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Hillarysworld -> Women's Issues -> Women's Rights as a Security Issue (NY Times 3/13/10)
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TOPIC: Women's Rights as a Security Issue (NY Times 3/13/10)
Jen the Michigander


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Women's Rights as a Security Issue (NY Times 3/13/10)
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http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/womens-rights-as-a-security-issue/

Indeed, I think a pretty good argument can be made that the reason the Islamic world is disproportionately turbulent and has “bloody fringes,” as Samuel Huntington put it, doesn’t have to do with the Koran or religion in any direct way. Rather, it has to do with the fact that women are more likely to be marginalized in such countries. And when women are repressed, you have high birth rates — and hence a destabilizing youth bulge — and the country takes on the atmosphere of a boy’s locker room or an armed camp. Some American sociologists have argued that the American West was so violent in the 19th century precisely because there were so many young men and so few women.

In the last few days, Hillary Clinton has been making these arguments right and left (although she has also made them in past years; this isn’t new for her). This is her most coherent speech on the topic; it’s very good and powerful, delivered to the U.N. I just wish that Bob Gates and David Petraeus were giving the same speech. When the Pentagon lists women’s rights as a security issue, that’s the historic milestone we need!

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Sanders


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I meant to post this here.. (and thought I had) but looks like I was too exhausted and fell asleep!!  Here was my comment upon reading Kristoff's article that I posted in TeamHillaryClintonForum (I post a lot of the same articles here and there but some go in only one place which may be either this or THCF - depending on topic.. but this was an inadvertent miss).

I am delighted to read this article.

At the root of many conflicts is ideology about the role of women in society; how women are/are not (to be) treated.

I feel that even in the U.S. we are not exactly very progressed in this regard.
  • We are still not making the necessary amendment to say in common parlance that "ALL MEN AND WOMEN ARE CREATED EQUAL" and constantly give the excuse that men includes women.. well, quite the contrary.. and if indeed that is the case, why not just say men and women.
  • Many of our so called "reformists" are demanding that we revert our country to what the "founding fathers" envisioned. Excuse me, firstly there were no "founding mothers" around.. And, the founding fathers were very happy to not give voting rights to women and to treat some groups of men and women as property.
  • Despite the recognition that men and women need to work and earn their own living, and despite the very high rate of divorce making it essential that men and women be self-reliant in their life, it is still not possible for women to get control of their body for their own greater life that may be deemed valid for more than just breathing and being a container for production.
  • As recently as last Friday, the Texas education 'reform' concluded with an aspect of newly 'reverted to 19th century' education guidance that includes 'natural role' of people.

We are just another society with vision that does not stretch beyond our nose. The security risk is just as big in the U.S. as elsewhere.. especially when we assume that we are quite progressed while we are not.

I hope that Hillary Clinton's statement starts a national dialog about our own way of treating women as equals in society.



-- Edited by Sanders on Tuesday 16th of March 2010 12:19:17 AM

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