Shirin Ebadi will receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Stockholm on Wednesday for her work fighting for democracy and the rights of women and children in Iran. The honor will reinforce the emerging importance of human rights â and in particular womenâs rights â globally. America could use her.
Ah yes America, that tyrannical country that clamps women/blacks/gays in irons.
Even with the political history and atmosphere of Iran, Ebadi and other women there have made impressive improvements in their society â in some cases surpassing the state of women in the United States. Iran, for example, has 14 women in its 270 seat-parliament. Thatâs better representation than women in the U.S. Senate.
The are 2nd class citizens in a no power parliament. hmmm
As the Bush administration continues to threaten the reproductive rights of women, as women vote for a governor with a history of alleged sexual harassment, as 80 percent of fourth-grade girls continue to diet (www.nowfoundation.org), as women continue to make up the majority of those in poverty, we need to look at the condition of women in our own country before looking down on the status of women in the Middle East.
âReproductive rightsâ = Abortion. I am not sure which Bush policy that âthreatensâ their right to kill fetuses?
Too bad many American women donât seem to care.
| Maybe they don't see the "problem" the same way the writer does? |
First get Bush on Abortion and Arnold on groping. A two-fer!
According to a 1998 Time/CNN poll, more than 50 percent of American women between the ages of 18 and 34 say they are simpatico with feminist values, but do not necessarily call themselves feminists. These are young women such as Laura, a recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and an aspiring film director, who said: "Iâm not a feminist. If youâre talented enough and work hard enough, it wonât matter if youâre a woman or not. I donât want to sit around and whine about being a woman. I just want to focus on doing my work."
Sounds like Laura isnât oppressed or discouraged because she is a femaleâŠWhats wrong with her?
"How many female directors can you name?" I asked her. She paused, said nothing. Not surprising: Women are 7 percent of all directors working on the top 250 films of 2002, according to professor Martha M. Lauzen, School of Communication, San Diego State University. Even if Laura were given the opportunity to direct a film, chances are she would still have to deal with the wage gap â as do most American women. The Institute of Womenâs Policy Researchâs 2002 report, "The Status of Women in the States", indicates that women earn 73 cents for every $1 earned by men. The numbers are lowest in Wyoming, where women earn only 64.4 percent of menâs wages.
I earn 30% less than my counterparts in private businessâŠBoo friggin hoo. With success comes the $$$ (men and women).
Perhaps American women have become too selfish, or scared. Many choosing to evaluate the need for feminism â defined as the theory that women should have political, economic and social rights equal to men â base their responses on their own experiences. If they donât experience sexism, then no one else does. Others are scared that if they speak up and say, "I should be paid more," they will lose their jobs. Scared that if they tell their boyfriend, "Donât treat me that way," he will leave them. Scared that if they say, "I am a feminist because systems in this country do not yet guarantee equality," they will be stereotyped as butch, anti-family and male-hating.
Women such as Shirin have faced worse obstacles: banned from work, imprisoned, humiliated. In other Middle Eastern countries, fighting for human rights â womenâs rights â has meant torture, rape, even death. Now does losing a boyfriend seem so bad?
Now I am confused which is worse: U.S. or Middle East?
Comparing the U.S. records on Human Rights (and womenâs rights) and the record of ANY Muslim country is laughable. They arenât even in the same universe. Yes women are allowed to serve in the Iranian Parliament and there is NO law forbidding any Women for running for any office in the U.S. Also Member of Congress (male or Female) actually have the authority to write and change laws. Unlike their Iranian counterparts. I have two Daughters and I canât think of a better country that I want my Girls to grow up in. No imprisonment, humiliation, or torture at the hands of the Government. Show of hands, how many female Ranters are itching to move to Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, or any other Muslim country?
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