Politics of the Veil

Amy Novotny

14172530

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)

a.      She says she was deprived of the sexual liberation that was hers by right.

2.     What are the implications when we talk about bringing Muslim women up to the standard of their French sisters (or western sisters)? (172)

a.      They said that By rising up against foreign signs of sexism, doesn’t our society prove that it wont tolerate sexism? The conclusive evidence of the inassimilability of Muslims was the difference of their approach to sex and sexuality.

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)

a.      Because it is saying the problems are still there. Women still aren’t getting jobs from it. Women are still being treated differently. The example given about the woman at the bank and how a teller refused to wait on her is simply sad, but it shows the problem is still there.

Politics of the Veil - answer a question

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?

The feminist political scientist Mossuz-Lavau argues against the law to ban headscarves because she thinks that the government should not force Muslim women to wear the headscarf. Muslim women have their rights to design whether they could put the headscarf on or not. According to the article Politics of Veil, Janine Mossuz-Lavau wrote an appeal against the law. “When I pass a woman with a veil in the street. I feel a pang of emotion.” She thinks that the veil designated the woman as “a source of sin,” and “as a potential whore.” She thought that it deprived as she was of the sexual liberation that was hers by rights. Mossuz-Lavau then cited a study she had done in 2000-2001 of sexual practices in French society. She did interviews on women and found that if the test of liberation were sexual freedom, she concluded that the girls with headscarves must be allowed to stay in school.

Human Trafficking in Guatemala

According to the U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report in June 2009, Guatemala is a source, transit, and destination country for Guatemalans and Central Americans trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Human trafficking is a significant and growing problem in the country, particularly the exploitation of children in prostitution.

Guatemala is the most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. (Credit: gvnet.com)

Human trafficking is one of the most significant and growing problem in the country, particularly the exploitation of children in prostitution. Guatemalan women and children are trafficked within the country, and to Mexico and the United States, for commercial sexual exploitation.

According to the report, young Guatemalan girls are also subject to forced labor within the country as domestic servants. Guatemalan men, women, and children are trafficked within the country, as well as to Mexico and the United States, for forced labor, particularly in agriculture. In the Mexican border area, Guatemalan children are exploited for forced begging on streets and forced labor in municipal dumps; Guatemalan men, women, and children are trafficked for forced agricultural work, particularly on coffee plantations.

Migrants from Guatemala stream into the United States by way of human trafficking networks through Mexico. (Credit: Reuters)

With the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which come into effect in 2016. Human trafficking is addressed by one of the goals. In Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, it suggests in 5.2 that to "eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation". And in Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels , it says in 16.2 to, "end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture against children."

A South Asian-Central American human trafficking network that traffic people illegally to the U.S. through Guatemala. The illegal migrants were flown mostly from Delhi, Amritsar and Ahmedabad in India through Istanbul and then on to Guatemala. They later entered the U.S. illegally over land from Mexico. (Credit: India Times)

There are lots of things to be done to prevent human trafficking. for instance, implement and enforce the new anti-trafficking law; increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict and punish trafficking offenders, including public officials complicit with trafficking activity; pursue suspected cases of forced labor and domestic servitude crimes in addition to suspected cases of adult sex trafficking; improve victim services and assistance; increase anti-trafficking training for judges and police; and increase funding for anti-trafficking efforts, particularly for the country’s dedicated prosecutorial and police units, which are suggested by the Persons Report

Human trafficking

Costa Rica

The article Born Free concluded that the buying and selling of humans is big business and an enormous development.  It provided some specific data about human trafficking. “It is estimated to generate anywhere from $32 billion to $150 billion a year and affect tens of millions of people: the International Labor Organization believes that nearly 21 million men, women, and children are currently victims of some form of slavery, forced labor, or human trafficking. The Global Slavery Index puts the number at 29.8 million, which, if accurate, is over twice the number of Africans enslaved between 1525 and 1866, according to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database.” These numbers are mainly from the history, and since the development of every country, the human trafficking problem becomes better. “Since 2008, when the U.S. State Department began tallying numbers on identified victims, it has found only 246,798 trafficking victims worldwide, and since 2006, it has found an average of only about 6,675 prosecutions of human traffickers worldwide annually, with an average of fewer than 4,000 convictions.” However, the number is still big that countries still need to pay attention on it.

(Human Trafficking and the Illegal Sex Industry in Costa Rica)

Sex trafficking and sex slavery do exist in Costa Rica. Seriously, Costa Rica is a source, transit and destination country for women and children suffering from trafficking, specifically the sex trafficking and sex slavery. Some of them are subjected to condition labor in the agriculture, construction, fishing, and domestic service.  The most serious problem is the child sex tourism, mainly engaging in the prostitution of children and facilitated child sexual abuse. There is a report about trafficking in Costa Rica, and embassy of the United States in San Jose listed some recommendations. “Costa Rica should significantly intensify efforts to investigate and prosecute human trafficking offenses, including forced labor, and convict and punish trafficking offenders.” The first recommendation is hoping that the government needs to pay attention to the human trafficking offenses. “Fund specialized services for trafficking victims, including child sex trafficking victims, through the establishment of a shelter specifically for trafficking victims or through funding NGOs to provide services.” There are NGOs in Costa Rica providing services and suggestions for how to avoid sex trafficking and sex salary. “Strengthen dedicated prosecutorial and police units through increased resources and training, including for victim treatment.” Improving and strengthen power of police could help reduce the crime rate. “Ensure that cases of trafficking not involving movement are investigated and prosecuted and that Costa Rican victims of human trafficking receive appropriate services.” Victims of human trafficking are helpless and government should provide services and help for them. “Improve the efficacy and the implementation of the victim assistance protocol, particularly outside of the capital, and in partnership with civil society organizations; Increase efforts to investigate and prosecute child sex tourism; Improve data collection for law enforcement and victim protection efforts.” The commendations provided by the embassy of the United States in San Jose are objective and useful.

Chuqi Li

References:

http://costarica.usembassy.gov/crtip2013.html

           

Human Trafficking in Cuba

(Human trafficking by the numbers)

Is there Human Trafficking in Cuba?

Human Trafficking is a very prevalent problem in the country of Cuba.  With so many people living in poverty some women even go into the trade by choice.  The problem is very chilling.  The business includes both women and children that are tricked and deceived into the trade.  In Cuba the most vulnerable group of people has been identified as those aged 13 to 20.  It is troubling to think of young women being involved in such a brutal scheme. So you may be asking yourself how are women brought into this industry?  Shouldn't a person know better?  The answer to these questions is chilling.  Women are brought into this business through deception and trickery tactics.   Agencies will trick women into the business by offering enticing "jobs" or an opportunity for marriage abroad.  These positions sound great when the current situation of the woman is poverty and barely enough food to get by.  Once they are given a job they are then in charge of paying for their travel to get to the destination.  Upon arrival the women quickly find out that they were scammed and begin to face a horrible lifestyle.


Preventing Human Trafficking 

In Cuba there is an NGO that provides out reach for the victims of trafficking known as the Federation of Cuban Women.  The federation offers one hundred seventy-three guidance centers for women to go to for health, family problems, and victims of trafficking. The federation is both state and internationally funded.  in 2013 there were 2,480 women and families that attained assistance from the federation. Unfortunately the Cuban government is not doing very much about the trafficking problem.  They are hindered due to the current laws in the country.  Not every form of recruitment and trafficking has been criminalized, which makes it hard to punish the people involved in the trafficking.  Cuba has made it a point to heavily punish individuals that get caught with minors in the sex trafficking industry but they consider a minor to be under the age of 16.  This prevents them from heavily punishing individuals who are caught with 17 and 18 year old women.

Sustainable Development Goals and Moving Forward

It is interesting to note that such an inhuman cause is not very much aware to the public.  As mentioned in the born free article almost twice as many people are estimated to be enslaved today via human trafficking then there ever were over the three hundred year time period of slavery.  It is also important to note that the sustainable development goals do indeed mention human trafficking.  They say that they want to eradicated human trafficking and forced labor in its entirety across the world.  After reading the born free article I believe that this is a big step in the fight to end the problem.  I think that when it comes to ending human trafficking completely there are a variety of approaches to combating the issue.  The first thing that must be done is to publicize the issue.  I was completely unaware that the industry had amassed such a large number of helpless women and children.  I also think that with the issue being publicized it is up to the journalists to put a face on the issue.  Journalists need to profile specific women and have them tell their story.  It is much easier for the average person to feel passionate about putting an end to an issue when they can see a person who has been affected by the issue.  The second strategy that should be implemented is how law enforcement catches the people.  I believe that it should be pretty easy to set up stinger operation to crack down these horrible slave owners.  Thankfully the United Nations addressed the issue, and hopefully necessary changes are being made.

(image from women's rights organization)

Sources:

US.gov

borgenproject.org

sustainabledevelopment.un.org

Ending poverty--never ending task for Guatemala?

Guatemala's most challenging task in the 21st century is the mission to end poverty in the nation, no doubt. Approximately 75 percent of the population is estimated to live below the poverty line, according to report by World Bank.

According to the United Nations, 6.6 million people in Guatemala are still living under poverty and a third of this figure, or 2 million people, are struggling with extreme poverty in the year of 2006. Guatemala depends on exports, therefore, it suffered greatly especially to global price shocks, the world coffee crisis and natural disasters such as the Tropical Storm Stan in 2005, for instance, are one of the main reasons of the deepening of this social problem.

Poverty is most serious and especially prevalent in rural Guatemala, since more than half of Guatemala's population lives in rural areas in the North, Northwest, and Southwest of the nation. The poverty issue affects primarily the poorly educated and indigenous members of the population, and more than 90 percent of the indigenous population live on an income that is lower than the poverty line.

Uruguay, Argentina and Chile have the lowest rates of chronic poverty in the region, while Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua have the highest. (Credit: worldbank.org)

According to World Bank's poverty profile on Guatemala, around third-fourth of Guatemala's population are living below the poverty line, which is defined as an income that is insufficient to purchase a basic basket of goods and services. And more than half of the population have incomes below the extreme poverty line, which is the amount needed to purchase a basic basket of food.

The Guatemala government has implemented policy in the mid-1990s to suggest a greater effort to address poverty, such as the 1996 Peace Accords, which set higher targets for public social investment; a restructuring of public expenditure, with less going to defense; an expanded transfer program with a significant percentage of general tax revenue transferred to the municipalities; and a greater attention in the planning process as  indicated by the preparation of a national Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2001, followed by individual poverty reduction strategies for the municipalities.

World Bank has reported that "Guatemalans live with high levels of vulnerability" and that the country is not prepared for unexpected natural disasters, changes in the international conditions affecting remittances, or changes in international food prices, which are all reasons to make the task to end poverty even harder. 

Guatemalan newly elected president Jimmy Morales addresses supporters in September in Guatemala City. (Credit: cnn.com)

 

 After the recent presidential election in Guatemala, the newly elected President Jimmy Morales, apart from tackling problems like violence and underdevelopment, he will also to face one of the most challenging task in the nation--ending poverty.

References:

World Bank reports:

http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2009/07/08/000333038_20090708235221/Rendered/PDF/439200ESW0GT0P1IC0Disclosed07171091.pdf

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20207581~menuPK:443285~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367,00.html

Cuban Poverty

Cuba is a beautiful country with luscious farm land and beautiful waterways.  Rural farmland is in great condition and an ideal spot to grow fruit and vegetables.  However on further observation one will see past the beauty and into the tainted soul of the country.  In cities there are crumbling buildings and people starving on the streets.  Although it is home to one of the most advanced government funded math and science programs the county still has not solved a big problem.  Poverty.  Under the rule of Fidel Castro little has been done over the years to solve the issue.  While studying the country over the past few weeks the biggest issue that I have seen is the amount of people that are in poverty and living off of welfare.  In addition to the poverty issue I think that a major problem is the growing gap between the rich and the poor in Cuba.  This wealth gap has caused the rich to continue to grow richer, and the people in poverty to become even worse off.

(Santiago, Cuba Slum after hurricane Sandy)

The income inequality of the country does not look very bad when you strictly look at numbers, but  the average wage of a Cuban citizen is just twenty dollars a month.  Twenty dollars.  This small wage amount is barely enough to feed a single person let alone a family.  Due to this fault drug trade and prostitution is very prevalent in Cuba.  Unfortunately when someone is desperate for money they will do whatever they can to get it, even it means giving up your body for money.  Castro does do what he can so that the government can give the citizens a welfare food stipend to live off.  This stipend is very little and has to be rationed out wisely for family's to make it through the entire month.  The situation is often described as "enough to get by."

A life in poverty is a life that no one deserves.  The housing facilities of many citizens are crumbling and unsafe.  Bathrooms are unsanitary and often do not have drinkable water. Fortunately for Cuban citizens the borderline socialist country offers free health care for everyone.  The healthcare is just one of the ways that the Cuban state is working to help the poverty situation.

Cuban Poverty has been an issue since around 1955 when the United States placed the embargo on the country, but it has gotten better over the years.  The education program has worked the country to a one hundred percent literacy rate and the health care system is very efficient.  These efforts have brought the poverty rates to better spots than where it was before.

(Cuban Family in Street)

With the pressing issue of poverty this is just one more thing that the United States should look at before we fully remove the embargo.  In many cases loans are made to the wealthiest Cubans for any business projects.  Loans are not given out to the average Cuban citizen which makes it nearly impossible to get out of the financial situation many Cubans find them selves in.  This is an interesting issue because of the talk about removing the embargo between the United States and Cuba.  Do we really want to support a country that only an elite class gets to benefit from the new money from the United States? I think that before we begin to fully engage in trade we must make sure that some way the money gets into the hands of the middle class Cuban citizen.  The poverty and ridiculous wage of twenty dollars a month is something that Castro needs to work on changing, and something that must be changed before the United States removes the trade embargo.

Thankfully for Cuban citizens there are organizations working with those less fortunate to get them out of poverty.  The Borgen Project works with the people in Cuba to raise awareness of their situation.  The Borgen project also helps the citizens directly with aid to provide people with food security.  They also serve as lobbyist in many places all over the world to fight to end extreme poverty.  Hopefully in the near future they will have in impact in Central America and Cuba.

Costa Rica - challenges in the 21st century?

Costa Rica

Before talking about the most challenge of Costa Rica, the most important thing to talk about is the development of Costa Rica.  The growing economies in Latin America would lead the challenges happened. “Over the last twenty-five years, Costa Rica has been one of the more stable and faster growing economies in Latin America primarily due to past economic reforms. Since 1980, growth in per capita income has averaged 1.2 percent, compared to 0.8 percent for Latin America as a whole, and economic volatility in the country has been about 20 percent lower than the rest of the region. Only about 10 percent of the country’s population lives on less than US$2 a day, compared to a poverty rate of about 25 percent region-wide and the literacy rate is at nearly 96 percent for people ages 15 and above, compared to 86 percent in the rest of the region.” According to the website worldbank, the data specifically showed that how fast the economy grows in Costa Rica. However, while the economy in Costa Rica is growing, there will be more and more challenges coming up.

The one I would like to discuss the environmental issue in Costa Rica. In my opinion, the environmental issue in Costa Rica is the most basic and most important challenges in 21th century. Obviously, environmental issue is a challenges in every developing country.  It’s always a cycle, the economy develops positively that the environment would go negatively. If you want to help or protect the environment, the first thing to do is slowing down economic development and take care the environment. However, it’s really hard for a developing country.

I think the tourism is the main element to lead the environmental issue but also increasing the economy for the country. According to the tico news, “Costa Rica welcomed some 2.4 million tourists during 2013, an increase of 3.6 percent compared to 2012, the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) reported Thursday.The Central American country logged 2,427,941 international arrivals, according to a report from the state tourism agency. During the last four years of President Laura Chinchilla’s administration, which concludes on May 8, tourism has grown 15.6 percent. The ICT noted that the biggest growth in the number of travelers came from tourists flying to Costa Rica, which was up 4.2 percent. Costa Rica is especially popular with Gringos. Some 39 percent of tourists here are from the United States, while another 12.4 percent come from Europe. The remaining tourists are from other parts of Central America, South America and the rest of the word.” It could show that how strong the tourism is in Costa Rica.

Negative impact of environment from tourism would much greater than others. Tourism is an uncontrolled element that would damage many natural areas in the world, including Costa Rica. It can have pressure on an area and lead to impacts such as soil erosion, increased pollution, and lost of the water resources.  Therefore, I think the environmental issue is the most challenge in 21th century in Costa Rica.

Reference:

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/0,,contentMDK:21154669~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:258554,00.html

http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/01/17/tourists-flocked-to-costa-rica-in-record-numbers-in-2013