Discussion Qs

1) On page 29 of the article on policy, there is some discussion of alcohol purchasing and drinking, in general. The article talks about how men vastly outnumber women when it comes to putting their income towards the purchase of alcohol, and how most policy associated with drinking is "gender-blind." Do you think that this is fair? Should policy be gendered? Would this be effective? Could this possibly be counter-productive?

2) On page 1978 of the article on land tenure in Nepal, the author writes, "Ethnographic studies demonstrate how women's lack of rights hinders productivity..." Kristof and WuDunn also mention this with respect to China's growing economic prowess, stating that unlocking women's potential as agents of productivity is truly the only way to success. What are your thoughts on this? If women begin working alongside men (and presumably have the same workers' rights as men) in these countries, what other policies need to be made? What can be said about parental leave and laws regarding hours, vacations, etc? Should these workers' laws be gendered?

3) I found the article on the MENA region and abortion to be very interesting and extremely enlightening. With all of the variation in Islamic interpretation (culturally) among these countries, should there also be a corresponding variation in law/policy, specifically with respect to abortion? That is, as culture varies, should law also vary? Or, since abortion deals with human rights and health issues, should there be some sort of basic standard?