FGM conviction: about goddamn time

Toko Black

Neither have I nor I doubt the vast majority of people ... just what insidious, idiotic and horrendous ideas people can come up with makes you despair for humanity

Toko Black

The only way we have a chance of remotely stopping this (or at least reducing it to all but the absolutely criminally dangerous mentally disturbed) happening to human beings anywhere is working together to establish 100% basic minimum education standards for all.
Those basic minimum standards must be established by the leading educationalists free from the control over the curriculum or materials from ANY religious or political groups or organisations.
Maths, basic literacy, basic critical thinking, basic geography, basic sciences and the basics of human history/culture (religion, beliefs, ethics, societies and political/legal systems) of the world we share.

Without that, there will always be large numbers of people somewhere that don't have the basic knowledge or tools to enable them to recognise dangerous or misleading ideas and beliefs.

Spending billions to secure ourselves from terrorists or trying to limit and treat the mental and physcial damage inflicted on young children would be better addressed long term by using a large percentage of that money from each and every developed nation into a global education standards scheme overseen and directed by the worlds top universities, educational organisations and national science academies ... not politicians, preachers or corporations.

Education and knowledge will not only help reduce dangerous ideas, but also enable far more people to raise themselves of poverty and improve their lives and communities in a multitude of ways.

lucasisking

The common denominator in these cases appears to be the desire to suppress and control the sexual act (more accurately, men controlling it for women) and always for cultural and religious reasons.  It has no place in the developed world.

Trollslayer

In any world.

Toko Black

There is a significant aspect of these issues goes under the radar and it's absent in the discussion, apportion of directing blame/anger and the perceptions and perspectives we have.

It is generally always framed, discussed and campaigned on from the perspective of it being about men controlling and surpressing (or attempting to) the rights and lives of women.

That significant missing aspect turns up time and time again when any studies are done into the real world experiences of women and children subjected to oppression and harm across the spectrum of severity from the extremes of things like FGM to the farm more mild but still significant social prejudicies against the desires and aspirations of a person that does not fit a perception of being appropriate or possible based on gender.

What is the significant missing aspect ?

That a significant number of women believe in, support, take part in and even instigate and oversee that oppression in it's many forms.

One could argue that women only take part out of fear, but that is not born out by overall picture and patterns of abuse time and time again. There is no doubt that many women, just like men do act out of fear of reprisals. But this does not and can not account for the sheer numbers, level of commitment and effort women often go to in oppressing other women.

Particularly in the west we have recognised that their have been and still are biases based on gender in our societies and have taken action in an attempt to redress the balance.
However, although we have recognised our biases in how we treat people of one gender with regards to rights, protection and prospects, we have still fallen short and allowed those biases to persist within our observations, analysis of the problems and the solutions we propose.

A prime example of this would be in supporting the position that women are just as able to think, reason and make decisions responsibly to live their lives how they want as a man can - then essentially infantalising them with regards to their responsibility when they make careless decisions.

Until we stop thinking of women as purely the victims and men as the sole perpetrators of the oppression of women or anyone else, we are doomed to both fail and further propagate ill informed biases and prejudices.

Trollslayer

Agreed.

lucasisking

The problem as I see it is that certain cultures and religions are mired in ancient ways of thinking that aren't conducive to the kind of change and empowerment women have enjoyed in the developed world.  Sure we can educate young girls here that they can join the army, go into STEM, or become CEOs if they wish; but we can't export that education to West Africa or the Middle East.

I still wonder why the feminist voice (so strident when it comes to first world gender [non] issues) is so quiet about the plight of women in parts of the world where female suffering is off the scale.  I also wonder why real feminists like Aayan Hirsi Ali (mentioned earlier) don't have the exposure they deserve.

Agreed.  Again, radical feminism (male feminists too) are complicit in enforcing a perpetual victim mentality in its adherents.

Trollslayer

The hypocrisy being that their behaviour is about power over others.

Sonic67

BBC News - Primary school children 'should learn about FGM'
Primary school children 'should learn about FGM'