I had watched on Aljazeera an interview with one of the recent Nobel Peace Prize winners Tawakkul Karman, and I remember admiring what a driven individual she is! It really had nothing to do with her being a woman in Muslim country, where the general perception of the world is that she is not considered an individual with agency. It was just how persistent she was being in her activism, which she pointed out was something she had never done, and how easily she had slipped into the role of a leader and was organizing large groups of students and young people. In the midst of all the turmoil, she managed to joke with one of her colleagues about baking biscuits for when they marched to the main square and they came back to their tents all beaten up by the police! I was wondering if she would get the joke were I to send her the recipe for Mia's cookies :)
And then I read an article Kay Anne showed me about the awards ... and I still don't know exactly how I feel! I am immensely proud of all the achievements they have garnered. Each of these amazing women has in their own way fostered respect and appreciation of humanity. I can only imagine the challenges they have had to work through, which would possibly get compounded because of this recognition. I have also been particularly impressed by Leymah Gbowee’s work, anyone who comes from a country which has sharp ethnic and religious divides can appreciate how complex and potentially volatile it can be to lead a diverse group. Especially when it concerns an issue as touchy and profound as sexual abuse in times of war!
What bothered me though was the committee’s explanation for why they were chosen. I do recognize that the problem of gender inequality does exist, so it definitely has to be tackled in this overt manner, where a conscientious effort has to be made to single out women. However, all I could think about was the fact that I do not remember anytime a man has been chosen and the committee has had to point out how their gender played into the decision. If only we lived in the ideal world where people of any gender are rewarded principally because they are causing massive changes in their communities, and have achieved great strides in their own right. Wouldn’t that be lovely?
http://news.yahoo.com/nobel-peace-prize-goes-womens-rights-activists-103726719.html
One other thing, when I saw the video in the article I thought what she was saying was a fine example of Post-colonial thought! People who are experiencing particular problems know these problems better than anyone else, they should be very well placed to address it adequately. Ideally.
ReplyDelete