Month: April 2010

Insight into Women and Education in the Middle East

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Education of young women in the Middle East.
Education of young women in the Middle East.

Ignorance on issues of international significance is the root of many misunderstandings. The plight of women and education in the Middle East is one such topic. After speaking with Dr. Alfons Teipen, a religion professor here at Furman, I gained some knowledge on a previous topic in my blog that focused on women and education in the Middle East, particularly Afghanistan.

Here are some startling statistics regarding women just in Afghanistan:

  • Every 30 minutes, an Afghan woman dies during childbirth
  • 87 percent of Afghan women are illiterate
  • 30 percent of girls have access to education in Afghanistan
  • 1 in every 3 Afghan women experience physical, psychological or sexual violence
  • 44 years is the average life expectancy rate for women in Afghanistan
  • 70 to 80 percent of women face forced marriages in Afghanistan

Obviously education is not the only issue for females in the Middle East.  However, having widespread accessibility to education will slowly impact and improve other aspects of women’s lives.

Before speaking with Dr. Teipen, I was under the assumption that the efforts for women to gain education were minimal and that the root of this was their religion of Islam.  He erased these false thoughts when he informed me that it has more to do with their patriarchal culture and the Taliban’s skewed interpretations of original Islamic texts.

In this brief interview with Dr. Teipen, he explained the history and significance of the plight of women’s education in the Middle East as well as comparing it to our Western ideals.

Let’s hear what he had to say: Dr. Teipen Audio Clip

Put a Cap on It

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Cap-and-Trade
Cap-and-Trade policies have become common as a means to regulate carbon emmissions in many nations

In my first blog post, I wrote an overview of the discussions held at the Copenhagen Summit, a meeting held to determine the course of action of the world’s nations in regards to increases in carbon emissions. As the blog has continued we have examined multiple cases of environmental foreign policy, and it is important to keep these differing policies in mind when trying to meet individual nation’s proposed CO2 reductions. Of these proposed courses, carbon trading shows the most promise.cap-and-trade-budget-defecit

As we move further into 2010, it is important not to overlook the prospects that surround carbon trading, also know as cap-and-trade. The fundamental principle surrounding carbon trading is the implementation of economic incentives for reducing carbon emissions, ultimately helping lessen pollution. “Under carbon trading, companies exceeding a “cap” on their emissions must purchase additional permits to pollute more. Companies that pollute less can “trade” or sell their surplus permits.” (Kanter)

The idea of cap and trade emerged in the late 1960s, however, it was not until the last twenty years that an idea became a viable policy.

  • 1990s: “China begins to experiment with a cap-and-trade system to cut down on sulfur emissions from power plants.”
  • 2000: “Shell begins a voluntary cap-and-trade program…Because the company has a broad international reach, the concept of cap and trade begins to spread across the world.”

If cap and trade policies are to be successful in the world today, it is important that the policy is carefully constructed and strictly adhered to. In the aftermath of the Copenhagen Summit, global superpowers, such as the United States, must be able to commit to such a policy to set an example for both developed and non developed countries. If such measures are taken, nations can both generate revenue, as well as reduce their impact on the pollution of our planet.

Evaluation of carbon trading: Carbon Trading Podcast