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Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts

Sunday, September 12, 2010

here's the really radical news: patriarchy is dead. It's dead simplistic, dead inaccurate, and no longer a useful way of framing gender inequality in the UK

 

| Nichi Hodgson | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

 

From reclaiming the F word to objecting to objectification – there's a new feminist army determined to finally flatten the patriarchy. But here's the really radical news: patriarchy is dead. It's dead simplistic, dead inaccurate, and no longer a useful way of framing gender inequality in the UK. Forget about castrating patriarchy – it's time to corral kyriarchy, the system identified by Harvard theologian Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, which explains how ethnicity, class, economics and education, as well as gender, intersect to oppress us all, men as well as women.

So, kyriarchy: the substitution of one elitist, etymological hair-splitting term for another, I hear my newly estranged sisters cry – just what feminism needs. But this is a neologism with a difference. Where patriarchy – literally, rule of the father – explains only how traditional male authority dictates to, and subjugates women, kyriarchy (from the Greek: kyrios – lord/master; archion – dominion/rule) relates how each of us, whatever our gender, is a bundle of privileges we can all too readily abuse by invoking the "master power", whether that's as a black female barrister, a mixed-race trans male teacher, or a white immigrant male labourer. At the same time, the term's connotations of elite authority perfectly tap into the legacy of oppression that western feminists, from Mary Wollstonecraft to Germaine Greer, have dedicatedly derided.

Scoff at my linguistic parsing, but terminology matters. Just as contemporary feminism is so keen to detox the term "feminist", so "patriarchy" carries a whole truckload of outdated assumptions about male-perpetuated oppression that blinker us all. Take porn for example. Patriarchy just isn't useful when we want to talk about how its proliferation is negatively impacting on men and women alike. Kyriarchy, by contrast, accounts for the increasing numbers of men who are suffering from sexual performance anxiety or emotional disconnection with women, which can be related to x-rated overconsumption, and how female performers, who can make good money out of being the object of both male and female desire and envy, can argue they are somewhat empowered by doing so. This isn't to claim porn stars as emancipated feminist role models; it's just to recognise that sexual allure and money, rightly or wrongly, accord power that oppresses too.

Kyriarchy links the latest feminist wave to decades of activism, while better framing today's more subtle oppressions. It helps us to recognise the interconnection of education, class and eating disorders such as anorexia, and of domestic violence and poverty, rather than encouraging us to indiscriminately blame men. It contextualises the contempt of working-class male unionists towards Margaret Thatcher. It helps to explain how women themselves can in some cases morph into the supremacist bully, when paranoid mothers pass on anxieties about food and bodies to their daughters, ground down themselves by years of trying to live up to constructed notions of beauty.

Perhaps most importantly, kyriarchy exposes a sin within the women's movement itself: that of feminist-perpetuated oppression. (I can already hear feminists hissing at me as I type. But don't worry – I'll hiss at myself in the mirror later for perpetuating the stereotype of internecine cat-fighting.) When feminist commentators and charities working to "liberate" sex workers relate their tales for them, rather than letting them speak first-hand, that's kyriarchy. It's also kyriarchy when minority male feminists are forced to veto voting rights in equality action groups because they are male.

Kyriarchy has the potential to settle the age-old argument about "privileged" feminism once and for all. Perhaps that's why it's so frightening to those that balk at the term, and will dismiss this as yet another example of woman-eating-woman. It may feel counterintuitive, but recognising your own privilege doesn't make the struggle for gender equality any less credible: it makes it more so, by allowing feminists to see that advantages – such as being born to a semi-prosperous family or being well-educated – don't necessarily protect against, say, rape.

Whatever British feminism has achieved, it has never managed to fully convince men to get their march on. At least kyriarchy, with its emphasis on individual liberation and social equality, gives guys a chance to whinge about how they're oppressed too. And not just by the feminists.

 

 

here's the really radical news: patriarchy is dead. It's dead simplistic, dead inaccurate, and no longer a useful way of framing gender inequality in the UK

 

| Nichi Hodgson | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

 

From reclaiming the F word to objecting to objectification – there's a new feminist army determined to finally flatten the patriarchy. But here's the really radical news: patriarchy is dead. It's dead simplistic, dead inaccurate, and no longer a useful way of framing gender inequality in the UK. Forget about castrating patriarchy – it's time to corral kyriarchy, the system identified by Harvard theologian Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, which explains how ethnicity, class, economics and education, as well as gender, intersect to oppress us all, men as well as women.

So, kyriarchy: the substitution of one elitist, etymological hair-splitting term for another, I hear my newly estranged sisters cry – just what feminism needs. But this is a neologism with a difference. Where patriarchy – literally, rule of the father – explains only how traditional male authority dictates to, and subjugates women, kyriarchy (from the Greek: kyrios – lord/master; archion – dominion/rule) relates how each of us, whatever our gender, is a bundle of privileges we can all too readily abuse by invoking the "master power", whether that's as a black female barrister, a mixed-race trans male teacher, or a white immigrant male labourer. At the same time, the term's connotations of elite authority perfectly tap into the legacy of oppression that western feminists, from Mary Wollstonecraft to Germaine Greer, have dedicatedly derided.

Scoff at my linguistic parsing, but terminology matters. Just as contemporary feminism is so keen to detox the term "feminist", so "patriarchy" carries a whole truckload of outdated assumptions about male-perpetuated oppression that blinker us all. Take porn for example. Patriarchy just isn't useful when we want to talk about how its proliferation is negatively impacting on men and women alike. Kyriarchy, by contrast, accounts for the increasing numbers of men who are suffering from sexual performance anxiety or emotional disconnection with women, which can be related to x-rated overconsumption, and how female performers, who can make good money out of being the object of both male and female desire and envy, can argue they are somewhat empowered by doing so. This isn't to claim porn stars as emancipated feminist role models; it's just to recognise that sexual allure and money, rightly or wrongly, accord power that oppresses too.

Kyriarchy links the latest feminist wave to decades of activism, while better framing today's more subtle oppressions. It helps us to recognise the interconnection of education, class and eating disorders such as anorexia, and of domestic violence and poverty, rather than encouraging us to indiscriminately blame men. It contextualises the contempt of working-class male unionists towards Margaret Thatcher. It helps to explain how women themselves can in some cases morph into the supremacist bully, when paranoid mothers pass on anxieties about food and bodies to their daughters, ground down themselves by years of trying to live up to constructed notions of beauty.

Perhaps most importantly, kyriarchy exposes a sin within the women's movement itself: that of feminist-perpetuated oppression. (I can already hear feminists hissing at me as I type. But don't worry – I'll hiss at myself in the mirror later for perpetuating the stereotype of internecine cat-fighting.) When feminist commentators and charities working to "liberate" sex workers relate their tales for them, rather than letting them speak first-hand, that's kyriarchy. It's also kyriarchy when minority male feminists are forced to veto voting rights in equality action groups because they are male.

Kyriarchy has the potential to settle the age-old argument about "privileged" feminism once and for all. Perhaps that's why it's so frightening to those that balk at the term, and will dismiss this as yet another example of woman-eating-woman. It may feel counterintuitive, but recognising your own privilege doesn't make the struggle for gender equality any less credible: it makes it more so, by allowing feminists to see that advantages – such as being born to a semi-prosperous family or being well-educated – don't necessarily protect against, say, rape.

Whatever British feminism has achieved, it has never managed to fully convince men to get their march on. At least kyriarchy, with its emphasis on individual liberation and social equality, gives guys a chance to whinge about how they're oppressed too. And not just by the feminists.

 

 

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Declaration of rights

Declaration of principles « Paulo Coelho’s Blog
Paulo Coelho

1] All men are different. And should do everything possible to continue to be so.

2] Each human being has been granted two courses of action: that of deed and that of contemplation. Both lead to the same place.

3] Each human being has been granted two qualities: power and gift. Power drives man to meet his destiny, his gift obliges him to share with others that which is good in him. A man must know when to use his power, and when to use his gift.

4] Each human being has been granted a virtue: the capacity to choose. For he who does not use this virtue, it becomes a curse – and others will always choose for him.

5] Each human being has the right to two blessings, which are: the blessing to do right, and the blessing to err. In the latter case, there is always a path of learning leading to the right way.

6] Each human being has his own sexual profile, and should exercise it without guilt – provided he does not oblige others to exercise it with him.

7] Each human being has his own Personal Legend to be fulfilled, and this is the reason he is in the world. The Personal Legend is manifest in his enthusiasm for what he does.
Single paragraph – the Personal Legend may be abandoned for a certain time, provided one does not forget it and returns as soon as possible.

8] Each man has a feminine side, and each woman has a masculine side. It is necessary to use discipline with intuition, and to use intuition objectively.

9] Each human being must know two languages: the language of society and the language of the omens. The first serves for communication with others. The second serves to interpret messages from God.

10] Each human being has the right to seek out joy, joy being understood as something which makes one content – not necessarily that which makes others content.

11] Each human being must keep alight within him the sacred flame of madness. And must behave like a normal person.

12] The only faults considered grave are the following: not respecting the rights of one’s neighbor, letting oneself be paralyzed by fear, feeling guilty, thinking one does not deserve the good and bad which occurs in life, and being a coward.
Paragraph 1 – we shall love our adversaries, but not make alliances with them. They are placed in our way to test our sword, and deserve the respect of our fight.
Paragraph 2 – we shall choose our adversaries, not the other way around.

12A] We hereby declare the end to the wall dividing the sacred from the profane: from now on, all is sacred.

14] Everything which is done in the present, affects the future by consequence, and the past by redemption.

15] Dispensations to the contrary are herewith revoked.


Sunday, January 03, 2010

Case : Bellair Cafe and Music Lounge

I just don't understand the establishment of law enforcement in this country. The local police here raid the dancers and closed the music lounge in Jalan Tjokroaminoto, Bandung. Why you guys can't leave them alone. Do they break the law? Why don't you just raid the customers. The police treatment to the dancers whom are suspected as stripteases, is unfair. They just do their job to survive.  Police should not violate their rights. Anyway, I don't want to judge, but human rights should be defended. 

detikBandung : Polisi Belum Tetapkan Tersangka

Satreskrim Polwiltabes Bandung hingga kini belum menetapkan tersangka dalam kasus penggerebekan Bellair Cafe and Music Lounge yang diduga menampilkan tarian striptis, Jumat pagi lalu (1/1/2010). Polisi masih berkoordinasi dengan pihak kejaksaan.

"Kami masih upayakan koordinasi dengan JPU (jaksa penuntut umum-red), mengingat mereka (penari-red) masih menggunakan busana. Belum ada tersangka," ujar Kasatreskrim Polwiltabes Bandung AKBP Arman Achdiat melalui pesan singkatnya kepada wartawan, Minggu (3/1/2010).

Hingga kini, kata dia, pihak penyidik masih terus melakukan pemeriksaan terhadap empat penari yang semuanya wanita dan satu pengelola Bellair.

Sekitar pukul 05.00 WIB, Jumat pagi lalu, polisi menggerebek Bellair Cafe and Music Lounge di Paskal Hyper Square, Jalan HOS Tjokroaminoto, setelah sebelumnya mendapat kabar ada penampilan tarian striptis di kafe tersebut.


Wednesday, May 06, 2009

EXONERATED : $31 PER HOUR IN PRISON

$3.25m payout to Andrew Mallard for wrongful jailing | National News | News.com.au
$3.25m payout to Andrew Mallard for wrongful jailing

By staff writers

The Sunday Times

A WEST Australian man has expressed his "extreme disappointment" at being awarded $3.25m compensation for more than 12 years in jail following his wrongful conviction for murder.

.Andrew Mallard was convicted of the 1994 murder of Mosman Park jeweller Pamela Lawrence.

PerthNow reports that WA Attorney General Christian Porter today announced that the Government had settled with Mr Mallard after lengthy negotiations.

Mr Mallard said he was "extremely disappointed" with the figure.

"I will be conferring with my lawyers," Mr Mallard told Fairfax.

Labor MP John Quigley, a close friend of Mr Mallard who fought for his release from prison, said $7.5 million was being sought following independent legal advice Mr Mallard had received.


"One thing I can say with absolute confidence about this offer - Premier Barnett and Christian Porter wouldn't accept this in return for 12 years jail and the destruction of their life," Mr Quigley said.

"Why should Andrew's life be valued at a lesser rate than Colin Barnett's or Christian Porter's?

"In fact this sum equates to approximately to what Colin Barnett will get from the parliamentary super scheme when he retires."

Initially, he had asked for $10 million in compensation for the 12 years he spent behind bars for a crime he didn't commit - the 1994 murder of Mosman Park jeweller Pamela Lawrence.

Mr Quigley said Attorney-General Christian Porter had indicated he was preparing to offer a multimillion-dollar ex-gratia payout to Mr Mallard.

He said the police and some individual officers would be sued if Mr Mallard was short-changed.

Mr Quigley said Mr Mallard endured emotional and physical trauma during his time in prison.

"Andrew, because he wouldn't admit his guilt in prison, was shipped off to a psychiatric hospital and injected with drugs principally because he refused to admit his guilt,'' he said.


Scott of Hobart Posted at 8:16pm today

    In the UK, people who have been wrongly incarcerated have room and board costs deducted from any compensation payment they may be awarded.. This happened only a few weeks ago, when Sean Hodgson was released after 27 years in prison. His lawyers estimate 100,000 pounds as a figure. Google it if you think it can't be true!

Cory of Perth Posted at 8:14pm today

    Wow this is really much much less than I expected. Although they have said that he can continue civil action in a court of law, and that this is sort of a pre-payment. So if he is awarded more in the court he would get (Amount Awarded - 3.25M). PS for those of you who say $300k is a lot of money for a "job" every year, most of us don't work 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, for 12 years in any job! It works out to LESS THAN $31 PER HOUR IN PRISON!

Monday, May 04, 2009

Illegal immigrants who overstay visas will no longer be put in detention camps

ILLEGAL immigrants will no longer be locked up and deported when caught by authorities, in a major softening of immigration procedures.

Instead, people who overstay their visas will be invited into an immigration office and could even get temporary bridging visas.

Immigration officers have been instructed not to detain visa violators unless they are known to be violent criminals or have previously been instructed to leave.

Until last week, illegal foreigners were immediately detained at detention centres and put on planes home within weeks.

The new approach is in line with a general softening of immigration policy by the Rudd Government.

Under the policy, officers are required to issue illegal foreigners with bridging visas and work with them to get them home.

"We basically have to invite them into the office for a coffee," an insider within the department said.

"They can get a couple of weeks or six months, whatever it takes to get them home without detaining them."

Mandatory detention was axed last year, but until now only asylum seekers have been allowed to live in the community.

The new directive from Immigration Minister Chris Evans' office was issued to immigration officers verbally last week.

There are almost 50,000 visa overstayers living illegally in Australia.

More than one in 10 is from China.

Entrants from the US, Malaysia and Britain are also big overstayers.

Most come in on tourist visas, but about 3600 are foreign students who disappear into the community when their course is over.

The Government has also closed down offshore processing facilities on Nauru and Manus Island.

Senator Evans' directive has divided opinion within department ranks, with some fearing the softer approach could send a dangerous message.

"I guess it says people can pretty much do whatever they want now," the insider said.

"They've been caught, but they can stay and go home when they want."

The move could open the floodgates for unwelcome visitors.

"It certainly could be open for exploitation," the insider said. "Prisons are not nice places to be in. Many of these people are not criminals, but I guess it doesn't convey a strong message."

Senator Evans said detention would only be used as a last resort.

"The presumption will be that persons will remain in the community while their immigration status is resolved," he said.

"If a person is complying with immigration processes and is not a risk to the community, then detention in a detention centre cannot be justified.

"The department will have to justify a decision to detain - not presume detention."