I'm leaving this one as "public"...
I *was* going to post this really long rant about work. How they very nicely cut my hours to zero because I "declined" a full day's shift, after discussing with the roster-girl three times that I was not prepared to do more than 2 three-hour shifts per week. And after telling me twice (I checked twice) that my hours for Friday were 2-5, she tells me, as I'm asking at 5pm for my replacement to take over, that my hours are 2-5:45, and that they need people to stay until 6pm. We argue briefly (on the internal phone), and she says "Well I'll just have to think if I'm going to have any hours for you in future". I knock off, and take some paperwork to the desk, and she says she has no hours for me at all next week. I'll be damned if I'll be bullied into hours I don't want. If they give them to me, it means they are taking them off other girls - and most of them need the hours more than I do.
But I won't rant anymore about that, simply because I still *officially* have a job, and there *might* be the possibility of getting a transfer to my local store (1km from home as opposed to the current 10km).
And my little problems pale into total insignificance when I see this lovely little headline in my RSS ticker:
13-year-old girl dies during female circumcision
August 11, 2007 07:36pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse
A 13-YEAR-OLD Egyptian girl has died during an illegal operation to mutilate her genitalia, the Al-Masri Al-Yom daily has reported.
Karima Rahim Massud died as the result of problems with the anasthaesia in the Nile Delta village of Gharbiya.
Her death was discovered after her father sought a death certificate from another doctor.
The medical practice where the operation took place has been closed, and the doctor is being interrogated, the newspaper said.
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a practice that dates back to pharaonic times in Egypt.
It is common in a band that stretches from Senegal in West Africa to Somalia on the east coast, and from Egypt in the north to Tanzania in the south.
The practice, which affects both Muslim and Christian women in Egypt, was banned in 1997 but doctors were allowed to operate "in exceptional cases.''
Female circumcision can cause death through haemorrhaging and later complications during childbirth.
It also carries risks of infection, urinary tract problems and mental trauma.
In June, following the death of 12-year-old Bedur Ahmed Shaker, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali issued a decree banning every doctor and member of the medical profession from performing the procedure.
The ban must still be translated into law and could face a tough debate in parliament, but is likely to be passed.
A government survey in 2000 said the practice was carried out on 97 percent of the country's women aged between 15 and 45 years of age.
Religious leaders, usually silent on taboos relating to female sexuality, have also started to speak out against the practice, which many Egyptians believe is a duty under Islam and Christianity.
After the death of Bedur Shaker, chief mufti Ali Gomaa declared female circumcision forbidden under Islam.
Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the sheikh of Al-Azhar university, the top Sunni Muslim authority, and Coptic Patriarch Chenouda III also declared it had "no foundation in the religious texts" of either Islam or Christianity.
I am appalled that this practice is still happening in the 21st century. It is barbaric at the very least, and I am almost at a loss for words. And despite the apparent 'banning' of this practice, I am certain it will continue, despite the fact it has no basis in the religions of Islam or Christianity.
Female genital mutilation (What is FGM?) is not done for medical reasons. It is not done for social reasons, or even truly religious reasons. It is done purely to control the women of these countries - to maintain their subservience to the men of the country - to keep them in line. The women who have FGM's done are scarred and in constant pain for the rest of their lives. They often have to be "re-opened" every time her husband wished to have intercourse with her, causing untold pain, bleeding and more scarring, which makes it worse the next time he wants what he wants. They experience absolutely no pleasure from any sexual encounter - the idea of FGM is to remove the regions which allow the female to experience pleasure, meaning she is less likely to stray. ARGH!
Do we still live in the dark ages? Or have we actually crossed into the 21st century at all? I am completely dumbfounded that those organisations that have fought so hard against FGM over the years have not made it public that they are still happening! I can't believe that these human rights abuses are still going on - in supposedly civilised countries such as Egypt! I am gobsmacked the human rights groups have not kept this issue at the forefront of public knowledge! The cynic in me just knows this is simply further proof of the way women are seen the world over. We are still second-class, or in this case, far lower-class citizens. Females will never achieve equality with men. Not while this kind of abuse is allowed to continue.
I found this article about the UN stepping up their efforts to stop FGM:
By Mona Ghuneim
New York
10 August 2007
Two U.N. agencies are trying to end the practice of female genital mutilation in Africa by launching a $44 million program that will fund efforts in various African communities. With a goal to reduce the number of cases by 40 percent in 16 African nations by 2015, the agencies this week announced a joint initiative, which comes on the heels of last week's meeting in Addis Ababa on ways to stop the procedure. From VOA's New York Bureau, Mona Ghuneim reports.
Aminata Toure says the new initiative by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will focus on "blocks of countries" in Africa including Senegal, Guinea and Ghana, the Horn of Africa, and Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia. The chief advisor on gender and human rights at UNFPA says the agencies will work across borders to encourage communities, rather than nations, to abandon the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).
"What we are trying to do is not to go by countries, per se, but we are looking at blocks of countries, because the practice is more ethnic-based than country based. For instance, you have the Somali group which is between Kenya and Somalia so both countries will be represented," she said.
Toure says that while both agencies have separate programs focusing on reducing FGM in Africa, and worldwide, this is the first time they have worked together on the issue. She says that the joint endeavour will help to combine strategies and strengthen efforts to eradicate the practice. While funding is important, she says, the work needs to go beyond just financing. She says that many of the African nations have laws against the practice, but they need to enforce them.
"We would like to develop strategies that will help enforcement," she added. "It goes from training law enforcement agents to working with media, working with the health sector, politicians, decision makers so they come out and speak out."
Toure says the issue needs to remain high on the international agenda. She says that while she sees a decrease worldwide of FGM, the goal to end the practice within a generation cannot be achieved unless it is a priority.
"It's very critical that we address the issue because we do know the dramatic consequences in terms of the violations of rights of women, in terms of suffering, in terms of risk," she explained. "It [the issue] has to also be mainstream within women's empowerment programs. I mean we are in the 21st Century. This should not happen anywhere."
According to the United Nations, between two million and 3 million women and girls worldwide are still subjected to female genital mutilation on an annual basis.
Note that last sentence. Between 2 and 3 million women and girls worldwide are still subjected to this barbarism every year! That's more than the entire population of Perth, Aus (1,507,900 in 2006), more than three times the population of Cambridgeshire, UK (750,000 in 2005), more than five times the population of Miami, FL (404,048 in 2006), more than the populations of Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Akron, and Dayton (all OH) put together (total 1,881,028 at last census)! This is an absolutely horrific statistic!
I am so angry right now I could cry. I have just spent the better part of the last two hours sitting here, alternating between adding bits here and researching how the hell I can support those who can bring and end to this awful act. I am at a loss at the latter, though (although I *have* just signed up with Amnesty), as there is not a lot of action happening on this front. I am planning emails/letters to the UN and WHO, and anyone else I can think of - but what else can I do?
But I won't rant anymore about that, simply because I still *officially* have a job, and there *might* be the possibility of getting a transfer to my local store (1km from home as opposed to the current 10km).
And my little problems pale into total insignificance when I see this lovely little headline in my RSS ticker:
13-year-old girl dies during female circumcision
August 11, 2007 07:36pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse
A 13-YEAR-OLD Egyptian girl has died during an illegal operation to mutilate her genitalia, the Al-Masri Al-Yom daily has reported.
Karima Rahim Massud died as the result of problems with the anasthaesia in the Nile Delta village of Gharbiya.
Her death was discovered after her father sought a death certificate from another doctor.
The medical practice where the operation took place has been closed, and the doctor is being interrogated, the newspaper said.
Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is a practice that dates back to pharaonic times in Egypt.
It is common in a band that stretches from Senegal in West Africa to Somalia on the east coast, and from Egypt in the north to Tanzania in the south.
The practice, which affects both Muslim and Christian women in Egypt, was banned in 1997 but doctors were allowed to operate "in exceptional cases.''
Female circumcision can cause death through haemorrhaging and later complications during childbirth.
It also carries risks of infection, urinary tract problems and mental trauma.
In June, following the death of 12-year-old Bedur Ahmed Shaker, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali issued a decree banning every doctor and member of the medical profession from performing the procedure.
The ban must still be translated into law and could face a tough debate in parliament, but is likely to be passed.
A government survey in 2000 said the practice was carried out on 97 percent of the country's women aged between 15 and 45 years of age.
Religious leaders, usually silent on taboos relating to female sexuality, have also started to speak out against the practice, which many Egyptians believe is a duty under Islam and Christianity.
After the death of Bedur Shaker, chief mufti Ali Gomaa declared female circumcision forbidden under Islam.
Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the sheikh of Al-Azhar university, the top Sunni Muslim authority, and Coptic Patriarch Chenouda III also declared it had "no foundation in the religious texts" of either Islam or Christianity.
I am appalled that this practice is still happening in the 21st century. It is barbaric at the very least, and I am almost at a loss for words. And despite the apparent 'banning' of this practice, I am certain it will continue, despite the fact it has no basis in the religions of Islam or Christianity.
Female genital mutilation (What is FGM?) is not done for medical reasons. It is not done for social reasons, or even truly religious reasons. It is done purely to control the women of these countries - to maintain their subservience to the men of the country - to keep them in line. The women who have FGM's done are scarred and in constant pain for the rest of their lives. They often have to be "re-opened" every time her husband wished to have intercourse with her, causing untold pain, bleeding and more scarring, which makes it worse the next time he wants what he wants. They experience absolutely no pleasure from any sexual encounter - the idea of FGM is to remove the regions which allow the female to experience pleasure, meaning she is less likely to stray. ARGH!
Do we still live in the dark ages? Or have we actually crossed into the 21st century at all? I am completely dumbfounded that those organisations that have fought so hard against FGM over the years have not made it public that they are still happening! I can't believe that these human rights abuses are still going on - in supposedly civilised countries such as Egypt! I am gobsmacked the human rights groups have not kept this issue at the forefront of public knowledge! The cynic in me just knows this is simply further proof of the way women are seen the world over. We are still second-class, or in this case, far lower-class citizens. Females will never achieve equality with men. Not while this kind of abuse is allowed to continue.
I found this article about the UN stepping up their efforts to stop FGM:
By Mona Ghuneim
New York
10 August 2007
Two U.N. agencies are trying to end the practice of female genital mutilation in Africa by launching a $44 million program that will fund efforts in various African communities. With a goal to reduce the number of cases by 40 percent in 16 African nations by 2015, the agencies this week announced a joint initiative, which comes on the heels of last week's meeting in Addis Ababa on ways to stop the procedure. From VOA's New York Bureau, Mona Ghuneim reports.
Aminata Toure says the new initiative by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will focus on "blocks of countries" in Africa including Senegal, Guinea and Ghana, the Horn of Africa, and Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia. The chief advisor on gender and human rights at UNFPA says the agencies will work across borders to encourage communities, rather than nations, to abandon the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).
"What we are trying to do is not to go by countries, per se, but we are looking at blocks of countries, because the practice is more ethnic-based than country based. For instance, you have the Somali group which is between Kenya and Somalia so both countries will be represented," she said.
Toure says that while both agencies have separate programs focusing on reducing FGM in Africa, and worldwide, this is the first time they have worked together on the issue. She says that the joint endeavour will help to combine strategies and strengthen efforts to eradicate the practice. While funding is important, she says, the work needs to go beyond just financing. She says that many of the African nations have laws against the practice, but they need to enforce them.
"We would like to develop strategies that will help enforcement," she added. "It goes from training law enforcement agents to working with media, working with the health sector, politicians, decision makers so they come out and speak out."
Toure says the issue needs to remain high on the international agenda. She says that while she sees a decrease worldwide of FGM, the goal to end the practice within a generation cannot be achieved unless it is a priority.
"It's very critical that we address the issue because we do know the dramatic consequences in terms of the violations of rights of women, in terms of suffering, in terms of risk," she explained. "It [the issue] has to also be mainstream within women's empowerment programs. I mean we are in the 21st Century. This should not happen anywhere."
According to the United Nations, between two million and 3 million women and girls worldwide are still subjected to female genital mutilation on an annual basis.
Note that last sentence. Between 2 and 3 million women and girls worldwide are still subjected to this barbarism every year! That's more than the entire population of Perth, Aus (1,507,900 in 2006), more than three times the population of Cambridgeshire, UK (750,000 in 2005), more than five times the population of Miami, FL (404,048 in 2006), more than the populations of Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Akron, and Dayton (all OH) put together (total 1,881,028 at last census)! This is an absolutely horrific statistic!
I am so angry right now I could cry. I have just spent the better part of the last two hours sitting here, alternating between adding bits here and researching how the hell I can support those who can bring and end to this awful act. I am at a loss at the latter, though (although I *have* just signed up with Amnesty), as there is not a lot of action happening on this front. I am planning emails/letters to the UN and WHO, and anyone else I can think of - but what else can I do?