Archive for category: Politics

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Increasing Political Participation for Women in Iran

Women in IranOn May 19th this year, Iranians held presidential and local elections in their country. This particular election saw an increase in registered women candidates, along with the number of elected women officials, bringing hope and giving voice to women in Iran at both the national and local level.

In some parts of the country, there was a 34 percent decrease in the number of women elected compared to 2013; however, although the number decreased in 16 provincial capitals, 3 remained the same, while 11, including Tehran, saw increases in women being elected to councils. Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province—an underdeveloped and impoverished area in the southeast of Iran with the highest percentage of illiterate girls and women in the country—saw a total of 415 women elected to office. In a village called Afzalabad located in the province’s Khash district, all of the 10 elected candidates were women.

Some of the concerns that women in Iran campaigned on included women’s civic engagement, citizens’ rights, employment, education, health and social security and welfare.

Recently, Iran’s newly reelected president Hassan Rouhani has been under pressure to appoint female ministers to his cabinet. During his last term, his all-male list of ministers disappointed his followers, even though he appointed a number of women to vice-president positions. Despite this, Shahindokht Molaverdi, Rouhani’s vice-president for women and family affairs, has won support among women’s rights advocates in Iran.

Ghonchech Ghavami, a leading women’s rights activist based out of Tehran, has said that “this structure has eliminated women on the excuse of meritocracy and experience but it looks like that main criteria for them is being male. That’s why appointing female ministers is symbolically important and would send a powerful signal in a country where politics still originates from men.”

One may find it surprising, though, that Iran as a whole has near-universal female literacy: women make up the majority (60 percent) of university students, as well as the majority of graduates earning degrees in science (68 percent). Furthermore, women in Iran are consistently outperforming their male counterparts.

Workplace biases in general are very much alive for women in Iran, and these biases often compel employers to hire male workers that are of identical or even lesser qualifications than their female counterparts. Although women in Iran have been as whole increasing their political participation within their government, they clearly still have a long way to go before achieving true gender equality.

– Sara Venusti

Photo: Flickr/span>

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Understanding How to Run for Office in the United States

How to Run for Office
If you feel like you want to make more of an impact in the political sphere outside of advocacy and voting, you may want to consider running for office. There are around 520,000 elective offices in the United States, meaning that more than one out of every thousand people in the U.S. are an elected official.

All citizens of the U.S. have the right to run for political office. If eligible, any average citizen can play a role in the government. However, not many Americans are taking advantage of this right. In 2012, about a third of the candidates running for a state legislative positions ran unopposed.

Many people do not run because they are not sure how to do so. To begin, you can use Run For Office’s website to search for public positions available near you. After you find the right fit, the next step is to run a campaign.

Here are some tips on how to run for office in the United States:

  1. Do plenty of research beforehand. Find out the requirements for the office such as age and residency. Understand how long the term is and what time commitment is required. Find out how much money is generally spent on successful campaigns. Once you understand the position and you feel comfortable that you can fulfill the requirements, you can begin planning your campaign.
  2. Running a campaign is a great deal of work, so you will need a good team behind you. Decide whether you want to be volunteer-based or whether you can hire professional help. Unless you plan on paying for everything, you’ll need to rely on others for fundraising as well. Start with family and friends and build a database of donors and supporters.
  3. In order to make your campaign official, you will need to file for office. You can figure out what the requirements are by filing a seat through your town clerk or Secretary of State. Make a comprehensive list of all the paperwork that needs to be completed, as well as all the deadlines so you stay on track. Look into the financing laws as well.
  4. Decide what you are running for – pick three issues your campaign is going to focus on and what you would want to work towards if you become elected. Then look at your own background and skill set and see how they will assist you in accomplishing your goals. Issue a profile for your campaign, then create an identifiable branding and message that will help people remember you and your views.
  5. Once you feel prepared, announce your intention to run. Preferably, do so with much press. Then you can begin to actively campaign. Go door to door. Print lawn signs. Keep up-to-date social media accounts. Go to events and get your name out there. Prepare a short 30-second appeal and a three-minute speech regarding your campaign and why you are running. Do what you can to publicize yourself and gain support.

Even if you have never held a political position, once you know how to run for office you have the power to do so. If you want to see changes made, if you want to do more for those who don’t have a voice, don’t stand around waiting – run for office.

– Hannah Kaiser

Photo: Unsplash

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Human Rights in Malawi

Human Rights in MalawHuman rights in Malawi have gone through periods of both exacerbation and improvement. The new constitution that was ratified in 1994 – which included a section specifically dedicated to human rights – guaranteed every individual’s right to life, right to be protected from genocide, entitlement to education and other basic rights. With the adoption of this constitution, multi-party democracy was introduced to the country’s government, which led many to expect noticeable improvement of human rights in Malawi.

Unfortunately, toward the end of the presidency of Bingu wa Mutharika, who died while in office in 2012, the situation worsened. As stated in the U.S. State Department’s 2010 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, numerous cases of the state’s violation of human rights were reported, such as: the security forces killing innocent individuals; torture, sexual abuse and other inhumane treatment of prisoners; and arbitrary arrest or detention.

Fortunately, inauguration of the new president Joyce Banda in April 2012 brought about positive changes to the country. While her attempt to overturn the law banning homosexuality turned out unsuccessful in the end, she did manage to repeal a section of Malawi’s penal code which banned all publication not to be deemed in the public interest. Moreover, she announced that she would arrest the infamous Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir – who was convicted of genocide – if he entered the Malawian territory. This helped her gain favor among international donors and improved Malawi’s international relations.

Although human rights in Malawi have improved, problems do still exist. For instance, since November 2014, people with albinism have faced an increased risk of being abducted or killed in murders associated with witchcraft. On March 9, 2017, four men attempted to drill through the house of Gilbert Daire, former president of the Association of the People with Albinism, while he was asleep. Highlighting the lack of protection and safety for people with albinism in Malawi, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Southern Africa, Deprose Muchena, strongly suggested that the “Malawian authorities must end this cycle of impunity of perpetrators of these crimes.”

– Minh Joo Yi

Photo: Flickr

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The Threat of Lake Victoria’s Failing State

Lake Victoria's Failing StateResponsible for over 35 million lives, Lake Victoria is a vital resource for the people of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. However, overfishing, pollution and mismanagement threaten its existence. The threat of Lake Victoria’s failing state is a danger to those who have built their livelihoods around it. Fortunately, there are multiple initiatives being implemented by humanitarian organizations to restore the lake and the people who live by it.

After coffee, Uganda’s second biggest export is fish. Lake Victoria gained international attention the 1980s when the native species of Nile perch and tilapia came into high demand. This fishing boom acted as an economic boost for fishermen, but it costs the lake severely.

Unfortunately, whilst the fishing boom was in full motion, the government’s environmental policies had yet to progress. Even when laws were implemented, they were scarcely enforced. Unregulated pollutants from agricultural run-off, sewage and industrial waste became a large contributor to Lake Victoria’s failing state.

With the pollution in the lake suffocating fish, desperate fishermen have resorted to practices that deplete the lake even more. Illegal fishing methods, such as using an insecticide as poison, have led to the destruction of breeding grounds. Fishermen use these techniques in order to catch more fish but add to Lake Victoria’s failing state.

While the average weight of a perch was 50 kilograms in 1980, it is now just 10 kilograms. Even more, about 300 smaller species have gone extinct. With the fishing industry in Lake Victoria producing about $640 million a year, it is vital to the 35 million who have built their livelihoods on the lake. However, it is being threatened by the environmental impact of pollutants.

Fortunately, there are many initiatives working to help both the fishermen and the lake. The World Bank started The Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project as an effort to both restore the lake’s environmental status and improve the lives of those who depend on it. One program this project is working on is providing income to fishermen through fish farms to alleviate the pressure on Lake Victoria.

This crisis occurring in Lake Victoria can still be solved. Until fishermen are educated on their impact on the lake and practices becomes more regulated, the problem will continue to grow.

– Kelly Hayes

Photo: Pixabay

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Operation Good Neighbor: Syrians and Israelis Together

Operation Good NeighborUnder the cover of darkness, Syrian children and their adult chaperones cross the border into Israel. They are greeted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but not with guns or bombs. They are greeted with medical care and food. This is Operation Good Neighbor.

The beginnings of this aid project started in 2013, when injured Syrians arrived at the Israeli border. The government made the decision to give them treatment. Since then, 4,000 Syrians have been treated. Operation Good Neighbor, started in 2016, expands this humanitarian initiative to a larger scale. The IDF serves around 200,000 Syrian residents who live in southwestern Syria. These Syrians are close to the Syrian-Israeli border, along the Golan Heights. One-third of them are displaced refugees and half of them are children. They all have been devastated by the Syrian civil war.

The IDF not only gives out medical care, it has begun supplying other necessities as well. The list is expansive and includes medicines like painkillers, anesthetics and insulin, 450,000 liters of fuel for heating, baking and energy for water wells, generators, water pipes, equipment for schools, 12,000 containers of baby formula, 1,800 diaper packages, 12 tons of shoes and 55 tons of clothing for cold weather.

In a statement, the IDF explained its two reasons for helping Syria. The first was the obvious “moral imperative.” The second was more nuanced. It contended that “the aid will ultimately create a less hostile environment across the border.” This security would “lead to improved Israeli security.” These two reasons are both compelling arguments for providing aid to Syria.

Operation Good Neighbor becomes more incredible after considering the historical Israeli-Syrian animosity. Currently, Syria and Israel are technically in a state of war. Syrians have historically been taught to resent Israel and vice-versa. But citizens on the ground in Israel and Syria have found ways to look past their history of enmity. In fact, Israeli citizens have been pressuring Israel’s government to give more aid to Syria for years.

Syrian victims bear striking resemblance to Jews displaced by tyrannical regimes throughout history. Gadi Eizenkot of the IDF puts it best: “I think this [Operation Good Neighbor] is our basic obligation as neighbors and as Jews.”

Being a good neighbor means watching out for everyone around you, even if they don’t look like you. It means treating others how you would like to be treated. It means reaching out, with a helping hand, when someone close to you is hurting. With this in mind, it becomes clear that Operation Good Neighbor is aptly named and that the work that it’s doing is indispensable.

– Adesuwa Agbonile
Photo: Flickr

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On the Main Causes of Poverty in North Korea

Causes of Poverty in North KoreaNorth Korea, the only country in the world which still adopts Stalinist principles, has long been one of the most impoverished countries in the world. Recently, it scored 28.6 in the 2016 Global Hunger Index, a level which the International Food Policy Research Institute classified as “serious.” A report published by the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) in 2013 estimated that about half of North Korea’s 24 million lives in “extreme poverty,” who are “severely restricted in access to fuel for cooking and heating.”

The two primary causes of poverty in North Korea are as follows:

Climate and geography
North Korea’s climate is less suitable for agricultural production than that of South Korea. Northern and northwestern winds that blow from Siberia cause the winters in North Korea to be bitterly cold, often involving heavy snow storms. This type of weather is particularly harsh in the mountainous regions in the north, contributing to the relative lack of arable land in North Korea. Due to the cold temperatures, single cropping is usually practiced in the north, while double cropping is possible in the south where winters are less severe.

Because of the country’s mountainous terrain, the regime has sought to increase agricultural production mainly through double cropping, rather than through expanding the cultivable area. However, due to factors such as short cropping season, prolonged and harsh winter, and uncertainty of the spring weather, the results have often been disappointing.

Despotic regime
Another one of the causes of poverty in North Korea is the despotic regime succeeded by the Kim family. During the 1980s, the North Korean regime embarked on a radical economic policy of self-sufficiency known as “juche.” This policy wreaked havoc on the country’s economy, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, after which the country could not import cheap fuel, its industrial base was fractured and its production of fertilizer decreased.

North Korea’s provocations on the international stage, such as the shelling of the South Korean island in 2010 and repeated nuclear tests, also resulted in numerous sanctions by the U.N., which restricted the amount of humanitarian aid going into North Korea.

These are the main causes of poverty in North Korea. Whether North Korea will be able to escape from poverty will heavily depend on the international community’s efforts, as well as the regime’s willingness to adopt open-market reforms, just as China did in the late 1970s.

– Minh Joo Yi

Photo: Flickr

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Facts and Figures of North Korea

Facts and Figures of North Korea

Hidden behind the tensions of military bluster between the U.S. and North Korea lies a sad and often overlooked reality: North Korea is an incredibly impoverished country.

The conflict on the Korean peninsula can be traced back to when Japan controlled Korea till 1910. After the Japanese lost in World War II, the peninsula was divided between a communist northern half and a democratic southern half.

Tensions between the north and south erupted into war in 1950. The U.S. led a United Nations coalition to support the south; China was the principal ally of the north. The war ended in a stalemate with the current division becoming a demilitarized zone. North Korea has languished since, relying heavily on outside aid.

Most of the developed world stopped sending monetary aid to North Korea in 2009. South Korea ended aid in 2010 due to conflicts with the incoming government of Kim Jong Un.

Much of North Korea’s poverty problem stems from government spending, or the lack thereof. Most of the country’s budget is allocated to military and defense spending. This means that most of North Korea’s budget is not invested in its people.

This lack of aid has impacted North Korea’s investment in education, health services and infrastructure.

The average education level for a North Korean is only 11 years. The average annual income is only $1300. These disparities stem from the government’s sole interest in military spending, and its lack of interest in its people. These facts and figures of North Korea illustrate that the impoverished Asian nations strongly needs foreign aid, as well as restructuring its own budget, to combat its extreme poverty.

In the interest of its citizens, North Korea could decrease spending on its military and defense program. This could increase international confidence in the country’s financial and political system, therefore increasing foreign aid that could be used for basic services for its populace.

Until the North Korean government focuses on its people instead of its military, and makes serious efforts to combat these disastrous poverty-related facts and figures of North Korea, it will continue to be an impoverished nation.

– Raymond Terry

Photo: Google

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President Trump’s Buy American Laws

Buy American LawsThe Trump administration is dusting off Depression-era laws to advance its “America First” agenda. The aptly-named “Buy American” laws require firms to buy U.S. materials when manufacturing military equipment.

In 2013, $20 billion went to foreign entities, roughly 6.4 percent of military spending. That money is spent largely on raw materials like lumber, fuel and construction materials from Canada and other allies. The enforcement of these 80-year-old laws would force the government to spend that money within the states.

While 6.4 percent isn’t a large chunk of total expenditures, the concern is the message it could send to U.S. allies when they are cut out. Bill Greenwalt, a former Defense Department procurement secretary believes that by cutting out allies, the U.S. will spark retaliation legislation. Many nations depend on the U.S. for military goods. Buy American laws could kick off many global domestic purchasing regimes and ultimately hurt U.S. sales abroad.

Furthermore, those regimes could end up not being specifically military equipment. An domestic purchasing agenda could instigate allies and developing markets to look inward or to each other for goods and put up trading barriers to the U.S. such as quotas and tariffs.

If the U.S. positioned itself to try its hand at grand-scale manufacturing and set up the tariffs favorable to domestic manufacturers, U.S. consumers and developing nations could suffer. For the U.S. consumer, prices of normally imported goods such as clothing, pharmaceuticals and cell phones could increase. Many middle and lower class citizens would feel the strain of these price increases and the overall standard of living would see a decline.

Developing nations could suffer as manufacturing and exporting goods to developed neighbors are one of the biggest staples of economic activity. Favoring domestic production to the purchase of fair trade goods from these nations could stunt their economies and put their citizens at higher risk of falling into poverty.

For both the U.S. and our trading partners, Buy American laws could be a game of mutually assured economic stagnation. Manufacturers and consumers everywhere could feel the burden.

– Thomas Anania

Photo: Google

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The Stateless People in Brunei

Stateless People of Brunei
Brunei Darussalam or Adobe of Peace is a state on the northeastern coast of the island of Borneo. Since the discovery of vast oil fields in the 1920s, the state is among the wealthiest in the Asian Pacific region with a high standard of living among those living there.

The population of Brunei totals around 330,000, consisting of only 16% indigenous peoples. Roughly 64% are Malaysian and 20% Chinese. The government of Brunei has not reported that anyone in the state is seeking asylum. However, many stateless people are residing without citizenship. Here are seven facts about the stateless people of Brunei.

  1. Brunei has cooperated with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) by agreeing to share statistics of the number of stateless people of Brunei, and the number of those who have been granted citizenship.
  2. As of 2016, there were 20,524 stateless people living in Brunei. This is about 6.2% of the population living without citizenship.
  3. Obtaining citizenship in Brunei is difficult and can only be done after passing rigorous testing. Between 2009 and 2012, 2,420 stateless people were granted citizenship.
  4. Brunei law prohibits non-Bruneians, including stateless permanent residents, from owning property.
  5. Although somewhat hesitant to grant citizenship to stateless people of Brunei, each stateless person is given an International Certificate of Identity that enables them to travel overseas and do anything that you need identification for.
  6. Minors can be registered as nationals as long as the Sultan sees fit. And foreign women who are married to a national man can obtain citizenship by registering themselves as married to a citizen.
  7. Furthering the recognition of stateless people, the Brunei government has instituted a birth registration program for stateless children. The program establishes a record of where a child was born and who his parents are to prevent children from slipping through the cracks of the legal system. This information will help children to get education, healthcare and employment when they are adults.

Despite the fact that Brunei does not have asylum-seekers, it is moving forward in setting standards for its non-national residents.

– Madeline Boeding

Photo: Flickr

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To End Poverty, Countries Must Prioritize SDGs and Cooperation

SDGs and Cooperation
This Monday, the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the international community to step up efforts to meet the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Secretary-General stressed that many regions worldwide are lagging behind with their sustainable development efforts. Guterres warned that without a stronger commitment to the SDGs and cooperation, the world will not meet the 2030 SDG deadline.

What are the SDGs?

The U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals are a set of 17 ambitious goals that, among other things, aim to end global poverty and encourage development in struggling regions. These goals were agreed upon in 2015 and implemented the following year, and are meant to be fulfilled by 2030.

Despite the admirable intent of the SDGs, they suffer from the same critical issue that stymies other U.N. projects: they lack enforcement. Because the national governments of each member state are responsible for the organization and implementation of programs, they can easily ignore their commitment to the goals. Even worse, the SDGs are not legally binding and therefore countries around the world have little to no reason to ensure their realization.

The SDGs have only been in action for a little over a year, yet Guterres’ call to action indicates that the relatively new program is already struggling. As of now, the SDGs are well-intentioned but inconsequential.

Perhaps countries around the world hesitate to contribute because they believe the SDGs are too ambitious and ask too much, too soon. However, their hesitation is not justified.

At the very least, ending global poverty (the first goal out of the 17) is indeed possible. Since 1990, the number of people living off of the equivalent of $1.25 a day has been reduced by more than half. While 836 million people still live below the poverty line, it is not at all impossible to end poverty once and for all in the next few decades. Even if it is difficult to determine whether or not this goal can be achieved by 2030, this should not discourage countries around the world from refusing to try.

The Necessity of Commitment

In order for the world to end global poverty and encourage universal development by or around 2030, the international community needs to prioritize SDGs and cooperation. They cannot write off the SDGs as another romantic notion proposed by the idealistic U.N.; instead, they should seriously think about the benefits they can reap from a better world in 2030. That better world can be theirs, but they need to work for it first. The SDGs provide the guidance to get there.

Also, the international community needs to facilitate cooperation in order to more effectively tackle global poverty and inequality. As Peter Thompson, President of the U.N. General Assembly expressed, there must be “effective collaboration and partnerships between governments, private sector, civil society, local authorities, schools, universities and our communities.”

Streamlining cooperation between the public and private sectors is particularly important for the development and execution of on the ground development solutions. In the US, the proposed Economic Growth and Development Act (HR 2747) hopes to allow more opportunities for the private sector to contribute to foreign assistance programs. If the bill receives enough support to become a law, it could bolster U.S. efforts in the fight against global poverty.

Hopefully, the Economic Growth and Development Act will become a part of the U.S.’s toolkit in ending global poverty. Other countries around the world should encourage similar legislation so that the international community can further promote the importance of SDGs and cooperation in creating a better world.

– Isidro Rafael Santa Maria
Photo: Flickr