the doctors that do not leave the developing countries for better opportunities, the majority of them do not have the supplies or the time to care for these women. Often, the doctors do not provide the care that women need because they are not paid by their patients. This issue seems as though it could be somewhat relieved by training midwifes to provide prenatal care as well as care during delivery. Although they are limited in what they can do and the supplies that they have, this care would be better than the lack of care that these women currently receive. The problems that women have with child birth are often seen as the women’s problem, however this is really a problem for all genders. These problems are intertwined and effect entire populations. I found this point to be interesting, as it is viewed in a similar way in developed countries. Women’s health does not concern men in the eyes of many people, however this could not be further from the truth.

We discussed how women’s issues cannot be seen as solely women’s issues, because this isolates both men and women. This is especially true of health issues. Women are more prone to contracting AIDS then men are, but it partially the relationship between men and women that results in this. Men have social expectations to be the dominant figure and to be powerful. This leads to the mistreatment of women to exercise this expected power, causing the conditions which make it more likely that women will contract AIDS. Gender issues need to be addressed in terms of the relationship between men and women, not in relation of one gender to the other. I think that the resolution to gender imbalances is found in education of both men and women, through the same programs. There is no use in educating or empowering one gender, as this perpetuates the gender imbalance. Bringing balance, or at least understanding in differences between men and women, must come from a collaborative effort between both men and women.

Women’s health in China is directly affected by the One Child Policy. Women who do not consent to sign the policy are subject to forced sterilization. For those who do consent to sign but exceed the allotted number of children, they are also subject to forced sterilization as well as unsafe abortions and unsafe child birth. Because girls are often the children who, if born and not killed, are kept unregistered, women are at a disadvantage from birth. Those children who go unregistered are not eligible for health care nor do they receive education, as those benefits are reserved for children officially registered with the government. Girls are also subject to health issues when they are born and then gotten rid of or sold by their families. Families who do not want girls will sell them on the black market in hopes that next time they will have a boy and to pay the bills. If the girls aren’t sold, they are put in orphanages where large amounts of girls die because of the poor conditions and lack of care. Although there have been laws created to help prevent this and policies created to give incentive to women having children, the One Child Policy is held on to tightly and continuously enforced. I find it interesting that this policy, which holds no legal weight, can override actual laws within the governing bodies and law enforcers.

Health Response Paper

Carly James

Women in the Developing World

April 1, 2011

Response Paper – Health – Weeks 7-9

The past several weeks of class have introduced me to several new topics of which I had previously been completely unaware. For instance, the issue of obstetric fistula is a major problem of dire need in many parts of the developing world, but goes largely unattended. Why? We discussed some of these reasons in class. Fistula is a problem that affects women directly (men indirectly), so perhaps the gendered nature of the problem contributes to how much attention it gets from policy-makers, NGOs, etc. We discussed how the issue has to do with reproduction and maternity, a somewhat commonplace phenomenon. That is, it is not an epidemic which has cropped up only recently—something like HIV/AIDS, for example, which is more tended to. Reproduction and child-bearing happens everyday and affects so many women. We discussed the barriers women face in terms of support during childbirth, and the issue of access seemed to be the common thread. Reproduction involves much more than the act of giving birth. In order for a woman to be properly taken care of before, during, and after pregnancy, she needs access to quality healthcare, family planning services, knowledge/education on the health concerns associated with childbearing, etc. Gaining access to these services means incurring transportation costs, healthcare costs, and many other service costs. It is undeniable in reading about obstetric fistula and other pregnancy complications that maternal healthcare, as mundane as it may seem, is a pocket of need that seems to have gone largely untouched for too long.

In addition to the topic of obstetric fistula, we discussed HIV/AIDS, female genital mutilation, pollution, and many other issues that affect women’s health. While our discussion of specific health issues was very enlightening for me, I also really enjoyed talking about women’s health in more of a macro sense. For instance, should policy be gender-blind? What are the positive and negative effects of looking at social injustices as gendered phenomena? Also, how far does cultural relativism reach? How do we change cultural norms as outsiders? And is that appropriate? Many of us want to argue that respecting cultural practices is always of the utmost importance, but when human rights abuses enter the equation, does the same argument still hold true? It seems almost impossible in this class to discuss issues affecting women’s health in the developing world and not want to understand the longstanding ignorance associated with them. Furthermore, it is difficult to read about the conditions women face and not want to question why solutions have not yet been found. This is partially due to the nature of the conditions themselves. Over the past several weeks, we have read about prostitutes being affected by HIV/AIDS because their clients prefer to not use a condom. We have read about young girls who are forced to have their genitals cut in order to reduce sexual pleasure. We have seen the women who spend much of their day squatting over rudimentary ovens or open fires burning biomass, causing them health complications. In all of these instances, we see common practices burdening women, sometimes exclusively, with serious health-related issues. The next question, then, is when do women’s health issues cross gender lines and become the concerns of both men and women? That is, when do these become societal problems? I would argue that they are always the burden of the society. For example, if a woman is unable to bear a child in a safe, healthy way, then the society’s population, the husband’s reputation (which may rest on having a child), and the future of the woman’s family are all severely threatened. Issues like this impact both genders, and should therefore be taken much more seriously among policy-makers. One of the questions we dissected over the course of these past few weeks has to do with this: why are women’s health issues not seen as a problem of the society at-large?

Senegalese women face a number of the health problems we discussed in class over the past several weeks, with a specific emphasis on maternal mortality and obstetric care. In Senegal, the lifetime average number of children per woman is five. Only about 12% of women of reproductive age use or have used contraceptives. Female genital mutilation has been known to be a common cultural practice in areas of Senegal, as well. Women’s health is of particular interest in Senegal, because these social concerns are contextualized in an environment where women’s rights are not in abundance and a Muslim-dominated culture disallows people to be open about issues related to their sexuality. In Senegal, clans and families take precedence over individuals, so individual rights are often glossed over in favor of family or clan-oriented rights. For instance, self-determination, bodily integrity, ownership of one’s body, and overall agency can be limited—particularly among women and girls. It is clear that Islam can play a role in thwarting women’s reproductive and sexual rights. Thus, women’s health issues in Senegal are not simply about quality and cost, but also about equality and empowerment.