Author: Waed Sweilmyeen
Country: Jordan
Women's day passed by, mothers' day was celebrated on two different days around the globe , so you can all see it's been festive for women !
We the A2I! team feel obliged to pay a tribute to all women and to their achievements for they have come a long way !
We shall begin with the greatest ones of all , mothers !
Shamilla , our latest member to whom we say : Welcome aboard , has this to say about mothers on their day !
"On this occasion, I'd just like to pay homage to all the mothers of this world who deserve a place of pride atleast one day in a year, and I should even say that they should have a place of pride not just in that one day but each and every day that goes by. These mothers bring up their children with such tenderness and give them all the love and affection that they need. These mothers have a « mission » in their mind i.e., taking their children to all the steps of life and staying by them as long as possible. In short, these mothers have a heart of gold and we should respect and love them for all the love that they give to us everyday. We will never be able to repay our mothers for what they have given to us.
At the same time, I'd also like to pay homage to all the girls and women who deserve to be respected as human beings throughout the world "
Much have been said about the journey that women have willingly embarked upon seeking equal rights and better lives. Feminism , along many other factors helped a lot and our one and only Ashok has this to say about feminism :
" Women play an instrumental role in society and society's progress over the years. Although this is the truth, there is at the end of the day, a whole other school of thought that begs to differ on the important role women have in our lives. Feminism is perhaps the only way to change this school of thought. It is comforting and encouraging to note that from the team behind Viva to the CEO of Pepsico, the role of women have come to assume more importance and serve as an example of what a fine job they can do"
Ashok set the ladies of Viva as an example among many , and one of the ladies behind Viva begged to differ on this !
Our one and only Noor says : "I feel that if I praise women, I have to praise men as well. For we are equal creatures. I think the days of degrading women have passed away, so it is very shocking to hear or see women being treated unfairly for the mere reason of being women."
Another lady in our team , Victoria , thinks that : " society is evolving rapidly; women now are been treated the same way as men. It is not that we are more than men and it is not that men are more than us, we are simply the same, whether we talk about female football teams, working in the government, modeling, anything! We are the same."
Well, If every one thought like those 2 bright young ladies , we wouldn't be having this post in the first place !
***********
Noor chose not to praise women whereas I , Waed , think that applauding some of the great women would harm none …
I will say nothing but I will leave you with a video that queen Rania of Jordan introduced to the world through her "send me your stereotypes" campaign on YouTube !
Showing posts with label 20th issue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 20th issue. Show all posts
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Pornography-in an Indian context…
Author: Sharanya Iyer
Country: India
“EVERY SECOND $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography, 28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography, 372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines and every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being created……”
Pornography is a word that is synonymous with sin in our society. To begin with its origin, Pornography stems from a Greek word meaning ‘writing about prostitutes’. It originated in Europe in the early 17th century when science was rapidly growing and gaining importance over religion, ideas of contraception and conception were coming in and revolutionary literature was surfacing. In Pagan culture, the beauty of sex was depicted via carvings and paintings. Erotic literature had a place in the mainstream. But, erotica is quite different from pornography. Erotica has an artistic purity, while pornography is purely commercial and totally meaningless. The bare truth about pornography is that far from being a liberating influence - as Rushdie and others claim - it is an instrument of abuse and imprisonment!!It brings out the poverty of our sexual imagination. So before moving on to look into its various aspects, it is important that it isn’t confused with erotica.
Today, globalization and the fast paced existence of people have shaken the very foundations of the wall separating erotica and pornography, making it very thin. According to the 2006 worldwide pornography revenues, around $97.04 billion is its transaction, with China dominating. Though India does not figure at the top, it is one of the major illegal importers of DVDs, VCDs, etc. The porn industry has penetrated all levels of society. Today, we can hardly find a movie without some form of porn in it.
India still being a developing country, with a majority of the village people living under the poverty line, there lives a class which is exploited and violated due to its ignorance or helplessness. If there is one thing India is famous for, it is the dignity and integrity with which it upholds its traditions and culture. So, taking advantage of such scenario, isn’t it a basic violation of human rights?
The roots of the whole issue of Pornography can safely be attributed to the lack of Sex Education in schools. Who says it is not in our Indian culture to talk about sex? Ancient Indian culture was very open about sex. But the misinformation that talking and learning about sex is against our Indian culture is being spread by prudish parents and teachers opposing the teaching of sex education in schools.
A quote from a news report reads,
“Most parents and teachers do not want sex education to be part of the curriculum because of ethical and academic reasons….they feel that there are chances of the children misinterpreting the information given…unlike other countries where sex education is openly taught in schools, we cannot do so as the structure of our society is different. Our culture and ethos do not permit us to discuss sex openly…we could end up corrupting our students…”
These people have to understand that children don’t become immoral because they learn about sex. If they do start sex activities earlier than they should, then it is more because of the influence of movies, television, pornography, etc. Not sex education! In fact sex education can explain to them the moral aspects of sex and also counter the ill effects of pornography, as it is a known fact that Indian parents neglect to do their duty when it comes to teaching their children about sex, as they feel it is ‘unnecessary’ or ‘embarrassing’ or ‘too early’…and the consequence is that kids turn to pornography.
Its time that we realized that the only way to fight online pornography is to arm our children with knowledge. We know that the knowledge will never be given in Indian homes because of extreme prudishness. So the education system has to take care of it. It is the only way to a mentally and physically healthy society.
Country: India
“EVERY SECOND $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography, 28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography, 372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines and every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being created……”
Pornography is a word that is synonymous with sin in our society. To begin with its origin, Pornography stems from a Greek word meaning ‘writing about prostitutes’. It originated in Europe in the early 17th century when science was rapidly growing and gaining importance over religion, ideas of contraception and conception were coming in and revolutionary literature was surfacing. In Pagan culture, the beauty of sex was depicted via carvings and paintings. Erotic literature had a place in the mainstream. But, erotica is quite different from pornography. Erotica has an artistic purity, while pornography is purely commercial and totally meaningless. The bare truth about pornography is that far from being a liberating influence - as Rushdie and others claim - it is an instrument of abuse and imprisonment!!It brings out the poverty of our sexual imagination. So before moving on to look into its various aspects, it is important that it isn’t confused with erotica.
Today, globalization and the fast paced existence of people have shaken the very foundations of the wall separating erotica and pornography, making it very thin. According to the 2006 worldwide pornography revenues, around $97.04 billion is its transaction, with China dominating. Though India does not figure at the top, it is one of the major illegal importers of DVDs, VCDs, etc. The porn industry has penetrated all levels of society. Today, we can hardly find a movie without some form of porn in it.
India still being a developing country, with a majority of the village people living under the poverty line, there lives a class which is exploited and violated due to its ignorance or helplessness. If there is one thing India is famous for, it is the dignity and integrity with which it upholds its traditions and culture. So, taking advantage of such scenario, isn’t it a basic violation of human rights?
The roots of the whole issue of Pornography can safely be attributed to the lack of Sex Education in schools. Who says it is not in our Indian culture to talk about sex? Ancient Indian culture was very open about sex. But the misinformation that talking and learning about sex is against our Indian culture is being spread by prudish parents and teachers opposing the teaching of sex education in schools.
A quote from a news report reads,
“Most parents and teachers do not want sex education to be part of the curriculum because of ethical and academic reasons….they feel that there are chances of the children misinterpreting the information given…unlike other countries where sex education is openly taught in schools, we cannot do so as the structure of our society is different. Our culture and ethos do not permit us to discuss sex openly…we could end up corrupting our students…”
These people have to understand that children don’t become immoral because they learn about sex. If they do start sex activities earlier than they should, then it is more because of the influence of movies, television, pornography, etc. Not sex education! In fact sex education can explain to them the moral aspects of sex and also counter the ill effects of pornography, as it is a known fact that Indian parents neglect to do their duty when it comes to teaching their children about sex, as they feel it is ‘unnecessary’ or ‘embarrassing’ or ‘too early’…and the consequence is that kids turn to pornography.
Its time that we realized that the only way to fight online pornography is to arm our children with knowledge. We know that the knowledge will never be given in Indian homes because of extreme prudishness. So the education system has to take care of it. It is the only way to a mentally and physically healthy society.
Political Issues? No thanks!!!
Author: Haris Stavridis
Country: Greece
One of the global and most important phenomena is that youths don't care about what's being done by their governments. They are disappointed of what politicians do and turn their backs to the problems. They choose to "close their eyes and do nothing", they simply accept it.Youths shouldn't have an attitude like this. We should care about what's happening in the political world, because in the nearest future we should vote for our representatives and for the suitable people to govern us. What really makes me feel sick, is that many youths don't really vote or choose their candidates according to what they support, but according to who is the most famous in school and so on. Unfortunately, the way we elect the "President of the School Council" will be the same, when we have to elect the Prime Minister of our country. The thing is that we don't understand this now, we don't understand how important this issue is and that's why we prefer not to get informed about what's happening in our country.We should wake up some day! Those people govern us. Their dicissions influence our lives and our choices.... Shouldn't we at least keep ourselves informed about their actions? Shouldn't we?
Race and society- Progress
Author: Winmsn
Country: Canada
One spring day, I was listening to Homecoming (DM shall kill me); and I got into a talk with my friend via MSN about the song. This eventually led to me, telling her about what he did on NBC during a special for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He said "George Bush does not like black people". Now, I cannot say that is true or untrue; for I am not Mr. Bush. But it did raise an interesting question; is there still racism in our society? Some people believe that racism is non-existent nowadays. I beg to differ.
In every country, the majority benefits; and the minorities are treated somewhat unfairly. I cannot find a single country; that does treat the majority and minorities equally. In Sri Lanka, a civil war is raging due to the chauvinistic principals of both the Tamils and the Sinhalese. In China, the Uyghur people face scrutiny and horrible conditions from the government. In many Arab countries; non-Arabs are not treated fairly and in Israel; Arabs are second class citizens. In these countries, the majority holds the power, the jobs, and the good life. The minority may have to work a little bit harder for it. Of course, there are always exceptions. So, society has a large part to do with it.
We see the 2008 Presidential campaign raging on; Barack Obama has to explain all his actions and associations to the media, for example: whether he is patriotic, because he does not wear a lapel pin. To say that race has nothing to do with the campaign would be naive. Why do you think he has to answer all these questions? Why doesn't John McCain face these "guilt by association" questions about his controversial pastor?
Let's take America for example now; and the stereotypes facing the two major minority groups. Some people view African-Americans as gangsters, others view Latinos as "drug dealers or border hoppers". These stereotypes are rampant here, and this is an example of subtle racism, even though we do not like to admit it. Why do we have less successful African-Americans and Latinos, why do more of them live under the poverty line? America can fix these common problems for all of its people; though the government does not seem to be willing to. This however does not suggest the government is racist. You noticed that I said 'fix the problems for ALL of its people'; many white Americans live underneath the poverty line and face the same problems getting jobs.
People may talk to people of other races; but when it comes to mingling with them, they draw the line. Racism does exist and it will continue to exist for many years to come.
One spring day, I was listening to Homecoming (DM shall kill me); and I got into a talk with my friend via MSN about the song. This eventually led to me, telling her about what he did on NBC during a special for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He said "George Bush does not like black people". Now, I cannot say that is true or untrue; for I am not Mr. Bush. But it did raise an interesting question; is there still racism in our society? Some people believe that racism is non-existent nowadays. I beg to differ.
In every country, the majority benefits; and the minorities are treated somewhat
unfairly. I cannot find a single country; that does treat the majority and minorities equally. In Sri Lanka, a civil war is raging due to the chauvinistic principals of both the Tamils and the Sinhalese. In China, the Uyghur people face scrutiny and horrible conditions from the government. In many Arab countries; non-Arabs are not treated fairly and in Israel; Arabs are second class citizens. In these countries, the majority holds the power, the jobs, and the good life. The minority may have to work a little bit harder for it. Of course, there are always exceptions. So, society has a large part to do with it.
We see the 2008 Presidential campaign raging on; Barack Obama has to explain all his actions and associations to the media, for example: whether he is patriotic, because he does not wear a lapel pin. To say that race has nothing to do with the campaign would be naive. Why do you think he has to answer all these questions? Why doesn't John McCain face these "guilt by association" questions about his controversial pastor?
Let's take America for example now; and the stereotypes facing the two major minority groups. Some people view African-Americans as gangsters, others view Latinos as "drug dealers or border hoppers". These stereotypes are rampant here, and this is an example of subtle racism, even though we do not like to admit it. Why do we have less successful African-Americans and Latinos, why do more of them live under the poverty line? America can fix these common problems for all of its people; though the government does not seem to be willing to. This however does not suggest the government is racist. You noticed that I said 'fix the problems for ALL of its people'; many white Americans live underneath the poverty line and face the same problems getting jobs.
People may talk to people of other races; but when it comes to mingling with them, they draw the line. Racism does exist and it will continue to exist for many years to come. One spring day, I was listening to Homecoming (DM shall kill me); and I got into a talk with my friend via MSN about the song. This eventually led to me, telling her about what he did on NBC during a special for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He said "George Bush does not like black people". Now, I cannot say that is true or untrue; for I am not Mr. Bush. But it did raise an interesting question; is there still racism in our society? Some people believe that racism is non-existent nowadays. I beg to differ.
In every country, the majority benefits; and the minorities are treated somewhat unfairly. I cannot find a single country; that does treat the majority and minorities equally. In Sri Lanka, a civil war is raging due to the chauvinistic principals of both the Tamils and the Sinhalese. In China, the Uyghur people face scrutiny and horrible conditions from the government. In many Arab countries; non-Arabs are not treated fairly and in Israel; Arabs are second class citizens. In these countries, the majority holds the power, the jobs, and the good life. The minority may have to work a little bit harder for it. Of course, there are always exceptions. So, society has a large part to do with it.
We see the 2008 Presidential campaign raging on; Barack Obama has to explain all his actions and associations to the media, for example: whether he is patriotic, because he does not wear a lapel pin. To say that race has nothing to do with the campaign would be naive. Why do you think he has to answer all these questions? Why doesn't John McCain face these "guilt by association" questions about his controversial pastor?
Let's take America for example now; and the stereotypes facing the two major minority groups. Some people view African-Americans as gangsters, others view Latinos as "drug dealers or border hoppers". These stereotypes are rampant here, and this is an example of subtle racism, even though we do not like to admit it. Why do we have less successful African-Americans and Latinos, why do more of them live under the poverty line? America can fix these common problems for all of its people; though the government does not seem to be willing to. This however does not suggest the government is racist. You noticed that I said 'fix the problems for ALL of its people'; many white Americans live underneath the poverty line and face the same problems getting jobs.
People may talk to people of other races; but when it comes to mingling with them, they draw the line. Racism does exist and it will continue to exist for many years to come.
Country: Canada
One spring day, I was listening to Homecoming (DM shall kill me); and I got into a talk with my friend via MSN about the song. This eventually led to me, telling her about what he did on NBC during a special for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He said "George Bush does not like black people". Now, I cannot say that is true or untrue; for I am not Mr. Bush. But it did raise an interesting question; is there still racism in our society? Some people believe that racism is non-existent nowadays. I beg to differ.
In every country, the majority benefits; and the minorities are treated somewhat unfairly. I cannot find a single country; that does treat the majority and minorities equally. In Sri Lanka, a civil war is raging due to the chauvinistic principals of both the Tamils and the Sinhalese. In China, the Uyghur people face scrutiny and horrible conditions from the government. In many Arab countries; non-Arabs are not treated fairly and in Israel; Arabs are second class citizens. In these countries, the majority holds the power, the jobs, and the good life. The minority may have to work a little bit harder for it. Of course, there are always exceptions. So, society has a large part to do with it.
We see the 2008 Presidential campaign raging on; Barack Obama has to explain all his actions and associations to the media, for example: whether he is patriotic, because he does not wear a lapel pin. To say that race has nothing to do with the campaign would be naive. Why do you think he has to answer all these questions? Why doesn't John McCain face these "guilt by association" questions about his controversial pastor?
Let's take America for example now; and the stereotypes facing the two major minority groups. Some people view African-Americans as gangsters, others view Latinos as "drug dealers or border hoppers". These stereotypes are rampant here, and this is an example of subtle racism, even though we do not like to admit it. Why do we have less successful African-Americans and Latinos, why do more of them live under the poverty line? America can fix these common problems for all of its people; though the government does not seem to be willing to. This however does not suggest the government is racist. You noticed that I said 'fix the problems for ALL of its people'; many white Americans live underneath the poverty line and face the same problems getting jobs.
People may talk to people of other races; but when it comes to mingling with them, they draw the line. Racism does exist and it will continue to exist for many years to come.
One spring day, I was listening to Homecoming (DM shall kill me); and I got into a talk with my friend via MSN about the song. This eventually led to me, telling her about what he did on NBC during a special for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He said "George Bush does not like black people". Now, I cannot say that is true or untrue; for I am not Mr. Bush. But it did raise an interesting question; is there still racism in our society? Some people believe that racism is non-existent nowadays. I beg to differ.
In every country, the majority benefits; and the minorities are treated somewhat
unfairly. I cannot find a single country; that does treat the majority and minorities equally. In Sri Lanka, a civil war is raging due to the chauvinistic principals of both the Tamils and the Sinhalese. In China, the Uyghur people face scrutiny and horrible conditions from the government. In many Arab countries; non-Arabs are not treated fairly and in Israel; Arabs are second class citizens. In these countries, the majority holds the power, the jobs, and the good life. The minority may have to work a little bit harder for it. Of course, there are always exceptions. So, society has a large part to do with it.
We see the 2008 Presidential campaign raging on; Barack Obama has to explain all his actions and associations to the media, for example: whether he is patriotic, because he does not wear a lapel pin. To say that race has nothing to do with the campaign would be naive. Why do you think he has to answer all these questions? Why doesn't John McCain face these "guilt by association" questions about his controversial pastor?
Let's take America for example now; and the stereotypes facing the two major minority groups. Some people view African-Americans as gangsters, others view Latinos as "drug dealers or border hoppers". These stereotypes are rampant here, and this is an example of subtle racism, even though we do not like to admit it. Why do we have less successful African-Americans and Latinos, why do more of them live under the poverty line? America can fix these common problems for all of its people; though the government does not seem to be willing to. This however does not suggest the government is racist. You noticed that I said 'fix the problems for ALL of its people'; many white Americans live underneath the poverty line and face the same problems getting jobs.
People may talk to people of other races; but when it comes to mingling with them, they draw the line. Racism does exist and it will continue to exist for many years to come. One spring day, I was listening to Homecoming (DM shall kill me); and I got into a talk with my friend via MSN about the song. This eventually led to me, telling her about what he did on NBC during a special for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He said "George Bush does not like black people". Now, I cannot say that is true or untrue; for I am not Mr. Bush. But it did raise an interesting question; is there still racism in our society? Some people believe that racism is non-existent nowadays. I beg to differ.
In every country, the majority benefits; and the minorities are treated somewhat unfairly. I cannot find a single country; that does treat the majority and minorities equally. In Sri Lanka, a civil war is raging due to the chauvinistic principals of both the Tamils and the Sinhalese. In China, the Uyghur people face scrutiny and horrible conditions from the government. In many Arab countries; non-Arabs are not treated fairly and in Israel; Arabs are second class citizens. In these countries, the majority holds the power, the jobs, and the good life. The minority may have to work a little bit harder for it. Of course, there are always exceptions. So, society has a large part to do with it.
We see the 2008 Presidential campaign raging on; Barack Obama has to explain all his actions and associations to the media, for example: whether he is patriotic, because he does not wear a lapel pin. To say that race has nothing to do with the campaign would be naive. Why do you think he has to answer all these questions? Why doesn't John McCain face these "guilt by association" questions about his controversial pastor?
Let's take America for example now; and the stereotypes facing the two major minority groups. Some people view African-Americans as gangsters, others view Latinos as "drug dealers or border hoppers". These stereotypes are rampant here, and this is an example of subtle racism, even though we do not like to admit it. Why do we have less successful African-Americans and Latinos, why do more of them live under the poverty line? America can fix these common problems for all of its people; though the government does not seem to be willing to. This however does not suggest the government is racist. You noticed that I said 'fix the problems for ALL of its people'; many white Americans live underneath the poverty line and face the same problems getting jobs.
People may talk to people of other races; but when it comes to mingling with them, they draw the line. Racism does exist and it will continue to exist for many years to come.
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