[More]

5/3/08 Theresa

Dear Tracy and Penny: Just so you know the Six Sigma book for small businesses is a helpful resource. I am not sure if Tracy overheard our conversation, but with Penny we discovered it in class on the internet/computer. The book discusses well how the curriculum portion to be organized so that it is as effective as possible. They define four major steps in the book and I am planning to model my portion on their guidelines.

1. Communication and Education, which includes contacting both organizations and discerning the feasibility of this pilot program being used in their context.

2. Selection process of leaders in both organizations that have the skills necessary to lead the project and be responsible for it as well throughout the entire program.

3. The Training Curriculum itself, which they affirm is the most important part of the program, it's effectiveness and application.

4. Discerning the Final Project itself, in our case both groups would need to discern how the Greenbelt Movement program could be applied within their geographical region. 

I started writing up the steps that would need to be taken to go through these processes so that individuals would be prepared for a training when it came to that. I haven't translated anything into Spanish. I am going to keep working on the proposal in English and then discern while I am doing that the necessity of other resources written in Spanish. I didn't get an email back from the contact person in Costa Rica which I was hoping to. I know that we are all in the same boat and are doing the best we can especially given it is the end of the semester. I am hoping to post something written up by Tuesday if at all possible. Maybe we should plan to meet one more time out of class before we turn the paper in a week from this Tuesday. Thinking and praying for both of you. Lovingly, Theresa

4/22/08 

Ok quick summary of our final research proposal:

Penny is going to do an introduction and summary of the Landless Worker's Movement in Brazil.

Then Theresa will talk about translating the Green Belt Movement material into Spanish... and what changes would need to be made in the curriculum to help it work in Brazil.

Then Tracy will talk about incorporating the Green Belt Movement curriculum into the Landless Workers Movement.

We will submit outlines to one another on Saturday May 3, and Tracy will post them on the wiki.

 ~Tracy 

4/24/08 Theresa sent an email to an organization in Costa Rica that is presently working on translating Greenbelt Movement materials into Spanish. I am also working on translating the Greenbelt movement vision and mission statement into Spanish. Peace to everyone. Theresa

Peace. Paz. I look forward to hearing from you. Theresa Yugar, School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University 

4/17/08

I have been overwhelmed recently...not with school work or time constraints really, but with the violence and horrors of our world. My research on the Chernobyl disaster, in addition to doctors finding that my mom has a malignant tumor in the last week, has just almost been too much for me. It seems that everywhere we turn we are exposed to cancer causing materials and that eventually our bodies turn on us.... not that I want to think about a dualism between the mind and the body... but it just seems that in the same way that the world is reacting to climate change by having more intense natural disasters, our bodies eventually react to everything that we are exposed to by having cells just go out of control... All of this just makes me disgusted with everything that I am touching and breathing. I long for naturally occuring materials, for green fields, for trees, for clean water... and in theory we (Americans) have all those things... and still the poisons get to us. 

All this said, I guess this makes me more aware of the continued need for organizations like the Green Belt Movement. So this weekend I am planning to begin thinking seriously about the environment of Brazil... including indigenous species of trees, soil issues, water availability, run-off problems, issues concerning living wages... etc. I will also begin looking into the Landless Poeple's Movement that Rosemary suggested. Perhaps we could think about incorporating the Green Belt Movement into the curriculum at their schools. This seems like it might be a natural fit that could address ecological, political, educational, and gender issues in conjuntion with one another. I think our project will be really exciting.

~Tracy 

4/17 Message From Theresa: Tracy, bless you, I feel like we did a good job for our presentation last Tuesday. :-)

During the last two weeks, particularly, the week before last I spent a significant amount of time researching the Greenbelt Movement web-site. My main interest was to peruse the web-site for educational resources and/or alliances that this movement has in Latin America. Though I did find some alliances of the Greenbelt movement in LAmerica, they were minimal. I ended up calling up the Greenbelt Movement U.S. office in Washington, D.C. and speaking with their contact person about our project and interest in implementing a Greenbelt Movement in Latin America. She was very excited about this because at this point in time there is no Greenbelt Movement affiliate or organization in Latin America. She was very helpful and did give me advice about an organization in Brazil that she said we should contact who are doing significant work in the area of ecology. What she found exciting about our project was that, to her knowledge, the project in Brazil did not have a program that specifically focused on the issue of gender. In terms of the education piece which is my portion of the paper she advised me to buy the book: The Ten Step Model: The Greenbelt Movement. I plan on ordering it today. As well, through the Greenbelt Movement web-site I contacted one of their programs called the Leaf Network which provides educational materials particularly for younger audiences relating to this movement. They did contact me, were very excited about our project, and this person gave me a person to contact in Costa Rica who at present is in the process of translating materials relating to the Greenbelt Movement. Because of time, papers and other presentations, I have not been able to follow-through on this contacts yet. My plan for today to spend the time necessary to follow-up on these recommendations as well as research on the internet the organization that Rosemary gave to me yesterday in class. I will continue to keep you posted about what transpires through these connections. Peace and blessing for a good day. Lovingly, Theresa

4/14 Any new conversations? You need to post every week if you can. Thanks. Kebokile 

4/8/08

 Greetings Theresa, Penny, and Jeongho. I agree with you Penny that the costs of the war are unthinkable. The ways that art, educations, and healthcare have been overlooked to continue to fund this war are only a few of the ways that we see patriarchal concepts of power at play in our world. Thinking about it too much just makes me feel hopeless. But I've been thinking recently that the worse thing to do is begin to feel hopeless... that is internalizing the power structure and paralyzing yourself. Instead, we just have to keep finding ways to work a little at a time to bring justice to the world. I know that sounds like empty optimism, but I don't think it is. I think this class is an example of the multitude of ways that women throughout the world are effecting change... small at first, but building momentum.

As for our presentation and our final paper, I think we are all on the same page. My understanding is that I will do the Chernobyl articles and it seems like everyone else knows what they are doing as well. YAY! Penny please do just take care of yourself and let us know if we can do anything to help! Also, Jeongho, are you planning to put together the power point again? Should we aim for getting our material to you be Friday again? And then you email us back the final version by like Sunday night?

As for our final paper, I think that trying to talk about what the Green Belt Movement would look like if we moved it to Brazil would be an excellent topic. And it seems like Theresa is already up and running on that project. I am slightly concerned that we need to be careful not to get people's hopes up that we will actually start the Green Belt Movement in Brazil. We are only supposed to write a paper on what it might take to do so. I don't think that we will at all have the resources to begin putting our research into practice. Although it would be awesome if someone could... Anyway, it is also my understanding that we will be getting further instructions about that in class either this week or next. I hope you are all well.

~Tracy 

4/5/08

Dearest Penny: I did not know about the "green card soldier" situation. I agree with you that our country is in crisis, not only economically but politically as well. I am saddened as well by what you said about funding for artists versus funding for war. I only hope that whoever the new president will be can help us through this crisis as well as be a leader with vision with their primary interests in the people of our country.

In reference to our presentation I am working on the articles relating to Ivone Gebara, there are two of them, one on her and one on Conspirando, an organization that she is working with. Tracy was interested in presenting on the articles relating to Chernobyl. Our hope was that you could give an overview of the first few articles relating to Climate Change. There are actually four articles. I would peruse them and see if there is a particular article of interest to you. There is one on Gender, Miliarism and Climate Change which would fit in well with last week's conversation and your interest in militarism as well. 

For my part of the presentation I decided that I am going to translate some parts of the Conspirando web-site because it is all in Spanish. I am going to translate their vision, their journals since 1991 (so that individuals can get a sense of their interests in feminism and ecofeminism), lastly I would like to speak about particular articles in their journals that I have read for Rosemary Ruether's Spanish reading group class. By doing this I can give the class a sense of the theological perspectives and critiques that are coming from the voices of Latin American women theologians, both feminist and ecofeminists.

Hope this helps you Penny. Tracy, does this sound ok to you. Penny do what you can, most of all do your best to take care of yourself too. Blessings to you both. Theresa

4/3/08

Hi Tracy and Theresa,

I need to know the articles that you will talk about for next presentaion. I am trying to put my part together before I leave for Taiwan next Wednesday. And as far as I understand, our final project will be the Green Belt Movement proposal in Latin American countries... or Brazil... Am I right?

I just want to share some afterthoughts for this week's guest speaker's speech. When the Iraq war started, the California Arts Council cut more than 10 million dollars from it's budget. Many art organizations went out of business, and directly affected thousands of musicians, artitists, dancers, theater actors, music teachers, art teachers, etc. Just seeing how much LA county spends on Iraq war makes me sad and angry. Many of my musicians friends left the country... Culture vs. Military. Hmmm...

I also want to point out if any of you know such a thing called "green card soldier." Basically the US government will grant green cards to those who sign up to be in the military. But many soldiers die in the battle field before receiving their green cards. How sad...

Anyway, just some thoughts.

paz, Penny

4/2/08

Tammy, Penny, Jeongho. . . a contact person emailed me from the LEAF Pack Network and are very positive about what are doing. In Costa Rica there is an organization that is currently working on translating materials into Spanish. I will follow-up on this later today because I have things I need to get done this morning, but I just wanted to let you know that I did receive a response and some more advice which will be helpful to our overall project, I believe. Blessings for a good day. Theresa

Welcome to the LEAF PACK NETWORK®!

Dear Theresa,

Thank you for joining Leaf Pack Network® (LPN). Your participation is valuable and essential to the goals of LPN and we look forward to working with you.

I am most intrigued by your note to me. Thank you.  As you may have seen on our LPN website, we have worked with the Green Belt Movement and Wangari Maathai.  Coincidentally your timing is perfect as we are currently working on a project where we are having the LPN manual translated into Spanish – we are working with one of our partners in Costa Rica on that, as we have a research station in Costa Rica.  I would like to put you in touch with James Blaine who is leading our leaf pack effort in Central and South America. I have copied him on this email. In the meantime, I’m happy to help with any implementation and any questions you have about the study.


Regarding your LPN registration:  As of today, you are ready to start entering data. Notice upon log-in that you can download the most up-to-date procedures and data sheets.  From time to time you will be getting emails from this account, the Leaf Pack Network® Administrator, regarding updates, changes, etc.  Please add this email to your address book so that you don’t miss any of those:  leafpacknetwork@stroudcenter.org.  

If at any time you need help remembering your user name and password please go to: http://www.stroudcenter.org/lpn/Login.asp and click on, “Forgot your password?” An automatic email will be sent to your registered email address with your user name and password provided.

If you ever have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you again and I look forward to seeing your data soon.

Sincerely,
Christina

Christina Medved
Leaf Pack Network® Administrator
Education Department
Stroud Water Research Center
970 Spencer Rd.
Avondale, PA 19311
(610) 268-2153 ext. 258
(610) 268-0490 {fax}
www.stroudcenter.org/lpn

4/1/08 Theresa Yugar continued

The woman I called at Greenbelt International in Virginia called me back and gave me some very good information and insights. She said that at present there is no Greenbelt movement established in Latin America but she was very excited about the possibility of this happening. When I asked her about educational information that is talked about on their web-site she recommended that we find the book: The Greenbelt Movement: Ten Step Model, which explains how one could replicate this movement in other countries. We should see if CGU has this book in their library or if we could get it through link plus or should we just buy it. She also said that there is a big environmental group already working in Brazil called The Nature Conservancy. On the web-site there is contact information for the group in Brazil that we should follow-up on to see the type of work that they are already doing so that we do not replicate projects. The one thing she did say was that she didn't believe this group had projects that were specifically geared toward women, which is a question we could raise to them in conversation with them via email. This woman is interested in seeing our final project proposal and then passing it along to the Nairobi office so that they know about this idea. Her name is Shelley Fine and her contact information is on the Greenbelt International web-site. She also said a couple of other things too. She recommended us contacting an organization called Lambi Fund of Haiti which provide financial resources for trainings, technical assistance, for projects throughout Latin America. She also said that the Counsel of Foundation located in Washington, D.C. is also a good resource in terms of writing grant proposals. In her experience she said that "buy in" from the government was important in terms of having a project implemented or not in another country. We most definitely could call her again if we have other questions for her. It was very exciting talking to her. I think this could really work. We could contribute something small, yet work for something larger, bigger in terms of change for women in Brazil. Peace and love to you, Theresa

4/1/08 Theresa Yugar

Penny, last week during class we had time to talk about our final project which is to write a proposal in the area of women and the environment. Tracy had a very good idea. She proposed that we each do some research related to implementing a Greenbelt movement project within a Latin American context. We were thinking of Brazil because of deforestation that has occurred in diverse regions there. She separated the project into three different areas; one of which was education, which I said I would do since I have background as a teacher. Tracy when you do your comments today would you define those three categories for Penny. Today during class we can confirm whether this is a topic we would like to do as a group. 

In terms of the education piece, my first instinct is that material from the Greenbelt Movement needs to be translated into Spanish, but if we do Brazil it wouldn't be Spanish, but Portuguese. I would like to start translating the page on the Greenbelt movement web-site: What is the Greenbelt Movement, which includes its mission, vision and values. As well, I saw on the web-site that they have two educational programs; one which is geared toward adults, another that is geared toward younger individuals. The two programs names are: GBM: Kenya: Civic and Environmental Education and the Leaf Packet Network. On the web-site I saw the contact information for the Greenbelt Movement International which is in Arlington, Virginia. I called the number this afternoon, no one answered, so I left a message, simply stating my name, number and interest in their educational programs, possibly to be implemented in a Latin American context. When or if, she calls me back, I will inquire about whether this program is already implemented ina LAmerican context, and if they have literature in Spanish or Portuguese. I am interested in obtaining an educational packet to look at. I did sign up via the computer also to request a Leaf Packet for young people as well. If and/or when she calls me back are there other things that you think we should ask her or talk about. 

Once we decide for sure that this is what we will be doing as a group I think it would be wonderful if we could email Ivone Gebara, let her know about our task for this class, and ask her for her insights and/or help. What do you think about this? Should we write the email together? I have emailed her before relating to something for Rosemary Ruether. She was very kind in my email and I do believe that she would email us back and possibly be interested in working with us.

Lastly, I was thinking of an organization that would possibly fund this project. The organization that came to mind was Mary's Pence, it is a non-profit organization that gives small amounts of money to support Catholic women pursuing graduate studies as well as projects organized by women that are engaged in social justice work.

This is all I can think of for now, I look forward to seeing you at class today. Peace and love, Theresa

3/25/08 Theresa Yugar

Hi there Tracy, Penny, Jeongho:

Peace to everyone. Hope your spring break was restful. I agree with you Tracy that our presentation before break did go very well. Thankyou again Jeongho for helping us with the power point aspect our presentation.

I agree with you Tracy that we need to look ahead at the readings for our next presentation. For the next presentation we are going to look at organizations that are working in our regions on the issues of women and the environment. For my geographical region I am interested in presenting on a group called Conspirando, an organization which is located in Chile, but works as well with women throughout Latin America on ecofeminist related issues. I am interested in the themes they cover in their journals as well as the activities that they sponsor as a group to address these same issues.

Yes, we do need to think about the topic for the final paper in this class. Pollution is a plausible topic. I haven't done any research on this area yet in Latin America, but I will start to do so this week.

Blessings to everyone. Theresa

Week 9: 3/25/08 Tracy Hawkins

Hey friends, so I thought our presentation went really well! YAY!

For our next presentation, we need to focus on at least two areas...so we'll need to look ahead to the readings and see what we want to talk about. Asia. Latin American, and the Middle East are all still possibilities I think. Remember we also need to run our plan by Marirose the week before.

Also, did you all think that pollution was what we wanted to talk about for our final paper? If so, we could start researching that now.

Also, we are missing some of our page. There are about two weeks worth of postings that are now missing...I know that happened to another group as well...so we'll have to figure that out.

2/28/08 Theresa Yugar

Forgive my ignorance, I did not know Teresia Hinga was an African theologian, I was thinking she was a theologian from Latin America. This was my assigned area. Currently, she is a teacher on the west coast at Santa Clara University up north. As well, we were blessed that she was a visiting lecturer at Scripps in the Spring of 2006, and that it was documented on their (Scripps College) Public Relations web-site: Scripps Cast.

From the reading thus far, the idea of land, seems to be an important part of both the ecofeminist movement and the colonialization project. Reading about the Greenbelt movement in Africa, women planting trees as a movement for "rural women" to address the serious problem of deforestation, I was wondering if it would be a interesting project, group activity, for the class to reflect on their images and/or understandings of land as well as possibly, like younger children do in grammar school, lead the class in planting a seed, within dirt. I wish as part of the excercise too that the individuals in the class would be invited to touch dirt, we would bring dirt, and then respond to what this symbol has historically meant for them in their lives, for a Western (European) perspective (person), and then reflect back on this in terms of its value of the indigenous women in Africa. In my research on Latin America and an ecofeminist movement I will look for movements that are possibly of "rural women" as well and see how these movements frame their missions (visions/goals) in relation to land. For both Africa and Latin America the theme a colonialism, or as she affirms a colonial ethic of domination versus a traditional environmental ethics. Something that came up for me last year in Ruether's class while reading Carol Christ's book was that individuals in the United States don't have the same connection to land as the natives of this land. Thus, when one does not have a relationship of any kind to someone/something, of course their level of respect for "it," in this case land is lowered. Maybe the question we could end with is: How can we as individuals, born immersed in a U.S. Western ideological framework, begin to create relationships of respect to land, and thus consequently to each other, and all people of land.

Penny, I would like Latin American music, from Brazil for our presentation. I happen to have a cd of a woman from Brazil who is a singer. I am thinking Brazil because a focus of my presentation will be on leading ecofeminist in Latin America Ivone Gebara.

These are just some ideas to ponder. Theresa

2/26/08, Penny Pan

I finally can get into this blog... After some research, I think I will focus on women and enviroment in rural area in Asia ( South East, China, etc.) By the way, if you guys want some music background with your region, let me know.

Week 6, 2/26/08, Theresa Yugar

Friends: I began doing some research on the theme of ecological issues currently being addressed in Latin America. I discovered that there are many organizations throughout Latin America that are raising issues and concerns relating to the environment. Much of the information on the internet was in Spanish. What I need to do is to take more time with these documents and see what ecological issues are raised in relation to women's experience in Latin America. As of yet I do not know what primary issue I will be highlighting as a concern for my presentation. My hope is for next week that it will be clear to me what issue I will be presenting on for our group discussion for the following week, March 11th.

Week 6, 2/26/08, Tracy Hawkins

Well friends, after our discussion in class last week it seemed that our plans were a little confused. I don't think that we all have to address the same issue (pollution) for our presentations. I think we can each just address whatever seems to be the biggest problem in our region. And we will each present for about 5 mins and then have a few discussion questions. Then for the research proposal I think we need to address one issue (perhap pollution) but we only need to address it in one region. If that isn't what people want to do, let me know. Anyway, if everyone is ok with it I think that I am going to talk about women in the middle east and water. I have only done a tiny bit of researrch, but it seems that there are plenty of sources. People are discussing the lack of water generally in the region and how women are harmed by that and how they can be part of water management solutions. Then for the second presentation, I'll try to find a transnational organization that is working on that issue. Penny, have you gotten on the Claremont Conversation yet?

Week 5, 2/19/08, Tracy Hawkins

Ok, so here is a summary of our plans:

Theresa will focus on Latin America; Penny will focus on Asia; and Tracy will focus on the Middle East. For the first presentation, each of us will discuss women and the environment in our region. We will discuss issues included deforestation, water cleanliness and availability, perhaps artgricultural practices that effect women, etc. For our second presentation, each of us will address organizations working in our region on issues of women and the environment. Furthermore, we will attempt to address ways in which we (Americans, living in the LA area) can get involved with helping these organizations or helping to eradicate the problems faced by women in our region. Does this sound good to everyone?

Week 4, 2-18-08 Kebokile Dengu-Zvobgo

These are great conversations and I have a couple of questions. How will your study fit the TRANSNATIONAL feminism framework? What Networks and discourse make this topic transnational?

Week #4, 2/11/08, Tracy Hawkins

So from Theresa's post, it looks like it would be a great idea to address the way enivornmental issues are impacting the lives of Latina women. We could use that to cover one of the regions for our presenations. Is there a specific issue that these women are particularly effected by? If we could pick one environmental issue and then look at it in several regions of the world, that would be great. Perhaps Theresa could help us narrow down an issue that Latina women face? Are we thinking urban latina women, or women living in more rural desert areas? Either way, we could certainly address the way women face similar issues in other parts of the world. I think we will have some time in class tomorrow to discuss our topic, so let's be thinking about these suggestions. :)

Week #4, 2/11/08, Theresa Yugar

Hi there, friends, this is Theresa Yugar, I am fascinated that there is an immense interest in earth friendly, green issues now being discussed in the Los Angeles area. Two weeks ago on the news there was a gathering of individuals at the Los Angeles City Council meeting to discuss how these issues affected not only women but the Latino community community as well. I just looked on the internet and there is a cite on the www.lacity.org website entitled: Environmental Issues: Department Reports. Though for some reason I could not log onto to it.

Again, this weeked on the Spanish news, there was coverage of groups of organizations that are critiquing environmental issues and lobbying for more earth friendly politices. I did attempt to write down some names and organizations represented on these broadcasts and will add them to my blog as soon as I am able to.

Week #2, 1/28/08, Tracy Hawkins

Hello Group,

I've been thinking about some approaches we could take to Women and the Environment... the first one I thought of is to explore the way microloans work and how women have been able to start gardens with the money; my second idea was to work on women and water and the way that with clean water affects health, etc.; thirdly, we could of course think about the patent issues in India that Vandana Shiva talks about. Those are just a few basic ideas to get us started... does anyone have particular interest in a region or issue?

[More]

 4/30/08 Ayat Agah

I saw this today on msn...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24390358

 This may sound cheesy, but I feel like it isn't a coincidence that these kinds of things come to our attention when we are working on the topic we've been dealing with this semester.  I feel like in some way we are picking up on the energy of what is going on in the rest of the world and it finds us because we are putting energy into caring, becoming aware, and hopefully all of it will translate into doing something... 

4/28/08 D. Nicole Green

Jameelah is on the right track, wow, there was so much on www.cnn.com today about domestic violence. Including a headline "You may now kick the bride"--they were trying to be punny in light of the story, but think about a national headline granting permission for spousal abuse. wow. here is the link http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/29/newlywed.brawl.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

okay, here is a link to a pdf final about the economic costs of intimate partner violence: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/ipv_cost/ipvbook-final-feb18.pdf -

4/28/08 Jameelah Xochitl Medina

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080428/ap_on_re_eu/austria_captive_daughter

4/23/08 Jameelah Xochitl Medina

Nicole!!! I LOVE the video on the UNIFEM site! It is so short, but it packs punch and it does mention things we've covered. I'd love to end our presentation with that! I cannot see the CNN videos. It says something about archives and then when i go there, I see other stuff, but not those clips. I will try from home also because I know the firewall at work can act up sometimes and I did get the security certificate alert thingy.

I also liked reading about Minas de Rima. All else on line about them is in Portuguese so I could not find out more.

4/23/08 Nicole Green

I wanted to point out that there is a video on the UNIFEM website that could be a really cool way to end our presentation and tie up our entire topic. Please check it out (it's on the page where you can sign your name to the petition). Also on the site, check out the following article: http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/voices_from_the_field/story.php?StoryID=369

I thought especially of you, Jameelah, because it talks about music, teenagers, and what people can do to make a difference.

4/23/08 Nicole Green

Here are some interesting resources. For some reason, I can't play the CNN video on infanticide. If one of you can view it, can you let us know if it is any good and if we should use it in the presentation?

http://www.uknetguide.co.uk/NewsFeed/18563458/Nicole-Kidman-joins-UN-call-to-end-violence-against-women.html

http://www.saynotoviolence.org/

there is also a video about this on CNN.com, if you want to check it out, but it is so problematic I'm not going to post it.

Here's the infanticide article and video I would like your opinions on.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/south/07/07/india.infanticide.pt1/index.html

Let's try to figure out by Friday what night we want to meet next week!

Best, DNG

4/21/08 Jameelah Xochitl Medina

Are we meeting after class today???

4/21 Pat Morris is the Director for Women for Women Intl. Look at her thoughts of genderd violence http://forums.csis.org/africa/

4/16/08 Nicole Green

This is an interesting article about the Supreme Court considering capital punishment for child rape. It is also significant in its discussion about how rape under 12 is categorically different than rape over 12 so that capital punishment applies to one and not the other. Here's the link:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/131773

4/15/08 Ayat Agah

That is really sad. It's interesting how the topics in my Tuesday classes keep converging. In my Islamic law class today we watched a documentary on divorce in Iran. As mad as I am about the case of the girl in Yemen, I'm glad that the court made the decision that it did. I hope that this will lead to people taking notice and realizing the harm that can come from these kinds of marriages. Of course based on what we have been learning from this class and what is also mentioned in the article, the solution can't be that simple. If marrying a girl to an older man is one way of alleviating the financial burden on a family, then there is one more issue that needs to be addressed. I'm sure there are other factors as well, which then produce other ways of addressing the problem as well.

Also, I wanted to share the following links for organizations addressing violence

http://www.daphne-toolkit.org/default.htm

http://www.preventgbvafrica.org/home.html

http://www.who.int/violenceprevention/en/

4/15/08 Jameelah Xochitl Medina

This makes me so angry:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080415/od_nm/girl_dc;_ylt=AssIdjlgKxwJvPboAE6bKnOs0NUE

4/15/08 Ayat Agah

I couldn't figure out how to post an announcement and was too paranoid about deleting stuff. If any of you know how to do it, here's what i wanted to let the class know about/remind them of....

2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Shirin Ebadi will be speaking at the CMC Athenaeum on Thursday, April 17 at 6:45 pm. For more details.... www.claremontmckenna.edu/mmca

I know I said it in my email, but I'll repeat it here. I think it's an excellent idea to talk about the impact of this course on us, along with how that impact can be translated into action, and including resources, organizations, etc. for how people can get involved, is an excellent idea

04/15/08 Jameelah Xochitl Medina

I love your idea, Nicole! On this website they have table tents, wallet cards, and brochures that can be printed out to give to people or set up in cafeterias and in the workplace.

http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/psas.htm I like the “I Wasn’t Fine” PSA there.

http://www.loveisrespect.org/dating-bill-rights/index.html I like this video of the dating bill of rights too

4/15 D. Nicole Green

Had an idea. At the end of Ch. 11 of Forsaken Females, the authors go through how to go about change. The last thing they say is "Finally, do something personally to work toward eliminating the violence. Women's lives depend on it" (207). I am thinking that since we wanted to talk about the personal impact of the readings and the class, we could instead of taking the discussion questions from the reading, basically have 2 questions for the whole class. First, talk about the personal/emotional impact. Second, talk about practical, concrete things we can all do to work towards change. This could include distributing a list of websites, local groups, challenging members of the class to talk to roommates, etc. about what they are reading just to breach silence about these issues....This is just an idea, what do you all think?

4/14 Please post if you can. Have you considered looking at POVERTY as a form of gendered violence? Look at the disproportionate impact it has on women. Kebokile

April 9, 2008 Jameelah Xochitl Medina

I did not get to see what you posted but I just got your email. I responded to all.

April 8, 2008 Nicole Green

Sorry about the link I posted earlier. I was looking things up by Nilifur Gole on gender and religion so I thought the article on violence was linked to the issue of gender. It wasn't, sorry about that. since this continues to delete more and more stuff--did anyone get my message last week? I will email notes on Ch.3 of Forsaken Females.

BEST,

dng

Week 6 2/26/08 Debbie Gin

Hey! New font!?!! I have no idea how I managed that! Two items for this post: reflections on the DV/Culture discussion and quick synopsis of my chapter.

Re: DV/Culture....Jameelah and Ayat, I too am struggling with similar questions, especially after the reading for last week. Being Asian, but raised in the U.S., I often find myself confused over what aspects of U.S. Western culture I've appropriated as my own and what aspects of Korean "culture" isn't really Korean, particularly when it comes to the intersection between my ethnic culture and my religious culture!

Here's my addition to the DV/Culture discussion: the Asian and Asian American community (particularly Korean) has its own share of DV...also among Christian circles...even among Korean Christian clergy! Openly, it isn't accepted, but we all know it occurs and is pretty widespread.

My quick summary:

• • Sexual slavery is different from trafficking because of the religious overtones which often legitimize its existence (e.g., in the minimal enforcement of laws that prohibit sexual slavery)
  • sexual slavery has close connections to poverty; it is largely kept in play by poverty
  • Two main sexual slavery systems covered in this chapter, both related to the religious life of the region: Trokosi system (in western Africa) and Devadasi tradition (in India)
  • Also a strong connection to war & civil unrest; women are sometimes forced into "marriage" with their oppressor-soldiers, unable to leave because these "husbands" provide for their daily living but always in fear for their lives (great emotional confusion)
  • Positive work: cultural sensitivity training PLUS legislation --> has seen some success in ridding sexual slavery
  • Regions highlighted in this chapter: W Africa, India, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Rwanda
  Week 6 2/26/08 Jameelah X. Medina

Hey, Ayat. I think domestic violence in some instances is flagged as cultural. Throughout the years and from the mouths of Latinos I know, I have been heard of domestic violence being a “machismo” thing that is just how things are done (meaning being abusive to women). Also, the fictitious “Muslim culture” thing is usually blamed for DV when it happens to a Muslim woman. Many U.S. American women who convert to Islam report being confronted with stereotype. Another way in which I think culture is brought in to the picture in this country is among police officers and firefighters. It is not racial or ethnic culture, but culture nonetheless. There are probably many others too, but I can’t think of them. As far a U.S. American culture of DV, I doubt that is talked about, especially if one can find a way to blame the DV on the “other” religions and the “other” ethnicities. But then again it may make sense because in my chapter it speaks about culture, but it localizes the practice among smaller groups and cultures within larger, national cultures, but that is FGC not DV. DV is MUCH ore broad globally.

I totally understand your comment about both activist and “victim” letting go. In my FGC chapter, I realized that no matter how much I hate the act that I consider violent, for some of the women it is not seen as violent and for others it is seen as a happy and pride-filled occasion or at least as a celebration of their cultural traditions. My mind has a hard time wrapping around accepting FGC as a good thing for ANYBODY. It is hard to relinquish my hold on what I and many consider violent. The more I read, the more I realized that I am a hypocrite among hypocrites because not many people even blink when discussing circumcision for boys, especially in the Jewish and Muslim faiths. All of my brothers were circumcised at birth, but when I read about baby girls being circumcised at birth I felt ill. Why did I not feel ill at all my brothers being “mutilated” at birth? Is it not a violent act to cut away the foreskin? Where are the activists, UN conferences, and US Congressional laws, and political asylum for males running away from circumcision? I know there are debates among pro anti- male circumcision out there and I also know that this class is about women, but I just felt uneasy about being so angry at FGC while not even registering in my brain that MGC probably happens MUCH more than 2 million times a year and 50,000 times a day. Some males are circumcised as toddlers and other as pre-adolescents, but this is completely normal for us, so I tried to apply the same thinking to FGC in other places and come to see how it was very normal for them too. Maybe I am way off base with this, but all these were my thoughts and my internal struggle while reading the chapter and trying not to impose my beliefs on other people. With the other point you made, then it makes sense that some women leave their homelands to avoid FGC because they reject those contextualized justifications of violence. But then I think of Muslim women who remove their heascarves to the cheers of outsiders who saw the headscarf as a form of oppression and violence against women. My head spins in circles. In my mind and heart FGC is violent because it hurts at that moment and long long after. It is also violent because women who have gone through it also consider it violent, but what about those who do not consider it violent at all? Like the mothers who reject the term “mutilation” because they love their daughters and would never send them to be mutilated.

Please set me straight somebody. I am so confused!

Week 6 2/26/2008 Jameelah X. Medina

Forsaken Females Chp. 4 Female Genital Cutting: Clitoridectomy, Female Circumsion, Female Genital Mutilation or Rite of Passage

-It happens to 2 million girls and women each year, 50,000 per day.

- Began around 4000 BC

-Terminology depends on political ideology, culture, and experience

- Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) refers to dysfunctional disfiguration and is a term that does not respect cultural significance of the act “no mother would knowingly send her daughter to be mutilated”

-Female Genital Cutting (FGC) refers to the same practice but with a little more respect for the cultural significance

-most times performed as a rite of passage or initiation rite, but Western doctors use it to cure epilepsy, kleptomania, and melancholy (in the USA clitoridectomies were performed between the 1860s and 1937)

-occurs worldwide as people migrate and take their customs with them

-it can be as small as slight nick of the clitoris hood to a complete surgical removal of most of the vulva and clitoris

-FGC is a cultural practice, not religious and is practiced by Christian, Muslims, and those of other faith traditions

-FGC occurs in at least 50% in certain regions in these countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, and Togo

-it also occurs in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, the Middle East, India, and Sri Lanka

-FGC is a psychological, emotional, economic, and political issue-Some women run from their homelands seeking political asylum

-FGC has 5 general classifications: 1) Pharaonic or Total Infibulation or Type III (the most severe technique): the removal of the clitoris, its head, the labia minora and majora and then the sides are sewn together leaving just a tiny hole for urination and menstrual blood to drip through 2) Modified Infibulation (milder form)-similar to the above but a larger opening is left 3) Clitoridectomy or Excision or Type II-removal of the clitoral hood and labia minora 4) Sunna Circumcision or Type I-removal of clitoral hood only and 5) unclassified- all other procedures that include total or partial removal of the external female genitalia

-some girls a circumcised at birth, although one month of age is more likely, and before puberty is most likely

-sometimes the circumcision and marriage occur on the same day, some women are circumcised while 7 months pregnant

-Some reasons are: to assure daughters’ marriageability, prevent promiscuity, cosmetic, removal of evil spirits, preservation of virginity, as a symbol of normalcy after civil unrest

-Positive outcomes: assures marriageability, increases a woman’s vale and power, increased bride price, protects her from rape, secured future

-Perceived benefits are: increased fertility and numerous children

-Immediate negative outcomes: shock, infection, damage to the urethra or anus, scar formation, tetanus, bladder infection, septicemia, HIV, and hepatitis B

-Long-term negative outcomes: chronic urinary and pelvic infections leading to sterility, cysts and abscesses around the vulva, nerve pain, difficult urination, painful periods, pooling of menstrual blood in the abdomen, difficulty with labor and delivery, sexual dysfunction, depression, and death

-Male partners also suffer with negative physical (difficult penetration, penis wounds, inflammation, and bleeding), psychological (decreased sexual desire and enjoyment, and a desire not to hurt their wife or make them suffer), and economic experiences (medical care expenditures)

-Some tools used are: kitchen knives, razor blades, pieces of glass, scissors, sharp stones, teeth, and fingernails

-Women who have been circumcised tend to support continuing the practice, it also bring a good income to midwives and elderly women of the villages

-uncircumcised girls and women will suffer greatly without inheritance or acceptance or being maintained by a husband

-Some women view their circumcision with pride due to elaborate ceremonies and entrance into womanhood and higher status

-some women barter with FGC to get what they want—an arranged marriage with a better husband, a secure future, and education-The attitude of national and local rulers affects attitudes toward FGC

-FGC is commonly associated with Islam, but traditional Muslim scholars reject it as a requirement of the Qur’an

-FGC is often prevalent in patriarchal societies where men seek to curb and even eradicate women’s sexuality

-in places where literacy is increasing, the incidence of FGC is decreasing

It then goes on to discuss the success stories in Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, and Burkina Faso where they are replacing FGC with mock FGCs, “circumcision though words,” medical education, and literacy programs

Week 6 2/26/08 Ayat Agah

Here's part of the summary of my chapter. I'll post the rest tonight after class.

Forsaken Females: The Global Brutalization of Women, Andrea Parrot and Nina Cummings

· In this chapter, the authors point out the various contexts that need to be taken into consideration when researching violence against women. They discuss issues that make documenting and reducing violence against women a challenge. The chapter discusses different types of sexual violence and offers examples of where and how violence against women has been dealt with.

· Women are vulnerable to sex crimes because of class, caste, religion, race, sexual identity and other sources of discrimination. Sexual violence toward women is universal and women are targets under patriarchal political systems that keep men dominant over women. Women’s vulnerability is increased due to war, prison, refugee status and homophobia.

· Sex crimes against women are universally underreported and some of the reasons include the stigma surrounding them, fear of retribution, distrust of police, preserving her and her family’s social status.

· A major challenge to dealing with sexual violence against women is the attitude that these acts are “a man’s prerogative,” “boys being boys,” and that “boys have needs.” This is summed up in a reaction from a parent of a student at St. John’s University who along with other male students was accused of rape. About their son, the parent said, he “did nothing that any other American boy wouldn’t do.”

· An important starting point in understanding sexual violence is that rape (and other forms of sexual assault) has/have nothing to do with sexual attractiveness, provocation, promiscuity and sexual interest.

· Not all cultures recognize acts of violence as such, but rather, see things like rape as a norm, something that is accepted, especially within a marriage.

· Rape is discussed at length in regard to the different contexts in which it occurs and how it is responded to, specifically regarding marital rape, gang rape, child rape and assault, and rape during war. Marital rape is common in relationships where other forms of abuse already exist. Marital rape is accepted and condoned in some cultures and it remains underresearched because “unrestricted sexual relations between man and wife are universally considered part of the marital contract.”

· Gang rape is associated with racism, ethnic hatred, war conditions, human rights atrocities, or gang initiation. Gang rapes are sometimes used as “punishment” for women who are considered dishonorable or a result of peer pressure; ultimately it is “a ritualized form of controlling women’s sexuality.” Examples of how this crime is perpetrated in India, South Africa and France show that it is used against weaker groups in a community, such as “untouchables”, young schoolgirls and immigrants.

· Child rape and assault is more researched than other forms of sexual violence and is exacerbated under conditions of war and civil unrest. It is also accepted under certain cultural norms. The example of school girls raped by male classmates when their soccer game was cancelled shows how women are used as an object of revenge or anger and men’s emotions. In South Africa, the rape of young girls is due to the “virgin myth,” that the blood from the hymen of a virgin girl can cure HIV/AIDS.

2/19/08 Ayat Agah This is a little different than what I had before, but no matter, I think I like this version better.

In talking about domestic violence, and particularly in trying to understand the context in which it exists and what causes it, allows it to continue, and so on, I really appreciate the work of Uma Narayan and how domestic violence in India is blamed on culture, but in the context of the US, culture is not talked about. I think it is important to be careful not to do this in any of the situations that we will be looking at. I don’t mean to imply that we intentionally would do so, but rather be aware of the ways we may do this without realizing.

In regard to the question of the cost to activist when working on the issue of violence on a transnational level, I think there would be costs to both the activists and those at whom the activism is being aimed. I got to thinking about this in response to what Parrot talks about, how violence is defined in different ways; that something in one context may be labeled violent, and not in another. The “cost” then for the activist is to let go of his/her ideas of violence, to try and see through another contextual lens, obviously not to the point of dismissing what can count as violence, but enough so that the issues around violence can be identified, not rejected along with the violence. The “cost” to the victim and/or (would be) perpetrator of violence is the letting go of contextual (religious, cultural, etc.) justifications for violence. I’m curious to get some feedback on this. Does it make sense?

As for organizations… Here are some links I came across so far. I haven’t looked into them yet, so some may not work, and as we discussed in class, some organizations may be international, but not necessarily transnational, and just because they address issues women face, they aren’t necessarily feminist.

http://vachss.com/help_text/domestic_violence_intl.html

http://www.evawintl.org/

http://www.rosefund.org/

The last site reminded me of a comparison that Narayan does between the ways domestic violence is addressed in the US, and how it is addressed in India. One argument she makes is that in India, the issue is dealt with starting with the most extreme form of domestic violence, wife burning. One positive aspect is that the issue is being tackled from an angle that addresses the underlying causes. One set back to this approach is that less extreme acts of domestic may not receive the same needed attention. In the US, there exist women’s shelters, support groups, etc. (like the site above) that are there to help victims of domestic violence to get help, escape from, deal with the circumstances they are in. Again, I could be wrong here, but it felt to me that the first approach goes straight for the root of the problem, whereas the second approach tackles the effects of the problem, one is more preventative than the other. For me, this brings up the question of how would a transnational organization/project addressing domestic violence go about dealing with the issue? Is it better to provide shelters for women, take care of them once they’ve been between? Or is it better to focus on teaching men and women that domestic violence is never acceptable? Or is it possible to do both? Then what would the cost be?

Also, regarding the bringing the private into the public, i think this is important, especially when talking about cultures where it may be more taboo to talk about issues related to family outside of the home or with people who aren't family. So imagine the reaction to people who aren't even of the same culture, don't speak the same language, and so on.

2/19/08 Ayat Agah

I noticed in class that what I had posted for today somehow wasn't there. I wonder if I'm doing somehthing wrong. Anyway, I'll try and recall what I'd posted earlier and put it back up. For now, I like the idea of focusing on domestic violence. I had tried to find a few links for organizations that may be useful for us to take a look at, including some that Jameelah mentioned. I was also trying to answer Kebokile's question of how to make this transnational and what the costs are, not just to activists but also to those the activists are aiming their efforts at. That's all for now. More to come soon. I'll also post about my chapter from the book.

Week 4 (or 5?), 2/19/08, Debbie Gin

Thank you, Kebokile and Jameelah, for your important questions and contributions. I think I may need some clarification though: I understand that to think transnationally is paramount for a participatory democracy (Ferguson) or GED (Harding) analyses, but how do we do that in our presentations when we're trying to focus on 3 national areas in the 2 presentations? Or should we just open up each presentation to multiple national areas and the collaborations going on transnationally, instead of focusing on 3 national areas.

My question is one of procedure than of philosophy. I'm convinced of the transnational focus; I'm just not sure how to reconcile that with our assignment...at least the way our group has distributed the prep work so far. Definitely something to talk about in our grp time today.

Last item: here's a quick synopsis of my chapter...

...ugh! I just remembered that I left my book at home! I have several summary notes scribbled (in pencil) at the end of the chapter and don't want to misrepresent the authors. So I'll be back here tomorrow to give you the summary. Sorry!!