Women, Rights and Respect

Working in the developing world is challenging for the most part. One of the most difficult aspects for me has been adjusting to the attitudes towards women. This is something I largely took for granted whilst living in the UK and paid even less attention to it whilst in Canada. The recent events in India, however, is just one example that brings home just how different cultures in the developing world are and what little regard they seem to have for women.

Last month the horrific gang rape on a bus of 23 year old medical student from Singapore whilst in India caught the attention of the world. Needless to say the publicity provided a much-needed platform for women’s rights activists both in India and abroad. According, to women's groups there is one rape every hour in India, with females belonging to lower castes or from tribal origin experiencing the highest risks.

In Africa this is no different. Rape in South Africa, for example, is a statistic only an idiotic government would ignore – the country has one of the highest reported rape rates in the world. Note the deliberate emphasis on the word ‘reported’. It is significant because the real sexual assault rates in both South Africa and India is an order of magnitude higher. Society in these countries is quick to blame some external factor, or worse the women themselves for such assaults. Now in India, it's only due to social networks like Facebook that this incident has become a global issue in feudal conservatism.

The call for tougher Indian rape laws has been around for quite some time. The same situation applies in the African countries where I have done much social work. And now, the political pressure has yielded some results in India in terms of fast track courts. As a short term measure this is good but what happens when the fury expressed by the public on the topic dies down in a few months. Will India have to wait for another gruesome incident before such a reaction shakes up politicians to take a harder look at the root cause of such behaviour?

In South Africa, it appears that people rarely openly acknowledge the issue – this applies to both men and women alike. It is as though they are living in a cocoon of cognitive dissonance. They know the issue is there, and it’s big. But like the dark Lord Voldemort, don’t you dare talk about it. Suggest that the government acts more harshly on it and you’re greeted by stories of innocent young women rounded up by the police who quite blatantly expect to receive sexual favours in exchange for release. And these are not urban legends – this has happened to several people I have worked with in women's shelters.

For years women's support groups have demanded the laws on rape be modernized. But, so far law makers and corrupt politicians have been slow to answer to women's pleas from brutal Delhi. The issue as suggested earlier in this article, is not one of law alone. It is one of societal attitudes and a lack of respect for women in these countries. The question remains if the law cannot fix it what really needs to be done to rectify the situation.

I believe the answer lies in a combination of education and mass action. For me, this is no different an issue to that of suffrage. Women need to fight for their rights. Otherwise they will continue to be given a meaningless lip service on the issues that matter to them and no real change will be effected. The irony of the situation is that in both India and many countries in Africa, women tend to be the more productive members of society – especially in the rural areas. They are hard-working and determined. Imagine if they all stuck together in unity for a common cause, the greater good. It would be exactly what is needed to shock the system into a major correction.

The momentum is there now in India to create a real change, but it needs to be sustained and elevated. The fast track courts proposal should be considered only as an interim solution and the law needs to be given real teeth. By real teeth I mean effectively enforced. Otherwise women will be gambling with their lives as they would on some online casino in India - they can take a stand but rest assured they will always lose in the end.

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On the personal front, I have just finished a large project with a women’s rights NGO in Uganda which was a fascinating experience… more about this in my next article. Sometimes I wish I could just play lottery online or actually simply click here or visit this website and win big myself so I can fund so many of the ventures I know will help in these countries. Not that I would ever venture to gamble online - ironically this is an introduction to my forthcoming article on gambling and its related social issues in developing countries. This is one more area, like lack of enforcement of women’s rights, that unfortunately affects the poor, despite the available regulation.

Human Right to Education

The story of Malala Yousafzai was one that raised feelings of both angst and anger to an intensity that I had not felt in years. Particularly so given the current development work I am doing in East Africa in the education sector.

At age 11 in late 2008, Malala Yousafzai began blogging for the BBC's Urdu Service under a pseudonym. Her writing became quite the hit and was even translated into English after it grew in popularity. Under the backdrop of conflict that swept through her town in northern Pakistan in 2009, Malala blogged about her passion for education. She related her ambitions of becoming a doctor and of becoming a symbol of resistance to the local Taliban insurgency.

After 10 weeks of having her blogs published, her family left the Swat valley and the blogging stopped. They returned home later in 2009 after the Pakistani army regained control of the Swat Valley. Since then, her father decided to publicise her name when nominating her for an International Peace Prize and Malala almost instantly became famous as a youth activist.

As her international celebrity status grew, Yousafzai also spoke openly about her dream to someday form and lead a political party in Pakistan that would focus on the right of girls to receive an education.

"I want to become such an inspiring leader to lead the nation, Pakistan. Along with that, I also want to serve humanity in whatever shape and form that may be."

And this from a 14 year old girl. Even today as I coach principals, teachers and students, I have yet to meet someone of that calibre.

Sadly, her popularity was not without its price. This week Yousafzai finds herself in hospital, recovering from a gunshot wound to her head, after the minibus she was riding from her girls' school was attacked earlier in the week.

Shortly after the attack in Mingora, the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the shooting. The group had previously told Radio Mashaal in March this year that Yousafzai had been placed on a hit list - and this was not the first time such a de facto death warrant had been issued.

This begs the question: Why was Malala Yousafzai perceived as a significant threat?

Simply because she dared to dared to seek an education for girls in the region? Following the recent bombings in Libya, there has been much international commentary on Islamic anger and rightly so. Are these beliefs that fragile that they need to be defended with militant violence against the mere opinion of a young girl?

A similar situation existed in Afghanistan. There, the Taliban, who also previously prohibited schooling for girls altogether, have now relaxed their view about girls’ education in areas they control. They negotiated with government, where in exchange for not attacking students or teachers, the Taliban leaders themselves dictate what is taught in the schools, and by whom.

Importantly, however, this softening of attitude is not the result of government negotiation alone. There was signficant public pressure applied. The demand for access to education for all is evident there, just as it is now in Pakistan.

The education statistics in Pakistan are horrific: less than a third of all women have ever attended school. Whilst researchers attribute much of this to poverty, overcrowded schools, antiquated teaching methods, and dilapidated school premises, much of the challenge is attitudinal. Families are reluctant to send young girls to schools and even more acknowledge that an early marriage as a higher priority than education for girls.

The unfortunate thing about such "traditional" attitudes is that they are prevalent in the poorer communities which are typically also the least educated. This, in turn perpetuates directly into an ongoing economic disadvantage.

The situation is not as dire in East Africa but it is far from satisfactory. Somehow, the link between education - particularly for girls, and an improvement of life in general needs to be built. If religion which can be such a crucial and effective tool to build such a link in these communities continues to be an obstacle rather a support, the lot of a huge chunk of the population will never improve.

Hopefully Malala Yousufzai, who is fortunately recovering from her gunshot wounds, remains a beacon of hope and an inspiration for many others to demand what I believe to be a basic human right, education.

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As many of you know, I will be taking some time off from my development work in East Africa to help on a research project on the social impact of the online casino industry in developing countries - specifically in India and South Africa where the legality of online gambling is still in question and the local market is unlikely to be officially regulated for some time.

One can but wonder though whether hitting it big by playing the UK National Lottery or lottery online india is the only hope some people have of getting out of their current situation in terms of poverty in their own lifetimes. Personally, if I were even slightly luckier than I am I would quite happily try my own luck and gamble online for real money if only to fund the vast number of social development projects I have on my list - including the ones involving supporting the likes of Malala Yousafzai in her quest to bring education to girls and communities that need it the most. Alas, I shall have to resort to travelling around hat-in-hand for social development grants as has been the case over the last 10 years. But who knows, some day I might just win!