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Women's Rights in Islamic States Within Islam, women play a role almost solely as a homemaker. Women are rarely allowed to leave the house. To contribute to the seclusion of women men will do just about anything in order to keep them from leaving the house including going to the market for them. The ideal Muslim woman is modest, pious, and cares greatly for her family (Ahmed, p. 167). The status of women within Islamic society is almost a perfect mirror image of the seeming destiny of Islam at that point in time. In other words, when Islam is secure and confident of its future the women of Islam are strong and confident.
When Islam is threatened and under pressure the women are too threatened and secluded from society. From birth, women are forced to believe that they are unwanted, that they are an accident, and a poor substitute for a boy. Women are forced to hide behind burkas, or shuttlecock veils, which cover their entire body and have a small screen in which they can see out of. Seclusion and veiling, however, both presumably of Persian and possibly Byzantine origin were legitimized by exegete who interpreted the vague and general Koranic provisions to sanction them (Lewis, p. 44). The chastity and seclusion of women are rigidly observed, and an extreme penalty is strongly enforced for those who are defiant.
This is because they are seen to be child bearers while men are breadwinners. Women are believed to lack reason and are emotional. They should not be given the right to divorce because its great impediment is womens special mentality which like spring weather and infantile temperament is in a state on constant fluxion. (Lewis, p. 114) While women are believed to be able to fall in love at the slightest sign of affection, women are also able to start a feud at the slightest sign of temper. In Islam this is the reason why men believe women should have no power. Women are seen as week and emotional. Due to the fact that they do see women as emotional roller coasters that would make decisions based on impulse and emotion rather than through deliberation and instinct, women are not to hold power or to be able to make any decisions.
Simple strict interpretations of the Koran along with changes made to it over time have caused the status of women within Islamic society to become inferior to men. The male dominant authorities within Islam have made a harsher interpretation towards the status of women and the way that women are to be treated. (Holmes, p. 93) These injustices inflicted upon the women of Islam have been noticed from within Islam just as well as it has from the outside world. With simple changes in the interpretation of the Koran by Islamic authorities and the integration of these new interpretations over a generation or two the status of women within Islamic society should improve to the original status of women being mans equal instead of being the inferior sex. Although colonial policies often worsened the position of women, they ultimately produced an elite that was armed with ideas and methods of resisting the colonizers and, at the same time, pressing for reform and change at home. Women had already achieved much knowledge in religious matters, even to the point of teaching other female scholars the traditional sciences of Islam. With the spread of the printing press, women, like men, could more easily spread their writings to the public.
The role of women is crucial to any society's formation. Particularly in the Middle East, the correlation between gender and the nation is instrumental in the formation of the modern state. In following the emergence of womens movements in Islamic countries, a connection is clear: Nationalism and revolutions, or the lack thereof, have impacted women immensely. To understand the status of women in these countries, the relationship between women and the state must be established. In her examination of womens movements from 1900 - 1945, Ellen Fleischmann presents three thematic stages of development. The first is the awakening in which social practices that effect women are questioned.
Following this awakening, is an adoption of nationalism as a liberating discourse, which connects womens nationalist activities to their liberation. (Hussain, p. 170) Finally, the third stage brings the evolution of state feminism. In this way, nationalism often had a releasing effect on women through their involvement in nationalism, they developed over time an internal critique of gender relations. (Holmes, p. 139) This framework referred to womens movements in the first half on the 20 th Century. However, these stages are useful in examining the modern movements in the Middle East and how they relate to gender and the nation. The construction of gender roles and relations within the social setting these roles and relations are changing.
The boundaries characterized by the weight of Islam and authenticity in gender discourse, ideas on women's exclusion from public space, female domesticity, and their restriction to indirect access to power all reflect a past in which the gender system under girded a family-based organization of access to wealth and power. These boundaries are, more fixed in some parts of the Arab world than in others, but they are at least recognizable features of public discourse and social organization almost everywhere. Words Count: 883. Bibliography: Ahmed, Andi. Discovering Islam. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul Inc. , 1988.
Holmes, Peter. Perceptions and Misconceptions of Women in the Middle East. New York: Harper Collins, 1999. Hussain, Farrhad. Muslim Women.
New York: St. Martins Press Inc. , 1994. Lewis, Robert. Gender ing Orientalism: Race, Femininity, and Representation. London: Routledge, 1996. Global Trade and its' Impact on Worker's Rights and Economic Developments Global trade and is a process that seems to be unstoppable in the contemporary business environment.
In that particular situation, some countries could not utilize their productive resources in order to emerge as worlds leading economic powers, while others outperformed their competitors and are now able to influence the global market in many ways. The United States is the country that is nowadays the largest economic power, and within the course of that paper, we will elaborate on globalization at large its positive and negative effects for various sides, as well as on the US role in the contemporary world economy. The effect of the global economy on peoples lives is greatly different at the three distinct levels of the global system. People from third world countries live a life of hard manual labor, while inequality is not as high.
People from second world countries also work hard manual labor, but pay is better and their country benefits with growth. In the first world country, education is highly important with major growth occurring in the white-collar job field. The American college student must work many of the lower paying service jobs to put themselves through school. So many of these jobs are available, that the pay is low and the demand for workers is high. (Dunning, p. 86) Globalization is a process in which economic, political, and socio-cultural relations are established across a long geographic distance.
Globalization gains its strength from the possibilities opened up by technologies, strategies and policies. The reality takes effect when the fears, ideas, actions and reactions occur due to globalization. In a fully globalized society, borders no longer protect people, goods, and symbols. The world becomes this worldwide network where the borders fade away.
A factor within globalization is consolidation. This is when globalization is forcing companies that used to enjoy protected home markets to compete with foreign rivals. Globalization is something that is acknowledged and then acted upon. When globalization is properly acted upon, political policies begin to affect economic strategies, which then affect social reactions and so on. This process occurs at many different interconnected geographic levels.
Globalization is a journey, a process, and it is on-going. Globalization is a reality that touches our lives in ways most people never stop to think about. Certainly, economic globalization is the key aspect of globalization, there are a lot of solid reasons that undoubtedly prove that point. The economic globalization has its advantages and disadvantages, and by analyzing them, we will see that economic globalization is the key aspect of globalization. Global trade has become one of the biggest issues in the economic world today. Many people believe globalization is a good thing, and there are also many people who think it is bad.
Some of the comparative advantages of economic globalization are that the allocation of the worlds resources are more efficient, it will lead to lower prices for consumers, and it will also provide more choice for the consumers. (Dunning, p. 181) Even though there are these noticeable advantages of free trade, there are still people who believe globalization is a bad thing. In the news, many of the reasons for and against economic globalization are examined, and by analyzing those reasons it is possible to assess the significance of economic globalization. (Maddox, p. 243) In a Pew Research Center nationwide survey in April 1995, 43 % of the respondents said that the future of global economics would help the average American, while 52 % said it would hurt. (Harris, p. 64) The survey shows that as the earnings of the families decreased, so did their belief that globalization would be beneficial. Another survey showed that, on the average, most American families are better financially now than they were a few years ago. But once again, they found that financial satisfaction is also decreasing as the family's income levels decrease. Wages also continue to be a source of concern. Only 39 % of Americans say they earn enough money to lead the life they want.
With the expansion of globalization, 67 % of Americans worry that good jobs will begin to move oversees, and that they will be left with jobs that do not pay enough. Although most Americans favor economic globalization, most also criticize the specific policies and agreements. The dissatisfaction showing in the US is less important than a more widespread public optimism about future economic gains. (Harris, p. 118) This seems to be one of the main benefits of free trade. In strictly economic terms the gap between rich and poor widens and capital accumulates to the point where it no longer quite knows what to do with itself.
Rich people valiantly spend what they can on luxuries, but the rich are too few to solve this crisis of overproduction and luxuries are useless to most of the world's people. The remainder of this excess capital swills around in 'finance houses' and banks getting bored, casting about for something more lucrative to do. That usually means gambling, 'speculation' on whatever comes to hand: commodities, foreign exchange, bonds, stocks, shares, all kinds of 'instruments' created for just this purpose. (Daniels, p. 120) These days, the temptingly volatile 'emerging markets' of the South and former Soviet bloc have become speculative playgrounds. Foreign-exchange transactions, for example, now amount to more than a thousand billion dollars a day, with only a small proportion relating to any 'real' economic activity at all. Words Count: 903.
Bibliography: Daniels, J, Global Vision: Building Models for the Corporation of the Future, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993. Dunning, J, The Globalization of Business, New York: Routledge Press, 1993. Harris, P, Managing Economic Globalization, Houston: Gulf Publishing, 1996. Maddox, R, Cross Cultural Problems in International Business, Westport: Greenwood Publishing, 1993.
The Role of the Press as an Information Outlet/Source within Society Historically the role of the mass media was to be a watchdog over the government. The founding fathers believed that the media should be able to dig up facts and warn the public of any wrong doing by any public official. Furthermore, if the media believed that the politician was engaged in any kind of unscrupulous activities the public should be aware of that. Also, the founding fathers believed that the role of media is to serve in helping the public to make a clear and logical choice in whom to vote for. (Emery, p. 81) The public should be aware of the personnel character, knowledge, experience, and position on the issues of there choices for office.
Without this information citizens wouldnt be able to properly choose who they would like to have in office. The role of the mass media should bring forth the truth on how policies are working and if they will continue to work. The public should be well informed on the day-to-day events in government. The founding fathers believed so strongly in keeping the general public informed they instituted into the constitution. The First Amendment of the constitution helps ensure that the media will be able to expose officials misbehavior with out fear of prosecution and keep the public aware at all times. Today, the role of the mass media has changed dramatically. (McLuhan, p. 99) First, nearly all ways of presenting information to the public is owned now by big multi-million dollars corporations.
They control what is broadcast and what is not. Second, radio has changed the role of media. Radio today provides a forum for the general public to voice their opinion on statues, policy's, and elected officials and on how society is affecting them in general. Historically, radio wasnt of great importance to the general public, however; during the Great Depression of the 1930 s millions of people could hear the reassuring voice of President Franklin Roosevelt giving his legendary fireside chats. Also, radio kept the public aware of what was happening in the Vietnam War. Thirdly, television has been a huge influence in the use of the mass media.
The Vietnam War was the first American war to be fully covered by television. Footage of American deaths and casualties, as was as visual reminder of the terrible consequences of the conflict on the Vietnamese people, helped bring about disparity to the involvement on the United States in the war. (Cumings, p. 133) The broadcast of the Kent state demonstration against the Untied States involvement in the war still leaves a vivid picture of a woman kneeing over a body crying in angry of the unjust treatment they had just encountered. Lastly, the use of the Internet changed the whole concept of the way information is available today. The Internet provides a great source of unlimited information for the general public.
One of the great benefits of the Internet is that it provides a two-way communication in which the general public can communicate with politicians through the use of email, forums or chat rooms. Although, the use of radio, television and the internet provides a way to distribute information enormously the founding fathers didnt intend it to be the way it is today. Since many multi- billion dollars corporation own media outlets they can control what is reported. Also, in certain circumstances there isnt a line brought between what is entertainment and what is news. (Emery, p. 166) The majority of the time the mass media is providing information on sex and scandal and the most recently, shark attacks. (Jowett, p. 204) They are too concerned with what celebrity is married to who and who is better looking George Bush or Bill Clinton. They are not providing the type of news that the founding fathers intended for them to do.
Also, during elections they are more concerned with the hairstyle, dress, likes and dislike and overall appearance of a politician. They are forgetting about informing the general public of what the experience and the position of the person running for office is. The main focus of the media today is personalities and process, and not on providing decent information. Many dangers face American democracy today dealing what the issues of the mass media. First, the use of the Internet is not a perfect one.
The Internet makes it easier for militia movements and hate groups such as skinheads and Neo-nazis to spread their message and recruit new members. Also, there is no way of checking if the information is a valid source. Secondly, the media outlets are owned by multi-million dollars corporation who can control what they consider is newsworthy. Their only ambition is to make a profit. Americans today are more interested in gossip than hard news.
The belief is to keep people informed on non-trivial things not hared-core news. Today, there are too many models playing journalist and not enough journalists playing themselves. Words Count: 822. Bibliography: Cumings, Bruce. War and Television.
New York: Routledge, Chapman & Hall, 1994. Emery, Michael and Edwin Emery. The Press and America: An Interpretative History of the Mass Media, Seventh ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1992.
Jowett, G. S. and Victoria O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion, Second ed. Newbury Park, California: Sage Press, 1992. McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extension of Man.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.
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Research essay sample on Women Rights In Islamic States
