Femagination » International

Tuesday Tirade: Tough Talk About Immigration

Ellen Keim — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 10:15:05 +0000

Imagine you come from an area in Mexico where hundreds of women have been murdered over the last couple of decades. Or that you live in a neighborhood where you have to worry about gunfire as you take your children to school. You want a better life for yourself and your children. You decide to emigrate to the U.S. But doing it legally could, and often does, take years. Your children are young now.

Personally, I think immigration policy in this country is, and always has been, too restrictive. We are a huge country, with plenty of room and resources to support many more people than now live here. We just don’t want to share. We don’t want to have to make accommodations. And we most certainly don’t want to take on the problems of other countries.

Well, guess what, folks? We’re going to be affected by world-wide events whether we like it or not. Take Arizona for instance. From what I’ve read, Arizona has good reason to fear the violence coming over its borders from the south. But is the answer to stop any suspicious person on the street, demand identification and possibly arrest them? All we can do is deport them. What does that solve?

We need to work harder to forge alliances with the countries we interact with so that we can aid them in their efforts to better their situations. Instead, we stick our noses in their business, stir things up and then refuse their people access to our country when they find life untenable in their own.

Take Iraq for instance. I’m against the war, and always have been. But even if I were behind it, I would still feel that we need to help those whose lives we’ve disrupted. Instead, we make it next to impossible for an Iraqi to emigrate to the U.S. Even those who have served as translators for the U.S., and are at risk from reprisals, find it difficult to find refuge in America.

There are several issues related to immigration that we need to come to terms with:

Racial profiling, both here in the States and overseas. Our immigration policies favor certain ethnicities and nationalities. If we don’t like them, we don’t let them in. And once they’re here, we make them feel unwelcome.
Self-interest. We ask not what we can do for others, but what they can do for us. That’s the bottom line. And we consider ourselves a Christian nation.
Favoring the most fortunate. Instead of offering refuge to those who are most vulnerable, we leave women and children, for example, in the lurch. Too bad for them.
Being influenced by fear-mongers. Those who whip up anti-immigrant sentiments usually do so with fear tactics. We never stop to ask ourselves if their tirades have any basis in fact.
Thinking that there is only one kind of acceptable ‘American.’ We all have this ideal in our minds of what makes a true American and if a prospective immigrant doesn’t fit the profile, we don’t want him or her.
Being selfish. We just don’t want to share even though we have more to offer than almost any other country in the world. Part of the problem is that we use more resources per capita than any other country in the world. We don’t know how to, or don’t want to, divvy up our resources.
Arrogance. We assume that everyone in the world would storm our borders if we had a more open immigration policy. Well, guess what? Not everyone wants to live in in the U.S., often for very good reasons. Contrary to popular belief, there are other quality places to live in the world.

I don’t propose to be an expert about immigration, and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would like to set me straight. I’m also sure that I would be labeled a “bleeding-heart liberal.” If that means that I think our country should put its resources where its values are, then I’m guilty as charged.

“The Hijabi Monologues” Are Almost Here!

Ellen Keim — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:42:06 +0000

“The Hijabi Monologues” will be performed at Ohio State University on April 30th and May 1st, 2010.

This really is a unique opportunity. We will have performers coming from New York and Canada!

The Hijabi Monologues have been performed throughout the US (Yale University, all over California, South Florida, DC, New York and even Egypt)! This isn’t only a performance, but a movement.

Also, please reserve through Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=110201418#!/event.php?eid=112341082112135&ref=ts

For more information, refer to my earlier post about the tryouts.

Something Old, Something New: Body Art for Weddings

Ellen Keim — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:44:56 +0000

One way to celebrate your wedding day and to make a really unique fashion statement is through the use of body art. The reason I called this post “Something Old, Something New” is because body art for weddings has been around for centuries, but is a relatively new concept for modern-day brides who are not from any particular religious traditoin. The three main options are mehndi, body painting, and tattoos, both temporary and permanent.

Mehndi

Mehndi is the application of henna in elaborate designs which last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. The most common areas for mehndi designs are the feet and the hands because the designs last the longest in those areas. But they can be, and often are, applied anywhere on the body. And mehndi is not just for the bride; the bridegroom can be decorated as well.

The use of mehndi for weddings and other special occasions is traditional in Southeast Asian ethnicities, among others, and probably dates back to ancient India. Many Muslims employ mehndi practices because they were used in the day of the Prophet Mohammad. The designs, which can take many hours to set, are applied ceremoniously in special gatherings of women, much like a modern-day bachelorette party.

The designs themselves can be as simple or as complicated as you want them. Often symbols of love, union and harmony or the names of the bride and groom are incorporated into the designs. If you’re interested in a mehndi design for your wedding, the best place to look for a mehndi artist is among ethnic communities, such as Southeast Asians, Somalis, or Muslims in general. You may have to advertise for their services.

Body painting

Body painting is another option. It’s more versatile than mehndi color-wise (henna creates a red-brown coloration–be cautious about black colors as they often use dangerous dyes) but also more difficult to employ because it has to be done the day of the wedding. The designs can be anything you want and in any colors, although if you want small, intricate designs, you might be better off to go with mehndi. One of the nicest uses of body painting I’ve seen was a fairly simple design in white (and possibly another accent colot) painted on the forehead in a kind of bindi design. (Sorry I couldn’t find an illustration; it was in a book I no longer have.)

Body painters may be a little easier to find than mehndi artists, but you may also need to advertise for one. Consider using a student from a local art school. Body painting supplies can be ordered from the Internet. One suggestion I ran across was to have a body/face painter at the reception, especially if there are going to be a lot of children there. But more than likely, you’ll want to keep this effect for yourself.

Tattoos

If you’re very daring–and ready to make the commitment–a permanent tattoo can be the way to go. I would go with something discrete that fits in with your wedding dress. You’ll want to get it done in enough time for it to heal completely before the wedding (and honeymoon). But another way to go is a temporary tattoo. I found an especially nice source on the Internet called I Do Tattoos. They only have a few designs but they’re all tasteful and their color is blue (there’s your “something blue”). The cost is $36 and includes a folio of the tattoo for memory-keeping.

Visit Mehendi World for everything you might want to know about mendhi.

The Afghan Women’s Writing Project

Ellen Keim — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:13:22 +0000

The Afghan Women’s Writing Project was conceived by Masha Hamilton after her last trip to Afghanistan in 2008. She became concerned that we were losing the voices of Afghan women and came up with the Project as a way to have access to their hopes, fears and dreams not filtered through men or the media. All of the women write at least partially in secret and often go through a lot to gain access to a computer.

The Afghan women work with women writers from the U.S., who teach and encourage them in online workshops. Women writers are used because of cultural inhibitions about working with men. Submissions are edited in a back-and-forth process for grammar and clarity, but remain the works of the original authors. All the work done on behalf of the Project is done pro-bono.

Here is a particularly poignant excerpt from one of the pieces:

“Afghan women have wings for flying. Afghan women want to be free like other birds that fly into the blue sky. But ancient cultures and old thoughts have clipped their wings and, like birds alone in cages, they remain looking out, waiting to fly to the highest point in the sky.
“Afghan women quickly become old, their wishes carried with them to the grave. Still, their children remain, becoming brave women and men. Afghan women want their children to complete their wishes. Then the souls of Afghan women are happy.”

In addition to letting the voices of Afghan women be heard and instilling a sense of pride in them, the hope is that readers will gain a broader and deeper understanding of what life is like in Afghanistan for all its inhabitants.

Please take the time to leave a comment for the writers. They work in such isolation and under such difficult conditions that any feedback or commentary helps them know they are being heard and is greatly appreciated.

Donations are also welcomed for the purchasing of laptops and thumb drives for each of the Afghan women writers. They can then write in private where they will not attract undue attention and a sympathetic male can take the thumb drive to an Internet cafe and email their writings.

Here is a Fox news story about readings of these women’s writings done by professional actresses at the Museum of Tolerance.

Christine de Pizan: Early Feminist Writer and Historian

Ellen Keim — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:12:52 +0000

For Women’s History Month I’m going to include some brief histories of famous women you may not have heard of. The first of these is Christine de Pizan.

Christine de Pizan lecturing to a group of men.

Christine de Pizan has been called Europe’s first professional woman writer. Born in 1365, married at 15 and widowed at 24, she turned to writing to support her mother, niece and three young children. Uncommonly well-educated for a woman of her day, she wrote extensively about love and chivalry, mythology and legends, peace, history and the misogyny of male authors who she felt denigrated women in their writings.

She began her writing career composing love ballads for wealthy patrons in the court of Charles V of France, writing over 300 in a span of 20 years. She also wrote and became well-known for her poetry. But she gained prominence at the turn of the century when she dared to criticize the author of the thirteenth-century poem, “The Romance of the Rose,” Jean de Meun, for what she considered to be the slander of women. She specifically objected to his depiction of women as nothing more than seductresses.

From there she moved on to her most successful literary works, The Book of the City of Ladies and The Book of the Three Virtues (or The Treasure of the City of Ladies). In them she attempted to show the importance of women’s past contributions to society and to teach women how to develop qualities that could help to counteract the problem of misogyny. Her final work, Tale of Joan of Arc, is valued by historians because it is the only record of Joan of Arc besides the documents of her trial.

Caring For Women Around the World: International Women’s Day

Ellen Keim — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:20:07 +0000

One criticism of American feminism is that it has been too insular, too focused on issues that affect only American women. (This criticism is related to the one that it is also too white and middle-to-upper-class.) In recent decades this has been changing, but I think we are still too focused on the U.S. This isn’t surprising considering how few Americans pay any attention to what is going on around the world.

Participation in International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on March 8th, can help to correct that. IWD was first proposed by Clara Zetkin, a German activist who worked with Rosa Luxemburg and was a fighter for women’s rights. The first official observance was in 1911. (Next year will be its centennial celebration.) It was first celebrated by the United Nations in 1975, which also proclaimed that year to be “International Women’s Year.” (For a timeline relating to IWD, click here.)

1,000 Iranian women march in Tehran on IWD

IWD is now an official holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother’s Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

And yet IWD is still relatively unknown in the U.S. For example, there are 235 events scheduled in the United Kingdom and Ireland for this year but there are only 90 in the U.S. However, these are only events that have registered with the IWD website; we can only hope that there are more out there we just don’t know about. If you know of or are hosting an event and would like to share your information, click here.

Death Penalty For Gays?

Ellen Keim — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:38:11 +0000

A Huffington Post article on December 8, 2009 reported that legislation has been proposed in Uganda that would impose the death penalty for some gay Ugandans and put their family and friends in jail for up to seven years if they fail to report them. Gay rights activists contend that this bill is part of a reaction to Africa’s gay community becoming more vocal.

The article explains that “the Ugandan legislation in its current form would mandate a death sentence for active homosexuals living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. ‘Serial offenders’ also could face capital punishment, but the legislation does not define the term. Anyone convicted of a homosexual act faces life imprisonment.” In addition, “anyone who ‘aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage of acts of homosexuality’ faces seven years in prison if convicted. Landlords who rent rooms or homes to homosexuals also could get seven years and anyone with ‘religious, political, economic or social authority’ who fails to report anyone violating the act faces three years.”

Opponents point out that the bill signals a return to the brutal regime of Idi Amin, which would throw citizens in prison for life for merely touching another person in a gay way and put them to death if convicted of a crime called “aggravated homosexuality.”

Uganda is only one of several African nations who are criminalizing homosexuality, which they say is increasing because of “foreign influences.” High school teacher David Kisambra says that “the youths in secondary schools copy everything from the Western world and America. A good number of students have been converted into gays. We hear there are groups of people given money by some gay organizations in developed countries to recruit youth into gay activities.”

However, apparently there are also foreigners who are encouraging the Ugandan government’s homophobic reaction. According to the article, “The measure was proposed in Uganda following a visit by leaders of U.S. conservative Christian ministries that promote therapy for gays to become heterosexual. However, at least one of those leaders has denounced the bill, as have some other conservative and liberal Christians in the United States.”

Rachel Maddow, host of The Rachel Maddow Show, debated the point with Richard Cohen, author of Coming Out Straight. Here is a video of their exchange:

Health officials are concerned because they fear this will hinder efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. See “Stigma Driving AIDS Crisis Among African Gays.” I remember the AIDS hysteria in the U.S. in the ’80s. One of the most appalling things I heard during that time was that AIDS was God’s way of getting rid of homosexuals. The problem is, AIDS is also spread by men to women and is in fact the leading cause of death among African men and women. (The African Region has 11% of the world’s population, but an estimated 60% of people with HIV/AIDS.) Source: World Health Organization.

The only way to combat this disease is to let homosexuality out of the closet, not put it in prison.