We may have never had it so good in the UK, on the first day of these Diamond Jubilee celebrations, but consider other parts of the world. In Afghanistan, there are peace talks which involve the Taliban. Is this peace at any price, and if so, is it worth it? President Obama recently said "We are better off when women are treated fairly and equally in every respect, whether it is the salary you earn or the health decisions that you make,". "Fight for your seat at the table, or better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.". Mr Obama, does this only matter in the West? Are you really going to subject Afghan women again to a lack of education, a lack of medical care and a life of not being able to leave the house on their own. The coalition forces are desperate to get out of Afghanistan, seeing it as a war they can't win. But at what cost to the rights of women? "Men are fundamental and women are secondary," the Ulama Council said in a statement on Friday, according to a translation by the Afghanistan Analysts Network. President Hamid Karzai published the statement on his website. So what happens now? Do the Western powers pull out, having given the Taliban some form of power in the new Afghan government? At what cost to the women there? And will a million people march through the streets of London to protest against that? I would certainly. Watch this space.
Saturday 2 June 2012
Fight for your rights.
The Spectator is currently an advert on trains into London. It reads "In 1952 a woman knew her place. In 2012, she's still there." At first, I thought this was some reference to the so-called 'glass ceiling' then I realised it was meant to refer to the Queen. God Bless you Ma'am, but I don't know may people (male or female) who'd want your job for love or money. And that ad got me thinking. Yes, women are so much better off in 2012 than we were in 1952. Women in 2012 go on holiday on their own, they go to the pub on their own. We earn our own money and we have free reign over our bodies. We dress how we please and we please ourselves. To be fair, I consider myself a feminist (did that word even exist in the 1950's?) The word has been bandied around and used as an insult for a while. But women's rights still matter.
We may have never had it so good in the UK, on the first day of these Diamond Jubilee celebrations, but consider other parts of the world. In Afghanistan, there are peace talks which involve the Taliban. Is this peace at any price, and if so, is it worth it? President Obama recently said "We are better off when women are treated fairly and equally in every respect, whether it is the salary you earn or the health decisions that you make,". "Fight for your seat at the table, or better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.". Mr Obama, does this only matter in the West? Are you really going to subject Afghan women again to a lack of education, a lack of medical care and a life of not being able to leave the house on their own. The coalition forces are desperate to get out of Afghanistan, seeing it as a war they can't win. But at what cost to the rights of women? "Men are fundamental and women are secondary," the Ulama Council said in a statement on Friday, according to a translation by the Afghanistan Analysts Network. President Hamid Karzai published the statement on his website. So what happens now? Do the Western powers pull out, having given the Taliban some form of power in the new Afghan government? At what cost to the women there? And will a million people march through the streets of London to protest against that? I would certainly. Watch this space.
We may have never had it so good in the UK, on the first day of these Diamond Jubilee celebrations, but consider other parts of the world. In Afghanistan, there are peace talks which involve the Taliban. Is this peace at any price, and if so, is it worth it? President Obama recently said "We are better off when women are treated fairly and equally in every respect, whether it is the salary you earn or the health decisions that you make,". "Fight for your seat at the table, or better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.". Mr Obama, does this only matter in the West? Are you really going to subject Afghan women again to a lack of education, a lack of medical care and a life of not being able to leave the house on their own. The coalition forces are desperate to get out of Afghanistan, seeing it as a war they can't win. But at what cost to the rights of women? "Men are fundamental and women are secondary," the Ulama Council said in a statement on Friday, according to a translation by the Afghanistan Analysts Network. President Hamid Karzai published the statement on his website. So what happens now? Do the Western powers pull out, having given the Taliban some form of power in the new Afghan government? At what cost to the women there? And will a million people march through the streets of London to protest against that? I would certainly. Watch this space.
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