Melissa, I have been highly anticipating President Obama's speech to the Muslim world which he delivered from Cairo University today. Once again, I am reminded of the sheer pleasure involved in listening to an accomplished speaker tackle difficult issues. In the course of one speech, President Obama quoted from the Talmud, the Christian Bible, and the Koran. He mentioned Thomas Jefferson and John Adams; he discussed his own personal religious and familial background. He referenced Palestine and Israel, the Taliban and Iraq. It was a sweeping speech that covered a great deal of ground as he worked to both offer hope but maintain a realistic view on relations between the United States and the larger Muslim world.
I want to focus on President Obama's remarks about gender and the Muslim world, which I fear will not receive much attention. In the wake of the murder of Dr. George Tiller, I have been struggling with the various voices, and lack of voices, that are being heard in the debate over women's rights. President Obama devoted one of his talking points to a focus on women's equality. He applauded those Muslim countries that have elected women leaders; he emphasized the need for more educational opportunities for women and girls; and he stressed that micro-financing plays an important role in economic equality for women. In his discussion of gender, President Obama twice used the word "choice," in his reference to women who choose to pursue traditional roles (or, for instance, choose to cover their heads). He also mentioned that he did not think women "must make the same choices as men in order to be equal."
While I applaud our President for these strong words, I am wondering how much "choice" women in the Muslim world, and women everywhere, have. Half a million women a year die during pregnancy and in childbirth, largely from conditions that can be either treated or prevented. Restrictions, lack of knowledge, and unavailability of birth control lead to a situation in which women in developing countries bear, on average, 6 children. Cultural taboos and religious dogmatism force many women into early marriages and define women by their ability to reproduce. Women in poor countries, in most countries, are often confined to menial and manual labor, serving as the economic backbones for their families, as well as primary caregivers for children. Girls continue to be exploited sexually, from "white slavery" in Thailand to the rape of toddlers and schoolchildren as the "cure" for HIV in South Africa. Far too many women and girls, all over the world, face very little "choice" in the direction of their lives.
So, I am grateful for the attention President Obama paid to gender in his speech, but the issues he raised are not unique to the Muslim world nor can these issues be confined to a brief point in a long speech. And let us not suffer under the illusion that these issues only exist in the developing world. Many women in the United States do not have access to adequate health care; women routinely experience discrimination in the workplace and in the schoolroom. States that only fund "abstinence only education" deny women and girls information about their sexual health and reproductive rights. The face of poverty in the United States is usually a woman with small children, working a minimum wage job.
The condition of women and girls fundamentally speaks to the progress of any nation. Improvements in the lives of women in the Muslim world will lead the way to improvements in all areas, particularly economically and politically. We need greater dialogue about the role of women and the importance of gender equality on the road to peace. Let this conversation be a full and rich one that stands alone, not just one talking point.
"Without progress in the situation of women, there can be no true social development. Human rights are not worthy of the name if they exclude the female half of humanity. The struggle for women's equality is part of the struggle for a better world for all human beings, and all societies." Boutros Boutros-Gali (former Secretary-General of the United Nations)
Yolanda
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