tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post7020212143326392433..comments2024-03-27T09:08:50.883-07:00Comments on Bad Mom, Good Mom: Maybe not so easy badmomgoodmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11569728075698885020noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-9701949790049535962013-05-14T11:18:22.612-07:002013-05-14T11:18:22.612-07:00I think the difference is in who we are presuming ...I think the difference is in who we are presuming is barring people from voting. <br /><br />In the instance of racial segregation in the US, we presume that this is desired by whites as a means of oppressing others and that if the safety of all voters is assured, that everyone wishes to vote.<br /><br />In the instance of sex segregation in Pakistan, we might presume it’s more complicated. We might presume that women themselves will not wish to vote if they will be seen by men, or that male family members will feel dishonoured if outsiders see “their” women, or both. In this view the problem is at home, not at the voting booth. The solution is then seen as removing the dishonour by modifying the voting process to conform to cultural norms of respectability. <br /><br />If that’s what local women leaders want, they would know. But we know that it’s not that simple. There’s a major bullying element. People conform to other people’s norms out of fear, and those norms are politically motivated. Malala Yousafzai wasn’t asking to be enabled to get to school invisibly or to hide in a burka. She simply wanted to be able to go to school, and to do so safely. If we presume that the pressure comes from outside, rather than inside, then escorts such as were provided to Ruby Bridges http://blackhistorymonth.blackamericaweb.com/index.php?view=detail&id=62&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=242 would enable women who wanted to vote, segregated booths or not, to do so.<br /><br />I think it’s somewhat naive for non-Pakistanis to presume that Pakistani women themselves would not want to vote if voting were safe but unsegregated, or that their male relatives would necessarily prevent them. Or — crucially — that there is nothing to be done about these attitudes.Alison Cumminshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06370841996857073237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-53716551168581757062013-05-14T05:09:23.126-07:002013-05-14T05:09:23.126-07:00Ok, I see one difference - at least in this partic...Ok, I see one difference - at least in this particular case of voting. Officially the main reason for not letting women to vote is to <b>protect</b> them, not because they are not good enough to vote. Even in US, where political correctness is actively enforced, many men still stare and sexually harass women. So in the society where such behavior may seriously damage a woman's status and reputation, it may be necessary to guard women from, let's say, such primitive women behavior.<br />Just to make up an example: if school decides that girls should not play soccer in the same team as boys, it is much easier to accept it if the reason is that some boys are too rough and make rude comments, compare to "girls are weaker and cannot keep up with boys". <br /><br />Don't get me wrong - I have really hard time accepting women position in certain coutries, but historically trying to make too big a change often swings the pendulum in the opposite direction...HoleyFiberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04708035057361881698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-81119024115279635402013-05-13T19:18:40.843-07:002013-05-13T19:18:40.843-07:00I don't subscribe to the theory of slow and st...I don't subscribe to the theory of slow and steady incremental change. Often, it takes one or two positive experiences to shift the paradigm for a person. <br /><br />Experiences also spread virally.<br /><br />Eventually, enough people change their mind that society reaches a tipping point in social norms.<br /><br />It can happen very quickly once people are in contact with one another and see each other as human beings.badmomgoodmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11569728075698885020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15350975.post-72748813927658537022013-05-13T17:10:37.889-07:002013-05-13T17:10:37.889-07:00According to the laws of logic and goodness, sure,...According to the laws of logic and goodness, sure, racial and gender segregation should be equally reprehensible. At the same time, it is difficult to fairly compare the culture in the US in the 1950s to that of Pakistan today. Consider the following comparison instead:<br /><br />In the US, it was a long time between the time when non-white males were legally given the right to vote (1870) and the abolition of literacy tests and poll taxes that kept many of them from voting (1960s).<br /><br />Meanwhile, it was only about half as long between the initial draft of the 19th amendment (1878) and ratification (1920). Several states/territories had already established full women's suffrage by then. And there were generally no sneaky maneuvers to stop (white) women from voting.<br /><br />Is/was the US during this time frame a cultural peculiarity in preferring gender integration over racial integration in voting? What is the situation with respect to racial integration or equivalent in Pakistan? Elsewhere?beam aims northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09640660445798329531noreply@blogger.com