I believe I read an article in 2015 that co-ed education does not help either genders. Boys & girls learn in different ways because their brains are structured differently. But, in co-education system, & since most teachers end up being females, boys are treated the same as girls. This adversely affects the learning abilities of boys, so much so, that post-secondary education institutes in North America are reporting more female enrollment than males.
Now, here's an article highlighting the research how an all-girls education system provides positive role models & peers, which help more girls in learning & accepting that they can also achieve a successful career in STEM (science, tech, engineering, math) fields.
So, all this new research in 21st century is saying that co-education has worse outcomes for both genders. Didn't old religions also practice that thousands of years ago? I don't know about other religions whether they ever dealt with co-education issue, but Islam specifically said to keep the genders separate. Now, Islam's gender separation has a much bigger scope in society than only mixed gender schooling but schooling is a huge part of a student's life.
Western countries ridiculed the separate gender schooling system of the Islamic countries for hundreds of years. They systematically broke that system down in the guise of gender equality in education, even when, gender equality can still be achieved with separate education system. Islamic countries instituted co-education system in the name of modern & Western education system. Now, the research from Western education institutes is coming out to affirm the benefits of single-gender education system.
Western countries, & their public, are like those stubborn & rebellious children that when they are told by their parents not to do something, they will still do it, & when they suffer because of their actions, then they learn the benefits what their parents said, based on their knowledge & wisdom. Except, the difference in a child doing something wrong & then learning from it, & countries changing their social, educational, & political systems to follow certain other countries, & then learning that they might've made a mistake is not the same. Turning around such social, educational, & political systems take decades & decades, & affect generations after generations.
So the hard lesson here is, & especially for Muslims, that blindly following the West will only lead you to disaster. Critically analyse what & why something is positive & negative in the light of modern science of the time & religion, & then implement it if it seems beneficial.
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It's a call heard from academia to business: More women are needed in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering & math. But how best to encourage girls to consider careers in STEM?
It turns out simply encouraging them to take risks & be the best they can in any subject leads many to consider STEM fields.
This is the strategy of many all-girls' schools.
For St. Clement’s School principal Martha Perry, simply ensuring that her pupils receive a well-rounded education is the focus of the school.
“Our emphasis is girls learning, and if girls are interested and keen on a STEM subject then we’re going to make sure we support them and we are going to make sure that they have access to the best possible instruction, the best possible facilities and the best possible experience to be learning,” she says.
Not that she has to be overly concerned. Of the Toronto all-girls school’s most recent graduating class, roughly one third of the 64 students were going on to study STEM subjects at the post-secondary level.
Studying at a single-sex school may have a bearing on that. According to a study by Goodman Research Group, which evaluates programs, graduates of girls’ schools are six times more likely to consider majoring in math, science & technology at the postsecondary level compared with their peers at co-ed schools.
A similar study undertaken by the University of California, Los Angeles, commissioned by the U.S.-based National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, suggests that girls’ school graduates are three times more likely than their co-ed independent-school peers to consider engineering careers.
From Ms. Perry’s perspective, the nurturing surroundings of an all-girls school play an important part in their development. St. Clement’s doesn’t put an overarching emphasis on STEM subjects, believing instead that the school’s best role is to give its students the opportunity to believe that they have the capacity to make a difference in anything they do.
“I think a girls-only environment actually allows girls to explore their own passions and their own interests and affords us the opportunity to provide them with a wealth of different options to explore,” she says.
The reasons for this vary. According to Megan Murphy, the executive director of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools (NCGS) in Virginia, two of the biggest are peer role models & overcoming a media message that too often portrays women as being less capable than their male counterparts in STEM subjects. In addition, she says, historically the majority of science teachers at girls’ schools were women, too.
“Whether it’s from a faculty perspective, a graduate perspective, or a peer perspective, girls at girls schools have a wealth of role models and I think that’s probably the key factor as to why we see so many more girls at girls’ schools pursuing STEM subjects as undergraduates,” she says.
In addition, she explains, being around peer role models who love science & math helps deflect some of the media or popular culture messages that portray women as less capable of successfully studying STEM subjects than men.
Being among peers doing the same thing, whether in a physics club or a science Olympiad, helps build girls’ confidence that they can thrive in STEM subjects. That confidence is key to a long-term commitment to a field of study. For instance, the UCLA study suggests that 47.7% of women entering postsecondary education from single-sex schools felt well prepared in math, compared to 36.6% entering college from co-ed schools.
“When you check out of Algebra 1, even in a little way, that’s a critical building block for every single science or technology class that comes after that,” Ms. Murphy says. “So if you lose them in the pipeline as middle schoolers, it’s really hard to get them back.”
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Much like St. Clement’s, Elmwood School in Ottawa doesn’t put a direct emphasis on teaching STEM subjects, but helps its students build what headmistress Cheryl Boughton refers to as “balanced brains,” based on a concept explored by American educator & psychologist Dr. JoAnn Deak.
Consequently, the responsibility charged to Ms. Boughton & the rest of the faculty is to ensure that by the time the girls graduate from Elmwood, they are well versed in all areas of academia & not just the subjects in which they are particularly strong.
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These kinds of news stories don't usually make the front news. The general public in the Western world is oblivious to these kinds of stories & thinks that these kinds of things, i.e. sexual violence against vulnerable women & sex slavery only happens in law less countries like Iraq, Syria, Libya, Cambodia, & other African & Latin American countries. And these girls & women who unfortunately fall victims to these are not adults or illegal migrants but born-&-bred Canadians & even as young as 11 years old.
Furthermore, this is happening right here in the largest Canadian city; Toronto. But this is not happening only in Toronto or Canada, but happening all over the Western world; US, UK, & other Western European countries.
People who are involved in the rehabilitation of these victims are saying that this problem is not dying down, but actually exploding in major urban areas of North America & Europe. What the heck is going on?
Well, the problem is borne out of multiple factors:
1. Decreasing role of parents: Western philosophy on family, rightly or wrongly, changed in the last few decades that everyone is responsible for their own lives. Parents can, but actively discouraged, to meddle into their daughters' affairs. Heck, the society even gave that kind of parenting a derogatory name, "helicopter parenting."
Girls were taught from schools to general society that you are your own person & should make your own decision. That's all ok when that young lady is old enough (at least in university) to understand her world around her & see what's going on, but telling that to a teen girl is simply wrong. Mix that "independence" teaching with the love-hate relationship a teen has for his/her parents, & you are only going to get a problem.
2. Broken homes: In the latter half of 20th century, more & more homes start to break up. Every one on their own. Parents, when living separately, got more expenses, & hence, working more & more to bring that extra cash. When single parents are working more & more, & looking less & less after their kids, the kids got the free leash on whatever they can do. Well, from dabbling into drugs to coming into contact with the wrong crowd through those drugs to selling their bodies to get those drugs (when out of money) leads these girls to a life of prostitution & sex slavery.
3. Media's objectification of women: Media is an expert in manipulating social values & thinking. People in 21st century have being programmed for the past few decades that women are sexual objects. Of course, internet & easy accessibility to porn only escalated that problem, but media didn't stop there, too. Men & boys are bombarded day & night that women should be used for sexual purposes & then discarded like used tissues.
Movies & TV shows all show women whimpering after men to take them & use them as they please. Young men are being heavily influenced by latest rap & hip hop music videos & these videos don't exactly show men respecting women. Then, on top of that, we got the Kardashian clan, which, ironically, is the young female generation's idol. That idol is effectively teaching young females to rise to the top of social hierarchy through sex.
4. Female dresses: Yes, inevitably, this topic will be breached. Female dresses is pretty much becoming non-existent in the Western world. Men are wearing more & more clothes, while girls & women are encouraged to take it all off ... in the name of latest fashion. Latest fashion trends from the Kardashians is pretty much showing as much as flesh in the public as a female can. Miley Cyrus is showing young females in the West, & effectively, the whole world, that wearing a few strips of clothes, literally, is enough. Heck, we got stories coming out of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, & New York, US, that women are publicly strolling around in the nude (after all, what's the point of those strips, too?)
So, what we can then expect from young impressionable girls, when they are being taught from a young age that do whatever you what to do & it's your body, & nobody in the home is teaching them any proper morals & values, & their celebrity idols are prancing around on the worldwide stages in the nude, & they are seeing that their celebrity idols got their fame & fortunes by baring it all?
They definitely are not going to learn to study hard, don't do drugs, wear proper clothes to school, make good friends, & of course, have good role models in their lives. They are learning, & hence, then actively practicing, with not very good end results, to get what they want by using their bodies as a collateral.
Of course, these factors is not the comprehensive list of all that is causing this problem of prostitution. There are lot more factors. These are just the tip of iceberg. But what I'm trying to say is that this "exploding" problem of prostitution is not so easily resolved by a special vice squad or the close collaboration of a few law enforcement agencies. It may just take the problem underground, which is even more dangerous for the victims. This problem is just a symptom of several other social problems & unless, & until, those problems are handled effectively, this problem of prostitution will not go away.
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Ontario is in the grips of homegrown human trafficking, says a veteran Tory MPP, who is calling for the creation of a provincial task force on sex slavery.
Laurie Scott, the member for Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock, says women & girls as young as 11 years old are being forced into prostitution here & they are not newcomers from the former Eastern Bloc looking for a better life — they are Canadian-born.
“I’ve heard stories of girls being targeted at the mall food court, the parking lot at their high school or a house party they attended with friends,” she told the legislature last week.
“This province is home to the largest number of domestic human trafficking cases, where victims are born & raised right here in Ontario,” said Scott, who presented a non-binding motion calling on the government to form a special team dedicated to rooting out human trafficking.
It would be similar to the existing guns & gangs unit, in which police officers, Crown prosecutors & social workers work together as a team from beginning to end of an investigation.
“Through this combination of expertise, the task force achieves the dual purpose of apprehending criminals & assisting victims,” Scott said in the introduction to her motion, which passed with all-party support.
Asked whether the passage of the non-binding motion meant a task force would be established, a spokeswoman for Community Safety Minister Yasir Naqvi said the government would continue to work with its partners “to combat this very serious issue.”
Scott said it’s also important to co-ordinate support for women & girls escaping exploitation.
“One aspect where a provincial task force would be immeasurable would be its ability to help facilitate the creation of safe houses solely for the purpose of sheltering human trafficking victims,” she said.
MPPs were told how pimps frequently move prostitutes up & down the Highway 401 corridor both to meet demand & to make police detection much more difficult.
“Young women are lured through personal relationships, systemically isolated from the family & friends, psychologically & physically abused by those who they trusted & in some cases loved,” said Scott.
Human trafficking was recently front & centre at a legislative select committee on sexual violence & harassment against women. Scott is a member of that committee.
Among those that appeared before the committee was Katarina MacLeod, a former prostitute whose agency, Rising Angels, deals with women trying to escape that life. She said modern-day slavery is out of control.
“From what I see working on the front lines it is getting worse … it is really exploding,” MacLeod told the Star, adding many of the women she sees are under 18.
She said she is hearing of more & more women moving from hotel to hotel, in many cases not even knowing what city they are in.
MacLeod agreed a specialized team in the justice system “fighting for these girls” is needed.
Several police services across the province have vice squads that deal with human trafficking & informally share information.
York Regional Police is recognized for its progressive work on human smuggling, especially in dealing with sex trade workers. Det. Sgt. Peter Casey said the force has not arrested a woman on solicitation charges in the past 7 years — but it does throw pimps in jail.
The people behind the smuggling range from organized crime to teenage boys pimping out girls in their schools because there is “huge” money to be made, said Casey.
“Let’s put it this way, if you are a drug dealer … you can only sell that kilo of cocaine once, but if you are a pimp & have a number of young vulnerable women you are exploiting, you can exploit them over & over & over again, day after day.”
Experts said a woman working in the sex trade can generate revenues of $280,000 a year. And that often goes straight into a pimp’s pocket.
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The Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services says it has provided about $1.4 million in funding since 2003 to 11 projects under the Proceeds of Crime–Front Line Policing Grant, to help police combat human trafficking in Ontario.
As I have blogged before that human trafficking, & especially women being trafficked, for the sole purpose of sex slavery is very common around the world; be it from Nepal to India, or South Asia to Dubai, or East Europe to West Europe, or in Latin America, but the sad part is that it has not only increased in the past decades or so, it is not even reported in the news as vigorously as what ISIS is apparently doing with captured Yazidi girls.
I am not saying that what ISIS is doing is correct, but we need to put this human trafficking & sex slavery phenomenon into perspective. What ISIS is doing is definitely abhorrent & should be stopped, but young girls are becoming sex slaves in Western Europe, Dubai, India, & even North America ... countries / regions, which purport to protect women & their rights.
The scope of what ISIS or Boko Haram is doing is rather small compared to how many girls are being forced into prostitution in law-abiding countries/regions. What's happening to girls in Iraq, Syria, or Nigeria is wrong but considering those are warzones, why is this such a prominent practice (sex slavery) in non-warzones, like Dubai, India, US, Canada, UK, Germany etc.?
Halfway through the article below (around paragraph 11), what strikes me as a universal trait of criminal nowadays is that criminals are the community leaders now, who host & fund religious & community gatherings. They all seem so genuine to the public. It's same all over the world. Now, it's becoming in our society, all over the world, that the younger generation wants to emulate the criminals of their communities. What will happen to that society when role models of the younger generations are the people who themselves are devoid of any morals & ethics?
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María Méndez was a live-in domestic worker when she met Ricardo López on her way to the supermarket. She was 15, from a poor family in the state of Mexico, & had been cleaning houses since the age of 8. He was a cocky, charming 16-year-old from Tenancingo, a small town in the neighbouring state of Tlaxcala. He courted her, promising marriage & a home. She desperately wanted it to be true, & within a fortnight moved with him to Tenancingo.
At first López & his family treated her well, but it quickly turned violent. “He sent me to work as a prostitute in Tijuana, Guadalajara, Torreón, Aguascalientes – all over the country to make money selling my body,” Méndez, now 59, told the Observer. “He said the money was to buy land so we could build a little house, but it was all false, even the name he’d given me was false. He made me live a very sad, ugly, desperate life. I was so ashamed.”
Méndez, like thousands of other vulnerable women in Mexico, was hoodwinked by a family of traffickers in Tlaxcala, the country’s smallest state just 2 hours east of Mexico City. This is a deeply religious place, where the indigenous Nahua people united with the Spanish to conquer the mighty Aztecs, but which over the past 5 decades has transformed into an unlikely hub of human trafficking.
In the US, five of the 10 “most wanted” sex traffickers are from Tenancingo, where Mendez’s nightmare began. Trafficking networks rooted in Tlaxcala are the biggest source of sex slaves in the US, the state department has said.
This improbable crime story began in the 1950s after industrialisation, when working-age men returned home from neighbouring states to find few opportunities beyond badly paid factory jobs. Pimping & trafficking, which they had seen while working away, was a way to get ahead, & many set up small, family-run sexual exploitation rings.
Some of the most powerful Tlaxcala families are believed to collaborate with Mexico’s most feared cartels.
In 2008 trafficking was detected in 23 of Tlaxcala’s 60 municipalities. By last year this had increased to 35, according to research conducted by local human rights group the Fray Julián Garcés centre, which has identified six “red zones” where sexual exploitation is most concentrated. (A government official told the Observer there were no red zones in Tlaxcala).
In Tenancingo, population 11,000, the presence of organised crime is breathtaking. Huge, tawdry houses are scattered among rows of ordinary, modest homes. Everyone knows who own the big houses, though, despite pressure from NGOs to improve transparency & target trafficking proceeds, there is no public land registry. The mansions look like fancy multilayered wedding cakes adorned with sculptured eagles, lions & swans. The grandiosity continues into the cemetery, where tombs are ornate & extravagant – not unlike those seen in villages of the northern state of Sinaloa, from where many of the drug cartel leaders hail.
In Tenancingo’s main square, a striking colonial church towers over taco stalls & shoe-shiners, a typical lunchtime scene apart from the new white Mustang & Chevrolet parked beside a bar. Here, a group of men in their 30s & 40s sporting designer jeans & T-shirts knock back cold beers under the piercing afternoon sun. Two police officers are stationed less than 150 metres away.
“These guys are the archetypal padrotes [pimps],” said Emilio Muñoz, a Tlaxcala native & director of human rights & gender violence at the Fray Julián Garcés centre.
“They are the ones who go to other states looking for vulnerable girls to trick – that’s their role in the family business. Everyone knows who the padrotes are, it’s no secret, & it’s the same families who sponsor religious festivals & community events. They operate with almost complete impunity. Trafficking has become so normalised & rewarding that young people look up to them.”
One in 5 children here wants to be a pimp when they grow up, according to a 2010 University of Tlaxcala study. Two-thirds of youngsters surveyed knew of at least one relative or friend working as a pimp or trafficker.
Tenancingo is the most notorious hotspot in Tlaxcala, with some estimates suggesting one in 10 people are actively involved in trafficking. But 16km north in Axotla del Monte, population 2,000, the concentration of garish mansions & flashy sports cars is even more conspicuous. This is another red zone, home to loyal, close-knit communities. In December 2012 the army was drafted in after police officers were almost lynched trying to detain an alleged trafficking family.
The old interstate highway connecting Axotla with Tenancingo is lined with cheap hotels. Official notices indicate a few recent closures, but many more are under construction. Around midday, young women wearing fake leather trousers & platform heels emerge near the hotels to attract the attention of passing motorists.
It is a wretched scene. The women’s features suggest they come from the poor southern states of Chiapas, Oaxaca & Guerrero, where a large proportion of trafficking victims originate, according to the United Nations Office for Drugs & Crime (UNODC). For most, Tlaxcala is only a pit stop until they are sent to more lucrative locations in northern Mexico & the US.
In recent years the modus operandi for trafficking throughout Mexico has shifted from kidnap & brute violence towards psychological deception & fake relationships. Poor, uneducated & often indigenous girls & women are dazzled & lured with the promise of jobs or marriage. Most commonly, as in Méndez’s case, women are initially persuaded to prostitute “for love”, in order to help resolve a financial crisis which the trafficking family feigns. By the time they realise & accept they are victims, their “husbands” use beatings & threats against their parents & children – often fathered by the traffickers – to control them.
“The few successful prosecutions have mainly involved international crime groups, yet most trafficking in Mexico occurs within close family & friends’ circles using rustic methods of seduction which are very difficult to investigate & prosecute,” Felipe de la Torre, UNODC adviser in Mexico, said.
US authorities have prosecuted several powerful Tlaxcala families, most famously the Carreto clan, who between 1991 & 2004 duped, coerced & trafficked Mexican women into prostitution in New York City.
It took almost 10 years for one victim, a woman from Guadalajara, to be reunited with her daughter who was left growing up within the Carreto family in Tenancingo.
“There is a lack of political will & legal sensitivity when it comes to reuniting victims with their children – who are at huge risk of being trafficked or absorbed into the crime family,” said Gretchen Kuhner, director of the Institute for Women in Migration.
The Tlaxcala government told the Observer that it has jailed 14 people for trafficking-related crimes since 2011 – around 10% of the national total. Authorities have rescued 127 trafficking victims, closed down more than 200 bars, nightclubs & hotels, & conducted hundreds of awareness-raising events, it added.
There are an estimated 20,000 trafficking victims in Mexico every year, according to the International Organisation for Migration. Tlaxcala has no refuge for trafficking victims.
Méndez endured 10 years of arrests, humiliation & threats, before finding strength through her faith to stand up to López & stop prostituting herself. “He beat me, threatened to take our children, but I stayed with him because of the shame. I couldn’t bear to tell my family the awful things I had done, or who my husband really was.”
They are still married, & live together near where the girls are forced to prostitute themselves on the highway. López works in a shop, though his extended family continue trafficking. Méndez added: “These men in their nice cars think money is more important than human dignity, but they are monsters, just like my husband. Sometimes when I see the poor girls I can’t breathe. I pray one day this town can come out of this.”
A great opinion piece by a professor of political science at the Graduate School of International Relations & Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego.
It essentially explains one of the primary reasons why boys & girls, from Europe & North America, are so willing to move to Iraq & Syria, to join a group, which will seemingly restrict or even oppose the kind of lifestyle they are used to back in their homes, in Europe & North America: Financial Security.
As this blog from the professor states, that in UK, a Muslim woman is 65% less likely to be employed compared to a Christian woman, & a Muslim man is 76% less likely compared to a Christian man. Of course, the assumption here, is that everyone has the same education & qualifications.
As I have said multiple times previously, & now ardently believe, that ethnic & religious discrimination is so high in Canada that young Muslim men & women are either willing to endure harsh conditions to join such groups or just given up on their dreams of ever achieving the financial & economic security they envisioned while they were going through their schooling.
One of my friends in HR field posted a blog on properly networking, about a month ago. I frankly commented on that blog that what she is telling in her blog is not wrong, but it is not customized for the minorities. All these are good tips, but it doesn't help the young Muslim men & women, who are educated, but are heavily discriminated against in workplaces.
I said that because I see it myself in my South Asian immigrant community in Canada. If this would have been a problem just with me, I would chalk it up to my luck or any number of individual factors. But it's a community-wide problem, and as soon as someone utters the "R" word (racism), the common answer is, "now, you are just being stupid."
Some Muslim women will say that there's no racism since I have a great job & a career. What they don't realize that it all depends on their dress (appearance) & name. If a Muslim girl is named, "Sarah" or "Maria", & if she drinks alcohol, & wear knee-length skirts (w/o leggings) to work, then she will have a much easier time in securing a job & career. Compare her situation against a Muslim girl with a name, like "Ambreen" (typical South Asian female name), wearing a hijab & not socializing with her friends in a dance club or a bar. She obviously going to have a much-harder time in securing a job.
Appearances & names are a huge factor. Many people won't think twice for little things like that can make a huge difference between landing a job & not even securing an interview. A young bearded Muslim man in a professional office setting will have a very hard time securing a job or making a career.
We have numerous examples of Muslim men & women changing their names to be accepted in their professional circle, "Maqsood" becomes "Max", "Mohammad" becomes "Moe", "Salman" becomes "Sal" & "Osman" becomes "Oz". Women don't shy from it, either. Either, they change it to Judeo-Christian name or simply add that name is a nickname. We have numerous examples of celebrities who were born or accepted Islam later on, but they never change their name or appearance, because of one of the main reason being that they know that they won't get new contracts for shows or gigs if they do take that step, & they shy away from discussing that part of their life.
I am more sensitive to this issue of discrimination because I encounter it everyday, in my search of a job. When I see my colleagues from my MBA class, I feel that injustice. I see that they not only have great jobs, but they are actually thriving in their careers (managerial levels), whereas, I see my non-Caucasian classmates at the clerical levels in their workplaces.
So will I myself ever take that drastic step of joining a radical group? Hell no. Will I relocate somewhere, e.g. back to my country of birth (Pakistan), to reinvigorate my career? Yes. Will it create difficulties in my life? Definitely. Was that ever my dream? No. Do I see this pattern of racial bias ever improving? Perhaps one day, but not in the short term (5-15 years).
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Over the past few years, approximately 550 young Muslim women have left Europe to join Islamist groups in Syria & Iraq, often marrying fighters.
Many are well educated, from middle-class families, born & raised in Europe. They do not appear to be deeply alienated from society or women who could be easily radicalized. Why would young women leave London, Glasgow or Vienna to join a group that is considered anti-woman in its policies & behavior? Why would they go to so much trouble to reach places where their freedom of movement & expression will, at best, be severely constrained?
The reasons, according to analysts, are roughly the same reasons as for men. Some are alienated from European society. Others are angry at the inequality they see & experience. Still others are looking for adventure or have a romantic idea of wanting to help the Sunni community in the Middle East.
But something else is likely going on. If women are joining because they are alienated, poor or angry, why aren’t Muslim women of all ages leaving Europe for the Middle East? These feelings must extend throughout the community. But virtually all the women are between ages 15 & 19. Why?
One reason is that late teens & early 20s is the time when many young people begin to plan their future — what jobs to take & who to marry.
And these women have good reason to think they may have difficulties getting what they want. An extensive study of religious discrimination in Britain from 2000-2010, commissioned by the Equality & Human Rights Commission, found that Muslims in Britain “experience discrimination of a greater frequency & seriousness than other religious groups.” By the time they are teens, the study shows, many realize there is little they can do to remove it.
Late teens & early 20s is also the period when women may be naïve & inexperienced enough to believe promises made by recruiters on the Internet. When they are told things are better in Syria & Iraq, many seem to believe it.
Yet the answer may have more to do with the job & marriage markets in Europe. Young Muslim women are traveling to the Middle East to join fundamentalist groups in part because they are somehow convinced that this offers greater financial security. The more anxious women were about their economic future, according to a multiyear survey of Muslim women conducted by Lisa Blaydes & Drew Linzer, the more likely they were to turn to & support religious fundamentalism. The report found that economic insecurity was the best predictor of whether a woman would support fundamentalist beliefs.
In fact, young Muslim women in Europe have every reason to be anxious about their economic future.
One reason is that Muslim women in Britain are up to 65% less likely to be employed than white Christian women. Even if a young woman receives straight A’s from a good school — as was the case with the 3 women who recently left London for Syria — she is still more likely to face unemployment, job discrimination & low pay.
Marriage to a young Muslim man in Europe also does not necessarily offer better economic prospects because job opportunities for young Muslim men are even worse. Muslim men in Britain were up to 76% more likely to be unemployed than white male Christians of the same age & with the same qualifications. Neither a job nor marriage in Europe ensures financial security to young Muslim women living there.
There is, however, an alternative. Young Muslim women might decide that they can instead enter the marriage market in Syria & Iraq. Young European women are told by recruiters that they will have their choice of spouses, that their spouses will be able to support them & that they will be taken care of & treated well. Tweets reputedly posted by women living under Islamic State rule describe how the militant group will supply housing & food, even a monthly stipend.
The value of European women in the Syrian & Iraqi marriage market is also presented as higher than that of local women. Blondes, for example, are in demand. To some young women, it might appear as if they have gone from the bottom of the pecking order to the top.
This does not mean that these young women are making a smart choice. They clearly are not making a fully informed one. Recruiters have incentives to portray life within a fundamentalist group as more secure & honorable than life in Europe, even if it isn’t true. They also have incentives to downplay or ignore the dangers these women are likely to encounter in their new world.
Does this mean that all women joining Islamic State are heavily influenced by financial motives & a desire for a reliable social safety net? No. Some are driven by ideology, anger or a desire for adventure — or any number of motives.
But some are driven by strong economic & social incentives, which partly explain the appeal of becoming a member of a fundamentalist group. Current economic conditions have led some young women in Europe to place their trust in what they believe will be a more secure future elsewhere.
They are wrong, but it helps explain why they are so willing to leave.
I've put several articles here before this one showing the increasing Islamophobia in European & North American countries. People, especially Muslims, always say here that there's no racism or religious discrimination & these are just conspiratorial stories. These discriminations last in pretty much all spheres of the society against every Muslims, or who appears to be a practicing Muslims. Sometimes, it feels like the societies are going back to the time, when Islam was a completely new religion in the world, & Muslim men & women were persecuted in Arabia.
By the way, one important piece of information the article doesn't mention but the video on the page does, is that the girl in question, did remove her scarf before entering the school, as per the French ban on religious clothing in public institutions.
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The public has reacted with a campaign in social networks called "I wear my skirt as I like" after a 15-year-old French Muslim girl was banned from her class for wearing a long skirt reflecting her religious affiliation.
The controversial incident happened in the northeastern French town of Charleville-Mezieres, where a schoolgirl named Sarah was sent home twice this month because of her “conspicuous” appearance: a long skirt which symbolizes her affiliation with Islam.
This incident caused a massive public outcry in social networks – especially on Twitter where hashtag #JePorteMaJupeCommeJeVeux ("I wear my skirt as I like" in English) became a trend.
Some users are disappointed with the current developments & blame the authorities for religious discrimination.
“French school bans long black skirts because they are not secular. Um, it’s fashion must have,” says one of campaigners.
Another one writes with irony: “Wondering if French president sent Michelle Obama home for wearing a long skirt.”
Some users resort to joking, trying to imagine who else may be banned in France because of a dubious clothing choice: Emma Watson, Elsa from the animation film “Frozen”, princess Leia Organa from “Star Wars”, or even… the Statue of Liberty?
Rachid Nekkaz, a political activist, told RT he wonders how the girl could break the law since there isn’t one in France that bans long skirts. According to Nekkaz, “there is a phobia going on in France, a deep fear & deep anger towards Muslims & Islam.” The activist also said "political elite & educational professionals in France need to say: ‘Enough is enough to all this hatred shown to Muslims & Islam!’ We have the historical example of the German government [Nazis] saying to its citizens that the problem in German society was Jews. I think we are approaching a similar situation in France right now.”
Sarah’s case is not an altogether rare occurrence. About 130 girls weren’t allowed to attend classes because of their clothes, the Telegraph reports. France prides itself as being a secular state & the law has banned Islamic headscarves, the Jewish kippa, or skullcap, large Christian crosses or any other "ostentatious sign of religion" at schools since 2004.
Recently the independent Council of Europe claimed that France has become more intolerant to ethnic minorities including Jews & Muslims. Studies on this had been conducted before the Charlie Hebdo attacks, which is why experts believe religious discrimination is a long-term trend in France.
A good article bringing this controversial issue into light. It doesn't only happen in Pakistan, India, other South Asia countries, & Africa, but also in Canada & US. It's also not necessarily prevalent in any one religious community but other communities, too.
Why do I say that this is a controversial issue?
"Forced marriage" needs to be defined. Many, especially in the West, consider "arranged marriage" as "forced marriage". That's the wrong label associated with arranged marriage.
If girls are getting married off by families, sometimes to such an old man, that any reasonable person would say that they will never have any understanding, or for some other reason the potential couple looks to be severely "mismatched" or if there are other issues with either both or one of the candidates, then it seems "forced". But usually -- from a Muslim & Pakistani perspective -- if parents are choosing a suitable suitor for their son or daughter, in terms of age, education, looks, family etc., then it's not forced, but an arranged marriage.
Candidates tell what they prefer to their parents & parents look for those criteria in matching them. Sort of like job searching process. Job candidates tell recruiters what they are looking for & recruiters try to match the candidates with the right jobs in the market.
Whereas, the West's or even modern world's (East & West) idea is everyone chooses a partner him/herself after falling in love. Well, we can see the effect of that in the West, where, as per some statistics, almost 50% people live alone (due to divorce or being single & not getting married in the first place).
The internet is now inundated with online matchmaking websites, catering to every societal niche & demographics, but AshleyMadison.com & Tinder are far more popular because "falling in love" phase phases out after honeymoon & the real faces of both partners is revealed after all that flirtatious & lustful period of dating has passed. Everyone is left to "mend their own garden", which in turn creates more isolation, depression, & feelings of loneliness & sadness for single people. Then they turn to online matchmaking sites where looks are all the rage or swear off all notions of marriage, & either go celibate or turn to Tinder (for casual relationships). Married people who apparently married for love are busy setting up dates on AshleyMadison.com.
Some of the real cases defined in the article do indeed seem cases of "forced marriage" but the article still blurs the line between "forced" & "arranged" marriage, never clearly defining the differences.
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It may seem strange, even impossible, that someone could be forced to marry against her will. But, like sexual assault—&, more recently, human trafficking—the curtain is being pulled back on what has been happening in Canada, & around the world, for centuries. In some nations, such as Norway, Belgium, Pakistan & the United Kingdom, forced marriage is a crime. Next year, Canada is expected to join that list when Bill S-7, which adds forced marriage to the Criminal Code, is approved.
The people, the vast majority of whom are women, came from a wide range of religious groups: 103 were Muslim, 12 Christian, 44 Hindu, 24 were unsure of their religious affiliation, & five had none. Almost half were Canadian citizens &, in most cases, family members were the perpetrators. People were taken out of Canada to get married in 57% of cases.
Forced marriage always involves pressure to wed against a person’s will, under physical or emotional duress, or without free & informed consent, according to definitions from international law & human rights groups. The main reason people submit to a marriage is because they do not want to disobey or disappoint family or church.
Very little data exist on forced marriage in Canada, but numerous court cases & anecdotal evidence suggest it’s been happening for more than a century, from coast to coast.
On Nov. 5, when Citizenship & Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced S-7, the “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act,” he introduced a three-pronged piece of legislation to address the problem at home & abroad. Bill S-7 would ban people in polygamous & forced marriages from immigrating to Canada. The second piece will amend the Civil Marriage Act to make 16 the minimum age of marriage across the country.
It would also enshrine forced marriage in the Criminal Code. “Everyone who celebrates, aids or participates in a marriage rite or ceremony knowing that one of the persons being married is marrying against their will” would be guilty of a crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
Toronto’s Barbra Schlifer Clinic started a support program for forced-marriage victims in 2009, & the caseload has been increasing ever since. “I’ve had Irish clients who have experienced forced marriage; Roma clients, Saudi, South Asian, European & Christian clients. It’s pretty much across the board,” says Farrah Khan, who has been counselling victims since 2006. “We see different economic backgrounds, as well. We see it happening in communities that are isolated, in communities that have a fear about losing their connections to culture, to faith.” Rape must also be brought into discussions about forced marriage, because couples are expected to consummate the marriage.
For Mattoo, Canada already has robust laws that deal with abuse, & she feels victims are more in need of a place to live, counselling to deal with the psychological trauma, & help getting back on their feet after they leave their marriages &, sometimes, their family members.
That’s why SALCO & 13 other activist groups & social service agencies, including the Schlifer clinic & the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto, are opposed to Bill S-7. “The proposed legislation exposes the underlying racist agenda that this government harbours,” their statement reads, referring to the name of the bill & the fact that they feel it singles out non-Western communities where polygamy is accepted. Mattoo’s main criticism is that the new law allows the federal government to wash its hands of the problem. “I’m not saying that any criminal action should go unreported, but criminalizing will not help prevent it.”
This movie, "India's Daughter," is making big waves in the news especially due to International Women's Day. You must've came across several articles & blogs on this particular movie, world's reactions to it, & of course, reactions in India about this movie. Heck, you may have even watched it on YouTube.
Although, a lot can be written about women's rights in India, & in general, South Asia, & books after books have been written on it covering several aspects. Although, a little bit of digging around on google also unearths troves of stats about rape incidents in developed, Western countries; from the old continent to the New world, but for now, let's focus on India & this article.
Before, we get into the whole discussion of why India is having this problem of rape & how new strict laws punishing rape & sexual assaults against women won't do anything substantial in India, we need to agree on some biological facts:
1. Men & Women are aroused sexually in very different ways (assuming, both genders are of similar ages); men, just by looking at a women (depending on how much skin is being shown), & women need foreplay (not only in bed, but also being mentally prepared). Women don't get sexually aroused just by looking at a guy (otherwise, only buff guys would be getting girls & all other men would stay single). Of course, women also are aroused by sight, but it doesn't happen usually, & there are women who may have different standards. We are talking of facts as what usually happens, per the gender biology.
2. Sex is a very strong feeling. Everyone, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, race etc believe in having sexual relations (some twist it to the point of becoming delinquent, e.g. paedophiles).
Now, you may see a correlation in all of the news coming out of India about rape. Curiously, they are all done by men of a certain economic class; they are all poor. Rich men also assault women sexually, but not as frequently, & their news may get censored from public media, since they will throw money at the problem.
Problem with this movie, director's assertion, & MP, Anu Aga that Indian men don't respect women & the attitudes towards women need to be changed, is too simplistic. There are far too many other factors with this issue of sexual assaults. How do you change attitudes towards women when marketing sells everything (even ads of men's grooming products include a pretty woman in it), which essentially highlights the point that "sex sells".
Now, my firm belief is that regardless of whatever laws are enacted & enforced in India, against sexual assaults against women, they won't help curb the rate of sexual assaults. We may think they have but just because media is censoring that info does not mean it ain't happening (just like Western media censors a lot of info which will show the reality in the Western society).
Why do I think the laws won't help curb sexual assaults?
Because, the root problem is not being resolved with these laws.
Root problem: India is stuck between "Hollywood" & "Bollywood", i.e. India is stuck between 2 vastly different cultures (West & East):
You can't resolve something in your personal life or even professional life when you are of 2 or more minds. You need to choose 1 solution or path & go with that, & deal with its consequences later on, whatever they may be. When you have 2 vastly different options, then you can't do both, because you won't achieve anything.
So, how is India stuck between 2 vastly different cultures; West & East. Let's do a comparative analysis:
1. Movies, media, pop culture etc: In the West, all kinds of media, be it traditional or digital / social, is full of sexual images. Movies are full of sexual images, all the way to full frontal nudity & explicit sexual acts. TV shows are not leaving themselves behind in this race, either. Social media, like Facebook pages, Twitter, blogs, & of course, apps like Tinder & websites, match making websites to relationship-infidelity websites (AshleyMadison.com) are widely & easily available. Fashion shows from Milan to Paris to London to Dubai to New York are full of sexualized dresses, & how can we forget Victoria's Secret fashion show (one of the Daily Mail articles, from Dec 2014, also point to the fact that how women are objectified & sexualized through these shows), but, I digress.
Now, in the East (South Asia, in general), these movies & shows are becoming common. Everyone has access to Hollywood movies & shows (perhaps, explicit sexuality is censored but there are multiple ways to get around that ... thanks to piracy on internet). Bollywood & Lollywood (Pakistani) movies & shows don't show explicit sexuality but there's enough of softcore "porn" / sexuality in them already.
Now, as biological fact # 1 stated above, millions of men, especially since, we know already that South Asian demographic is heavily skewed towards young (& especially in India, towards men), are watching these sexual images in media, & are very sexually aroused.
2. Now, when there are sexually around men (& some women, too, but far more men), they have 2 options:
a. release that sexual energy through internet
b. release that sexual energy through a girl / woman (girlfriend or not).
So what are the problems with point a: to view a porn website, one needs a computer & the whole infrastructure (internet, modem etc). Many poor men / boys don't have access to personal computer & internet etc. So they frequently visit computer shops, where for a few rupees, they can watch the videos, & can rent out a small room for some privacy.
This, in turn, creates 2 more problems:
i). men get a skewed sense of sexual relationships. As we all know, porn usually shows submissive women & dominant men. Most of the times, even if the culture is not already macho (South Asia, South America, Africa, Eastern Europe), young boys & men will get the idea that man is supposed to be dominant & dominate the woman, whether in a committed relationship or not.
ii). these porn websites, Facebook pages, Twitter & blogs are suppliers of a demand created by these men. These men want more & more of these videos & pics. Many videos & pics are shared through cellphones & many times, are made of actual rape attacks, happening in cities & villages.
b. Problem with point b are multiple:
i). many men also eventually get tired of merely watching movies (point a) & start yearning for some real action (so they also move down to point b). Now, all these sexually-aroused men are looking for girls to satisfy their sexual hunger.
ii). Now, in the West, when men want some sexual action & if they are not already in a committed relationship, they go to any bar or dance club or strip club or even pick a prostitute off the street, for a quick hookup.
In South Asia, prostitution in brothels still happens, but those girls don't exactly look nearly as good as the girls portrayed in porn films or even in media (movies & TV shows). Also, they can be HIV-infected & those places are not exactly very cheap. These places are also not available everywhere. Those brothels, wherever they are available, are still pretty full to the point, where girls are trafficked heavily from the Northern areas (for their fair complexion) to the brothels of Delhi & Mumbai. That's a whole different issue which I am not going to get into here.
Good-looking girls, from the top echelons of South Asian society, also sell their bodies, but they cost around a year's or 2 years' worth of salary (anywhere from Rs. 50,000 to 200,000). So, those girls are exclusive to rich men.
Now, as far as bars or strip clubs or even dance clubs are concerned, legions of poor men can't visit good ones (because of price). Cheaper bars are, well, full of men & devoid of any women. Women who frequent dance clubs are usually more educated & Westernized, so obviously, they visit some high class dance clubs or bars & not any club on the street. Obviously, men there are also wealthy & educated (from the same economic class who can hire expensive escorts, too, as explained above).
So, what does a poor man got to do to release his sexual energy? Unlike, in the West, he can't just go to any bar or dance club or get a street hooker. He could get into a relationship where his girlfriend / wife will provide him sexual relief ... assuming he is willing to get married or be in a steady relationship.
iii). In the West, relationships are not usually based on education & wealth of both men & women. In South Asia, they are very much entrenched in the society. A man is asked about his wealth, income, & education, before a girl (or her family) even thinks / considers / get permission to have a relationship with him. Now, a poor man in South Asia will most likely can't get a good education (Doctor, MBA, CA, or an Engineer), so he will most likely don't have a great amount of wealth or monthly income. What can he do? Good education is not cheap & a good job, without a degree from a top university, is not available. So, even if he wants to get married or have a girlfriend, he can't get married or find a girlfriend.
iv). In the West, girls can have multiple pre-marital relationships before settling down with a guy. They can even have kids from their previous relationships. They can be frequently visiting dance clubs & bars. Several relationships start from hookups from bars & dance clubs.
Not so in South Asia. Girls who are Westernized (dress, education, pre-marital relations) are not considered as "wife-material". Apart from the problem explained in ii) above, it is entrenched in society that girls who will be good wives & mothers to our progeny are not found in dance clubs & bars (the rapist, Mukesh Singh, reflects this in the movie that good girls are not out of their house that late at night). This thinking is not merely entrenched in young men, but deeply entrenched in society by the elders of the society.
These are some of the many reasons why I think stricter laws won't help curb sexual assaults in India. Actually, it's only going to get worse, thanks to the illegal, but active, abortions of female fetuses. This action is going to increase the gender imbalance in India, to the point, where there will be far more sexually hungry men vying for a few women.
So what are the real solutions to this problem:
1. There are no quick fixes. Everything is long-term. First choose the society South Asia wants to emulate.
a. Be like the West & remove all those entrenched shackles of caste, economic class divisions, dowries, taboos against girls having pre-marital relationships, abortions of female fetuses, marriages based on education & wealth etc.
OR
b. Be like the East & insulate yourself from Hollywood. Stop even softcore "porn" in Bollywood movies. Strictly control the media (traditional & social). Of course, this is a much-harder exercise & perhaps, an exercise in futility, because the government will be labelled as backwards & dictatorial & the general public will still be able to seek out sexual websites.
So, merely changing attitudes of Indian men towards women not going to achieve anything. Heck, the West hasn't been able to achieve that in its own society. After all, porn is the best recession-proof business on the internet & it only give the skewed picture of a sexual relationship & gender roles in the society. If men in the West would've gotten refined up to now, then we wouldn't have movies like "The Whistleblower" showing UN soldiers from Canada, US, & Europe, actively engaged in sexually assaulting young Eastern European girls, without any fear of repercussions. They didn't get punished anyway.
My ultimate solution of stopping these sexual assaults is quite radical & religion-based, so obviously, most people around the world will not support it, & will keep trying some modern ways to fix the problem, even though, sexual assaults & women trafficking for sexual slavery are only on the rise, all over the world. Is this what "International Women's Day" celebrating?
