Arab Human Development Report (2002)

[Basy Lys]

Van de achterflap van dat rapport:

An accurate diagnosis of a problem is an important part of the solution. It is precisely for this reason that the Regional Bureau for Arab States has commissioned a group of distinguished Arab intellectuals to produce the Arab Human Development Report. The wealth of unbiased, objective analysis it contains is part of our contribution to Arab peoples and policy-makers in the search for a brighter future.

The report shows that Arab countries have made significant strides in more than one area of human development in the last three decades. Nevertheless, the predominant characteristic of the current Arab reality seems to be the existence of deeply rooted shortcomings in the Arab instutional structure. These shortcomings are an obstacle to building human development. The report summarises them as three deficits relating to freedom, empowerment of women, and knowledge. These deficits constitute weighty constraints on human capability that must be lifted.

From a positive perspective, the realisation of human development in the Arab world requires transcending current shortcomings, and even transforming them into their opposites, i.e. advantages enjoyed by all Arabs, assets all Arab countries can be proud of in the Third Millenium .

Specifically, the report concludes that Arab countries need to embark on rebuilding their societies on the basis of:
- Full respect for human rights and freedoms as the cornerstone of good governance, leading to human development.
- the complete empowerment of Arab women, taking advantage of all opportunities to build their capabilities and to enable them to exercise those capabilities to the full.
- The consolidation of knowledge acquisition and its effective utilisation. As a key driver of progress, knowledge must be brought to bear efficiently and productively in all aspects of society, with the goal of enhancing human well being across the region.

In the end, bold thinking holds the key to realizing, as opposed to only conceiving of, grand visions for the future. Great goals require great acts.

"Great goals require great acts". Welke "acts" zien wij in de Arabische wereld?

[kelt]

Dat fameus document is zowel door mezelf als door nog wat forumleden al eens gepost in eerdere discussies....


Wel ja misschien niet slecht het even onder de aandacht te houden.....maar het zou beter op Arabische fora onder de aandacht gehouden worden,want daar zou men er iets mee moeten DOEN!

[Basy Lys]

Met dank aan Ploertendoder.

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Ploertendoder

Voil�*, hier sè gratis en voor niks (anders kost het telkens 10$ om te downloaden) :

http://www.itu.org.eg/Ar-Human-Dev.pdf

http://www.undp.org.sa/Reports/AHDR%...%20English.pdf

http://www.pogar.org/publications/ot...port%202004%22

[Uh-Huh]

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Basy Lys

Specifically, the report concludes that Arab countries need to embark on rebuilding their societies on the basis of:
- Full respect for human rights and freedoms as the cornerstone of good governance, leading to human development.
- the complete empowerment of Arab women, taking advantage of all opportunities to build their capabilities and to enable them to exercise those capabilities to the full.
- The consolidation of knowledge acquisition and its effective utilisation. As a key driver of progress, knowledge must be brought to bear efficiently and productively in all aspects of society, with the goal of enhancing human well being across the region.

100 % akkoord! En probeert men deze punten dan ook te realiseren?

[Basy Lys]

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Uh-Huh

100 % akkoord! En probeert men deze punten dan ook te realiseren?

Welke "acts" zien wij in de Arabische wereld?

[Uh-Huh]

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Basy Lys

Welke "acts" zien wij in de Arabische wereld?

Hm, eigenlijk weet ik daar niet zoveel over. Maar ik dacht dat bepaalde bekende mensen wel al aan het ijveren zijn voor meer vrouwenrechten. Dat is toch een goed begin?

Bijvoorbeeld: "Former Saudi TV personality Rania Al-Baz called on women victims of violence in the region “to speak up and join hands to fight for their rights."
Bron: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&sect...=10&m=1&y=2005

Of een andere Rania, de koningin van Jordanië, is daar ook zeer intensief mee bezig.

Ik dacht dat jij daar meer over wist omdat je de topic lanceerde?

[Basy Lys]

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Uh-Huh

... Bijvoorbeeld: [i] "Former Saudi TV personality Rania Al-Baz called on women victims of violence in the region “to speak up and join hands to fight for their rights."...

Een roepende in de woestijn? En wat heeft ze daarmee reeds bereikt?

Wat de positie van de helft van de bevolking in de Arabische wereld betreft zou men denken dat het niet achterlijker kan. Edoch!

http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/earia...4?OpenDocument

We begin with The Taliban Wannabe Prize, once named for the copycats working to keep women under (literal) wraps. This year the award is bound to, alas ... Afghanistan. Remember the virtue police who beat Afghan women for merely exposing their ankles? They're coming baaaaack. The Department for the Protection of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has been reapproved by our man in Kabul, President Hamid Karzai, and will soon come before the Afghan Parliament. With friends like these, who needs the Taliban?
Speaking of our freedom-loving allies, The International Ayatollah Award goes to Saudi Arabia, where women have long been kept out of the drivers' seats. Now King Abdullah wants them out of the newspapers as well, because publishing pictures of women could lead men astray. We send him a revised motto for the kingdom: Out of sight? Out of your mind?

[Uh-Huh]

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Basy Lys

Een roepende in de woestijn? En wat heeft ze daarmee reeds bereikt?

Euh, ze is écht niet de enige hoor. Het is toch al goed begin dat vrouwen steeds meer hun rechten beginnen op te eisen in de Arabische wereld?

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Basy Lys

Wat de positie van de helft van de bevolking in de Arabische wereld betreft zou men denken dat het niet achterlijker kan. Edoch!

Ach percies niet, blijkbaar wil je niet dat ze voor hun rechten opkomen en "achterlijk" blijven... Wat ben jij toch een pessimist zeg.

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Basy Lys

http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/earia...4?OpenDocument

We begin with The Taliban Wannabe Prize, once named for the copycats working to keep women under (literal) wraps. This year the award is bound to, alas ... Afghanistan. Remember the virtue police who beat Afghan women for merely exposing their ankles? They're coming baaaaack. The Department for the Protection of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has been reapproved by our man in Kabul, President Hamid Karzai, and will soon come before the Afghan Parliament. With friends like these, who needs the Taliban?
Speaking of our freedom-loving allies, The International Ayatollah Award goes to Saudi Arabia, where women have long been kept out of the drivers' seats. Now King Abdullah wants them out of the newspapers as well, because publishing pictures of women could lead men astray. We send him a revised motto for the kingdom: Out of sight? Out of your mind?

Duh, daartegen komen die vrouwen (en mannen) dus in opstand. Als je dacht dat ik Saoedie Arabië of Afghanistan ging verdedigen, dan heb je het mis. Ik vind dat ze onze godsdienst zelfs schaden... en zeker als Mohamed (vzmh) ijverde voor meer en gelijke rechten voor vrouwen. Ik begrijp zelf de logica van die achterlijke Arabische leiders niet...

[Basy Lys]

Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Uh-Huh

... Als je dacht dat ik Saoedie Arabië of Afghanistan ging verdedigen, dan heb je het mis. Ik vind dat ze onze godsdienst zelfs schaden... en zeker als Mohamed (vzmh) ijverde voor meer en gelijke rechten voor vrouwen. Ik begrijp zelf de logica van die achterlijke Arabische leiders niet...

Het is niet de fout van die achterlijke Arabische leiders, die enkel de voorschriften van de mohammedaanse leer volgen.

http://hrw.org/women/overview-mena.html

The human rights of women throughout the Middle East and North Africa are systematically denied by each of the countries in the region, despite the diversity of their political systems. Many governments routinely suppress civil society by restricting freedom of the press, expression, and assembly. These restrictions adversely affect both men and women; however, women are subject to a host of additional gender-specific human rights violations. For example, family, penal, and citizenship laws throughout the region relegate women to a subordinate status compared to their male counterparts. This legal discrimination undermines women's full personhood and equal participation in society and puts women at an increased risk for violence.

Family matters in countries as diverse as Iran, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia are governed by religion-based personal status codes. Many of these laws treat women essentially as legal minors under the eternal guardianship of their male family members. They deny women equal rights with men with respect to marriage, divorce, child custody; and inheritance. Family decision making is thought to be the exclusive domain of men, who enjoy by default the legal status of "head of household." These notions are supported by family courts in the region that often reinforce the primacy of male decision-making power. These courts have rarely appointed women as judges, further denying women authority in family matters.
...

[Basy Lys]

De enige moslimse wetenschapper die de Nobelprijs won, Ahmed H. Zewail, met de Amerikaanse nationaliteit maar van Egyptische komaf, wijt ontwikkelingsachterstand aan:

- Illiteracy
- Incoherent Policy for Science & Technology
- Restrictions on Human Thought
- Fanatical Mix-ups of State Laws and Religious Beliefs

Een en ander wordt bevestigd in het hierboven aangehaalde Arab Human Development Report.

AHMED H. ZEWAIL

Illiteracy:

In many countries, especially those in the Southern Hemisphere, the illiteracy rate reaches 40-50% among the general population. Even worse, in some countries, the illiteracy rate among women is above 70%. These rates reflect the failure of educational systems, and are linked to the alarming increase in unemployment. One cannot expect to seriously participate in the world market with this state of unpreparedness. In the west, illiteracy on this scale has been essentially eliminated, and nowadays often means a lack of expertise with computers, not the inability to read and write! Of course, some now developed countries had high illiteracy rates when they began their development, but we must recall that scientific knowhow was possessed by a significant portion of the population.

Incoherent Policy for Science & Technology:

The lack of a solid science & technology base in the world of have-nots is not always due to poor capital or human resources. Instead, in many cases, it is due to a lack of appreciation for the critical role of science & technology, an incoherent methodology for establishing a science & technology base, and an absence of a coherent policy addressing national needs, human and capital resources (even in some developed countries, we are witnessing the consequences of the latter). Some countries believe that science and technology are only for rich nations. Others consider scientific progress to be a luxury, not a basic need, that it is only necessary to pursue after the country has solved other demanding problems. Some rich, but developing, countries believe that the base for science and technology can be built through purchases of technology from developed countries. These beliefs translate into poor, or at most, modest advances and in almost all cases the success is based on individuals, not institutional teamwork. These complex problems are made worse by the fact that there are many slogans, reports and showcase efforts which do not address the real issues and are intended for local consumption.

Restrictions on Human Thought:

Real progress requires the participation of knowledgeable people working together to address key problems and possible solutions. In the west, this participation involves senior and junior people and their different areas of expertise in exchanges of human thought and knowledge. The result is a planned recommendation, designed to help different sectors of the society. In many developing countries, although this practice is true on paper, it is usually not followed in reality. The reasons are many, including hierarchical dominance, strong seniority systems and the centralization of power; all limit people’s ability to speak freely. Although western democracies are not the only successful models for government, a lack of democratic participation suppresses collective human thought and limits “due process of the law”, which unfairly stifles human potential.

Fanatical Mix-ups of State Laws and Religious Beliefs

Fanatical Mix-ups of State Laws and Religious Beliefs: Confusion and chaos result from the misuse of the fundamental message of religion, namely the ethical, moral and humanistic ingredients in the life of many, a significant fraction of world population. For example, in Islam the message is clear, fully expressed in the Holy Quran to Muslims, who are close to one billion in global population. The Quran makes fundamental statements about human existence and integrity, on everything from science and knowledge to birth and death. “READ” is the first word in the first verse of the direct Revelation to The Prophet [Sura Alaq 96:1] and there are numerous verses regarding the importance of knowledge, science and learning; Muslims position scientists along with the prophets in the respect they are due. The Quran also emphasizes the critical role that humans must play in the struggle to achieve and develop, stating, “Verily! Allah will not change the good condition of the people as long as they do not change their state of goodness themselves.” [Sura Al Ra’d 13:11]. All societies and religions experience some fanaticism, but the current disparity in the world economy, with the dominance of the west, and the new role of invading media and politics trigger real fear for the possible loss of religious and cultural values. This situation, with increased unemployment, results in rigidity towards progress and the release of frustration in different ways. The west is seen by many as responsible for some of the mix-up, first because there is inconsistency in political actions by the west, and second because of the gap between the rich and the poor; between billionaires and the homeless.

[Antoon]

Allemaal goed en wel. Maar het is hier wel een Nederlandstalige forum.

Iedereen plaatst wel eens een berichtje in het Engels als quote, maar jij schrijft hier pagina's vol, zonder verder commentaar in het Nederlands.

Vervelend om te lezen. ( En je kan mij moeilijk verwijten anti-Angelsaksisch te zijn, hé? )

[Basy Lys]

Nog iets uit het Arab Human Development Report (2002):

Women's literacy rates have expanded threefold since 1970; female primary and secondary enrolment rates have more than doubled. However, these achievements have not succeeded in countering gender-based social attitudes and norms that exclusively stress women's reproductive role and reinforce the gender-based asymmetry of unpaid care. As a consequence, more than half of Arab women are still illiterate. The region's maternal mortality rate is double that of Latin America and the Caribbean, and four times that of East Asia.