Srey Rath Chapter Summary

From the beginning of the book, Half the Sky, the stories of Srey Rath, the vibrant girl from Cambodia, and Meena Hasina, the courageous mother from India, and other stories like theirs have helped many people understand the tragedies taking place all over the world. Their stories have inspired the authors and many who have read their stories to dive deeper into thought about worldwide issues plaguing many countries, including the United States. The global issues surrounding women’s health in the beginning of this book include the topics of: the three types of abuses, the inaccuracy of the term “sex trafficking”, and the initiatives to stop slavery.

In a review by the New York Times, the author, Stephen Holder, highlights the context surrounding prostitution in each different country. From Thailand having a high end brothel ran by rich Asian men, to Bangladesh full of towering, run down apartments oversaw by madams,

In this book they tell how women are promised work, then sold into sexual slavery and imprisonment, while authorities turn a blind eye. They tell how these women are beaten, and raped, and drugged if they try to resist the men who have bought them; how many contract AIDS from forced sex work without protection, and die in their twenties; and how returning them

However, after watching Trade and Born into Brothels it is apparent that these issues occur still.Geographical locations play an important role in understanding why sex trafficking occurs in these regions of the world because it opens up multiple questions about the treatment of women and how well these individuals are educated on protecting themselves during sexual

The Qur’an and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad seem to recognize the different functions and mutually supportive roles of men and women, encouraging an equal and balanced social and family life. In seventh-century Arabia, the Qur’an extended the right of property ownership and financial independence to women. It prohibited the practice of female infanticide and other abuses, and significantly modified marriage and divorce practices. While many Americans consider Islam to be an “oppressive religion” with regard to women, Muslim women often comment on the liberty and dignity they extract from their faith. Many Muslim women say that true Islam is often compromised by oppressive practices that have their roots in cultural differences or political expediency; general ignorance and lack of engagement with the diversity inherited within the tradition contribute to the continuation of these

In society, there are some misconceptions about who Muslim women are and the identity they have. Through hasty generalizations, Muslim women are often depicted as being only Arab, figures of oppression, and being poles apart with everyone. Popular media fails to recognize the diversity in this group in terms of race, ethnicity, nationality, cultural norms, gender role, education attainment level, occupation and upbringing. I believe that the intersection of social inequalities in these identifying components has rendered Muslim women invisible in society.

Although they bear some superficial difference, the similarities between Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn story, "Is Islam Misogynistic?" and Anna Vanzan, "The Women of Allah: A Personal Journey Through Islamic Feminisms " are clear, both reveal issues concerning Muslim’s cultural and religion norms depriving women of their equality.

Women who bare a child for 9 months in her womb, will go to great lengths to protect the child from harm. Living in a world in which women are living in poverty face gross inequalities and injustice from birth to death. Throughout Night Women, Danticat illuminates how being a mother requires sacrifices in order to protect their young. In the mother’s words, “The night is the time I dread the most in my life. Yet if I am to live I must depend on it.” (71) She knows she must work in order to make a living to provide for her young son. She is displeased with selling her body to a suitor, but if that will bring a meal to the table for her son, she will sell. Despite the imprint of prostitution, the mother like all mothers who do all they can to

When Nick, one of the authors, asked a police officer why pirating DVDs was a more important matter to address than human trafficking, he replied by stating that prostitution is inevitable, and that it keeps the "good girls" in India safe. The authors then stated that if western countries were to overtly show their disapproval of slavery as they do for the distribution of pirated DVDs, then India would consequently dispatch people to halt traffickers. While measures are being taken by members of congress, it seems as though the parties are working separately, even though unifying the efforts would make them more effective. It seems as though the most favorable approach to ending sex trafficking is by cracking down, but also by providing job training and drug rehabilitation in order to decrease the chances that a freed woman would return voluntarily, due to being stigmatized or an addict searching for the drug they desire. To prove this, an example was given of Sweden and the Netherlands, both countries with different approaches to limiting sex trafficking and AIDS. The Netherlands legalized and regulated prostitution while Sweden cracked down and treated prostitutes more as victims than criminals. Ten years after the methods were put into place, Sweden reported having a 41% decrease in prostitutes, while the Netherlands showed almost no change. While preventing sex trafficking has proven to be a challenging yet important task, it is also important to take into account the effort required to rescue a girl from a brothel. Two girls, Srey Neth and Srey Momm were prostitutes from separate brothels, and were rescued and returned to their families. Although they had fairly similar experiences, Momm returned to her brothel due to her addiction to meth. Even though she hated the brothel, her “owners” had an insurance policy in

This article, by Elizabeth Segran explores how many women faced inequality in the Islamic world but started to acquire their power through the Qur'an and their religion. The author states “For decades many women believed they had to choose between their Muslim identity and their belief in gender equality so they made a global movement called Musawah, which means equality”(1). This movement is powered by the ideals that Islam does not favor men as many have thought to be the case. However, because patriarchy has had a strong stance in Muslim countries these females believe it is due to the way they have interpreted and read Islamic texts. As we have learned in this course so far, there are numerous ways to interpret Islamic texts. It just so happens that gender has a great effect on how it is understood by individuals.

In the past decade, Islam has been viewed as a male dominant religion. Many people in the west proclaim that Muslim women are forced to wear and do things out of their own will and, therefore, the western society perceives Muslim women as a symbol of oppression. The main subject of controversy is the Islamic veil. In addition, the west proclaims Islam to be a sexist religion as the Muslim women are not held equal to men including a limited amount of women’s rights in Islam. In the Deepa Kumar article, Kumar exposes what the western countries try and have done to uphold women’s rights. The western countries compare the Muslim dominated countries to themselves which results in a clash of civilization. This is occurs as the western culture and values do not equate with the culture and values the Muslim dominated countries possess. In addition, France had banned the hijab on a similar argument as other western countries as they attempt to “liberate” Muslim women. In contrast, these rulings of “liberation” have backlashed on the societies affected. Deepa Kumar states that neither Afghan nor French women have benefited from the attempt of “liberation” but, in fact, made it worse. These controversies of “oppressed” Muslim women gave the west a humble chance to rescue the victims.

The article “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Reflections on Cultural Relativism and its others” is based on the cultural practices in the Middle East. A question relative to the cultural practices of Muslim women is “Do Muslim women really need saving?”. I will examine that Muslim women do not need saving when it comes to cultural practices revolving around the way women dress, as well as the ethics involved in intervening into another culture.

To begin with, in Cambodia, human trafficking has been a pertinent problem for the past two decades, mainly because of myths, poverty, and traditions. In the country, a tradition often surfaces about men having a great desire to have sexual intercourse with those who are pure and young because it will remove all of their sins. The myth is that when men had sexual relationships with virgins, it would grant them luck and good health. For this reason, an abundance of pedophiles used to visit Cambodia because they knew that the country condoned prostitution (Pesta). Due to the myth and the command of pedophiles for prepubescent girls, brothels are targeting those younger and younger. Children as young as four are being sent into the sex trade, and “prostitution has become a ‘fixture of urban life’ in Cambodia” (“The Face of”). Furthermore, “visiting prostitutes has become a common and accepted male pastime [in the country]” (Sidner). The abundance of people in Cambodia visiting the cities for the sole purpose of sex sullies the reputation of the country, and it puts the

The enormously high poverty rate, coupled with the crackdown on pedophilia in the western world makes Cambodia particularly vulnerable and child sex trafficking has become a lucrative way to exploit the country’s natural resources. One of the young girls featured in the film, Da-Lin, tells her story - “I sold my virginity to an old man for $500, I did it to help my family, my parents were sick and my brothers and sisters are young and had to go to school, my virginity was the only thing of value we had” (2:15). Another young girl explains how she suffered a stroke due to the abuse she endured. The stories go on and on, young children sold as child sex workers by their husbands, boyfriends, friends and family members. They cannot seek help from the authorities for fear of imprisonment, and they face exile from their villages due to shame.

Religion is a major cornerstone of human identity and culture. Anywhere you look on earth where there are people, there is a religion or set of beliefs that those people follow. Many times, the teaching of these Religions can be twisted and manipulated to justify gender bias. The Simple truth is people are treated very differently based on their Gender by followers of two of the most popular religions in the world: Islam and Judaism. I am going to examine some ways the teaching of these two major religions are used to oppress, abuse, and differentiate women.