Support for religious extremism eroding
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Fazle Rashid from New York
MORE women are getting involved in politics worldwide than in the past decade, revealed a UN study. Women parliament members worldwide account for 18.4 per cent. The survey was conducted by the UN Development Fund for Women.
The proportion of women has accelerated by seven percentage point since 1995. This significant change has been driven by women realising that they needed power rather than just shout for change. It has been a huge fight because male chauvinism has been controlling power for centuries.
If the current rate of change persists, the women will reach parity by 2045. Reserve quotas for women, as in Bangladesh, have proved instrumental in increasing their numbers. Women in countries with some form of electoral quota have captured 19.3 per cent of seats as opposed to 14.7 in countries with no reservation of seats for women. There are 22 countries where women constitute 30 per cent member of the parliament. Eighteen of the 22 countries have reserve seats for women, the study revealed.
Thanks to reserve seats for women, they have become majority with 44 seats in Rwanda. The genocide in Rwanda galvanised women to become more active in politics. The women turn-out in election where a woman is a candidate is higher . You have to be three times more intelligent, you have to be four times more transparent, you have to everything more than a man, the New York Times quoted a female Colombian senator as saying. The 'democratic deficit' has to be closed, she said.
There was bad news as well in the world of women. Another UN agency Unicef said over 500,000 women worldwide die each year in pregnancy and child birth,
The Washington-based Pew Research Centre in a survey conducted in Europe found hatred for both Muslims and Jews are increasing in Europe. Fortysix per cent Spanish, 36 per cent Poles, 34 per cent Russians, 25 per cent Germans and 20 per cent of French viewed Jews unfavourably. Opinions about Muslims are worsening as well compared with previous years. Fifty-two per cent in Spain, 50 per cent in Germany, 46 per cent in Poland and 38 per cent in France have negative attitude towards Muslims. Anti-semitic feelings have given rise to anti-Jew hatred and in case of Muslims, it is the fundamentalism that has sharpened the anti-Muslim feelings. One in four in America and Britain thought poorly of Muslims.
The Pew research found that there has been erosion of support for suicide bombing and other violence in the name of Islam. The same report said majorities in Indonesia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Nigeria expressed concern over Islamic extremism. Support for Laden has dwindled in several countries but he still enjoys substantial support in Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria.
In the meantime, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA ), Mohammad ElbBaradei of Egypt will step down at the end of his term next year. IAEA have put pressure on Iran, Syria, Libya and North Korea to disclose their true intentions. North Korea and Libya have already abandoned their nuclear goals. Both have been amply rewarded. ElBaradei dismissed US argument that Iraq has stockpile of the weapons of mass destruction ( WMD ) that prompted America to rush its soldiers to Iraq.
Rest is history.
Elbaradei and IAEA jointly received Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
MORE women are getting involved in politics worldwide than in the past decade, revealed a UN study. Women parliament members worldwide account for 18.4 per cent. The survey was conducted by the UN Development Fund for Women.
The proportion of women has accelerated by seven percentage point since 1995. This significant change has been driven by women realising that they needed power rather than just shout for change. It has been a huge fight because male chauvinism has been controlling power for centuries.
If the current rate of change persists, the women will reach parity by 2045. Reserve quotas for women, as in Bangladesh, have proved instrumental in increasing their numbers. Women in countries with some form of electoral quota have captured 19.3 per cent of seats as opposed to 14.7 in countries with no reservation of seats for women. There are 22 countries where women constitute 30 per cent member of the parliament. Eighteen of the 22 countries have reserve seats for women, the study revealed.
Thanks to reserve seats for women, they have become majority with 44 seats in Rwanda. The genocide in Rwanda galvanised women to become more active in politics. The women turn-out in election where a woman is a candidate is higher . You have to be three times more intelligent, you have to be four times more transparent, you have to everything more than a man, the New York Times quoted a female Colombian senator as saying. The 'democratic deficit' has to be closed, she said.
There was bad news as well in the world of women. Another UN agency Unicef said over 500,000 women worldwide die each year in pregnancy and child birth,
The Washington-based Pew Research Centre in a survey conducted in Europe found hatred for both Muslims and Jews are increasing in Europe. Fortysix per cent Spanish, 36 per cent Poles, 34 per cent Russians, 25 per cent Germans and 20 per cent of French viewed Jews unfavourably. Opinions about Muslims are worsening as well compared with previous years. Fifty-two per cent in Spain, 50 per cent in Germany, 46 per cent in Poland and 38 per cent in France have negative attitude towards Muslims. Anti-semitic feelings have given rise to anti-Jew hatred and in case of Muslims, it is the fundamentalism that has sharpened the anti-Muslim feelings. One in four in America and Britain thought poorly of Muslims.
The Pew research found that there has been erosion of support for suicide bombing and other violence in the name of Islam. The same report said majorities in Indonesia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Nigeria expressed concern over Islamic extremism. Support for Laden has dwindled in several countries but he still enjoys substantial support in Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria.
In the meantime, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA ), Mohammad ElbBaradei of Egypt will step down at the end of his term next year. IAEA have put pressure on Iran, Syria, Libya and North Korea to disclose their true intentions. North Korea and Libya have already abandoned their nuclear goals. Both have been amply rewarded. ElBaradei dismissed US argument that Iraq has stockpile of the weapons of mass destruction ( WMD ) that prompted America to rush its soldiers to Iraq.
Rest is history.
Elbaradei and IAEA jointly received Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.