Women Disappeared!

In this age, women in western democracies, have disappeared from the face of earth.

I had this thought when I read about the Shuar people. They are indegenous of Peru and Equador.

Their women play active roles in everyday lives. They not only tend to the gardens and children but also instruct men to hunt and chop firewood. So much so, that the men would not stop doing their chores until the women asked them to. For instance, if a man is chopping wood, he will keep doing so until his woman tells him that he has accumulated enough to last their family and that he could call it a day.

This is the social power women have, in those communities.

Once, after the millenium, a handful of Shuar people landed in USA. Upon arrival the men observed that the buildings were touching the skies and that there was so much road and infrastructure that barely a patch of grass remained.

They asked a simple question to their American host: “Why didn’t the women stop the men?”

 

Every Once In A While!

Every once in a while I see news where an individual has experienced some kind of racial discrimination. For instance, someone got drunk and started to slur onto someone, somebody wrote a racially offensive word on a receipt, someone pulled someone by their hair for adorning a veil/ scarf around their head, someone gave an interview and said something which the public found making fun of someone’s race and so forth. But that is not all.

 

I read that in most cases the perpetrators are made to serve “justice”. Someone loses their job for their comments, someone receives hate messages on social media, someone gets negatively criticised about their deed, someone is made to apologise to one person or various parties involved, someone is arrested and presented in courts

 

The question then is why don’t the racially discriminating abuses ever seem to stop, despite the perpetrators being dealt with in most instances? Why doesn’t the consequences of perpetrators deter others and halt any other abuses/ discrimination taking place?

 

Are we even pointing in the right direction when we raise our fingers onto individuals to complain they have acted in a racially discriminating manner? Does our “justice” toward individuals count to reduce/ prevent issues of racism or are we unintentionally ignoring a bigger picture?

 

 

1. Racial discrimination executed by individuals is not driven by a vacuum. A sole being (person x) on its own cannot entirely construct or conceptualise ideas of racial differences.
2. Individuals reside in societies. Societies, primarily western democratic ones are fundamentally based on ideologies of racial differences. Such differences are evident via institutional racism often backed by media (news we rely on) to reinforce the ideologies of racial differences. .
3. One common perception deriving from the “war on drugs” is that Black Americans are more prone to violence. Because media would cover the police effort on cracking the drug business to ensure a safer, healthier society (as per what person x sees). Result: Black Americans considered the “dangerous other”, “deviant”, “violent”. However, what the state and society practices are is hardly touched by the media.
4. Consider prison labour. http://returntonow.net/2016/06/13/prison-labor-is-the-new-american-slavery/ The effort of Black Americans yields income for a party who is not obliged to pay them the legal minimum wage. Hence a higher profit margin advantageous to the business. Therefore, giving rise to the need for such labourers. As a consequence, statistics show that Black Americans are over-represented in the prison population. This means utilising a racial group for labour whilst sticking a “criminal” sticker on. The person x sits to watch the news on television which tells them about criminals, perhaps labouring in prison, their racial identity and their crime. But what remains silent is the driving factor behind the crime, how state policies did not ensure a free quality lifestyle for the individual and how being incarcerated benefits some third party. In other words, why and how Black Americans land behind bars remain a mystery, untouched.
5. Consider Segregation. History has that Black Americans did not have civil rights back in the days and had the status of a slave. How on earth would person x watching the drug busts on telly figure that the mass incarceration of Black Americans in today’s time is yet another effort to maintain racial divide through the justice system by segregating Black Americans from the society into prison space.
6. Terrorism. Islamophobia. Muslims. Veil. Burkha. Person x sits and watches terror being unleashed. The news highlights the adverse effects of the terror attacks on person x’s society and other societies around the world. This presentation of an entire race- Muslims in a negative light and a deviant different race tells person x half the story.
7. The other half is the quiet oppression of people around the globe by dominating western democracies. John Perkins, author of confession of an economic hit-man touched how the seeking of oil reserves (for use in making plastic and petrol) in South America, Asia and Middle East had negatively impacted the economies and devastated local residents’ lives which contributed toward 9/11. Then there is political conspiracies, discussed by Arundhati Roy in “Listening to Grasshoppers”, which explains how Islamophobia is used to stir up race issues for political leverage.
8.  The basic idea is that person x never gets the opportunity through the media to learn how the terrorism they witness around the globe is not simply due to an organisation randomly picking up arms and starting to create chaos to be labelled a “wanted terrorist” organisation. The reports of lives of civilians in the third world nations are “documented” but not reported as “daily news” and definitely not how the plight of the affected civilians still tend to generate profits for those in control of the nation’s robust natural resources. Furthermore, person x, witnessing all the carnage on a usual basis and being repeatedly told “Islamic State, Islamic State” develops a one sided sentiment that Muslims are troublesome as a race.
9. Discriminating someone because of their race is definitely not a positive act by person x. But after residing in a society where racial difference originates from the state, legitimises counter terrorist activities (Abu Ghraib camp), permeates political agendas, enslaves individuals and veils greed of resource control; without constructive critique by the media- what choice does person x have?
10. Hopefully, when we now see a woman dragged by her hair or someone slurred at because of their race, we know where it really is coming from.

 

Brief Address on Water Shortage

The area of Kutch in Gujarat, India was said to face issues of water shortages (Mehta, 2007). The findings suggest that commercial logging during the past decades with the building of a dam which affects the Kutch river system and consequently the grazing space for livestock and the overuse of groundwater by landowning class for commercial activity makes most of Kutch face water shortages (Mehta, 2007).

 

An immediate response to the water shortages in Kutch, Gujarat could be that the landowning class stop with the overuse of groundwater and try not to further their economic operations which consumes the majority of water. Since rainfall is not an issue as is the overuse of groundwater, proper management could lead to sustainability of groundwater. Furthermore, planation of trees which were lost by past logging operation, could also lead to recharge of groundwater as trees could help minimise the seeping away of rainwater by retaining them in the ground. But for Kutch to ensure that water shortages to not arise in future, some fundamental thinking of the locals of Kutch has to change.

 

One of the revolutionary changes in the education system can stem from the initiatives of teachers. Seaberg (1967) observed that in most instances the administration of schools would dictate the teacher what would need to be taught at school and which curriculum is to be utilised. Administrations can go as far as telling a teacher to ‘tone down’ teachings on civil rights as the wider American society practiced racial segregation and educating the young generation on civil rights may challenge contemporary racial practices. Similar practices in education could be occurring in parts of India especially in the region of Kutch, Gujarat where water shortages are a major issue. The fundamental problem in Kutch is that the landowning class tend to overuse ground water to further their economic activities hence the entire community faces water shortages (Mehta, 2007). It appears that social status of the landowners give them absolute power on how to use or misuse water. Youth at school then need to be educated on civil rights of people to their water needs regardless social status and affluence.

 

It is another issue that India inherited an education system after independence that could only provide for some elite groups which results in education disparities (Chauhan, 2008). Policies by government may exist but may not be sufficient that every child is offered education because of poverty or social class. Therefore, the teachers in various communities could take a stand to educate not necessarily on language or science or business subjects but on environment and sustainability and civil rights. Seaberg (1967) states that the idea to boycott or strike by teaching staff seems ‘semi illegal’, but teachers may have to challenge the system if it fails to serve the purpose of adequately educating the younger generation. The changes in teaching obviously will not solve the problem of water shortages immediately.

 

However, with education the youth will have the potential to observe their social issues from a critical standpoint. For instance, research reveals that water shortages in Kutch are not by changes in rainfall as the society still receives similar amounts as it did in the past (Mehta, 2007). But campaigns and general ideas in Kutch are that there has been less rainfall thus less water in the wells. But the fact is that the landowners dig a new well every month and have exhausted the ground water supply (Mehta, 2007). This shifts the focus of the Kutch people to treat the water shortage due to natural causes rather than figuring that water shortages arise due to overuse of water. Educating youth will lend them the knowledge to identify the issues in society rather than passively following generalised hypothesis. Moreover, education can also empower the youth about the current economic trend in most places in India.

 

Meher (2009) argues that India currently is in the process of ‘modernising’ which entails co operations having liberty to exploit natural resources which subsequently leads to local people having drastic changes to their ecosystem which they depend on; and ultimately pushes them on verge of their existence. As Bosselmann put forward in his lectures, the western idea of ‘more is better’, seems to play a great role in parts of India. In Kutch, the desire of landowners to further their economic operations leads to the overuse of groundwater (Mehta, 2007). This practice eventually makes the whole region face water shortages. One can argue that economic operations and ‘modernisation’ can increase infrastructure development and benefit the Indian economy overall. However, Bhaduri (2005) argues that economic development so far has only produced greater income inequality and one third of the population remains immersed in poverty. Meher (2009) gives an account of what development actually should be: “Development should be a holistic concept that encompasses the progressive improvement in the quality of human life in terms of food, clothing and shelter and the conditions for a healthy living with increasing longevity of life and happiness”. It then becomes essential for the youth of Kutch to actually realise that the current practices in their society may not be ideal for sustaining groundwater. Through education, when the youth would have to make decisions relating to their social development will have a clear idea on how their actions could impact the environment and if they should at all try to pursue the interest of “more is better” which the older generation of Kutch are currently practising.

 

Generally speaking, human activity in Kutch in the past decades has seen to alter the natural ecosystems. The damming of Kutch river has had profound impact on the grassland which used to ‘attract’ a steady supply of rain and helped retain rainwater (Mehta, 2007). Also, logging activities have affected the ability of plants to retain rainwater in the ground. Further, the digging of water wells every month to meet the needs of commercial activity has seen an overuse of groundwater. These human activities in Kutch give an idea of how the locals may not be adequately informed on environment sustainability. Policies existing in Kutch are said to be readily disobeyed by the socially powerful for economic gain (Mehta, 2007). Hence it is suggested that teachers target the younger generation to educate them on environment sustainability and more importantly on the issues of chasing economic activities for greater gain which the landowners in Kutch are immersed in. This will ensure that the future of Kutch has locals who seek development in a different sense than merely acquiring wealth. By rethinking development through reducing income inequalities and enabling healthy living and happiness for all the residents of Kutch, the local will automatically give more priority on water sustainability to cater for basic needs of people. With knowledge from school on how to practice sustainability, Kutch may not have to face water shortages. However, the burden to educate rests on the teachers since the education system may lack ability to challenge the prevalent ideas to life in Kutch.

 

For immediate responses, the locals of Kutch could protest against the overuse of groundwater while at the same time initiate to plant trees to make up for the logging effects. The protest if on a large scale and support from media could deter landowners from exploiting groundwater. But then, regarding media ownership and control in India, it is unlikely that this approach could flourish. Positive changes can be brought about with the changing mentality of the youth of Kutch that ought to start from school by efforts from the teachers. It is acknowledged that a decrease in economic activity may result in less income for some families but may also ensure that Kutch does not face water shortages as one could survive through growing food and having ample water for everyday needs but life without water is impossible.

 

Sources

 

Bhaduri, Amit (2005) Development with Dignity: A Case for Full Employment. New Delhi, India: National Book Trust.

 

Chauhan Chandra Pal Singh (2008) Education and caste in India, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 28:3, 217-234, DOI: 10.1080/02188790802267332

 

Mehta, Lyla. (2007) Whose scarcity? Whose property? The case of water in western India. Land Use Policy, 2007, Vol.24(4), pp.654-663 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

 

Meher, R (2009). Globalization, Displacement and the Livelihood Issues of Tribal and Agriculture Dependent Poor People: The Case of Mineral-based Industries in India. Journal of Developing Societies, 10/01/2009, Vol.25(4), pp.457-480 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

 

Seaberg, S. (1967). Abolish the Caste System! The Clearing House, 42(2), 67-72. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/stable/30183265

 

Chauhan Chandra Pal Singh (2008) Education and caste in India, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 28:3, 217-234, DOI: 10.1080/02188790802267332