This discussion addresses the following guiding question:
Is the important work that the ICC does, upholding human rights and bringing states and individuals to justice, being politicised by some states?
Thank you,
Unnati
Academic
Universalism vs Cultural Relativism
Here is a debate between a universalist and cultural relativist regarding the topic of human rights.
This task aimed at broadening our understanding of the contrasting perspectives surrounding human rights. I think it was important since, previously, we only had knowledge regarding what human rights are (with the perspective of a universalist), which failed to take into account the various perspectives surrounding such an important debate. I, personally, argued from the perspective of a cultural relativist, however, I believe in the notion of universalism. I think that the concept of cultural relativism can easily be taken advantage of in order to violate human rights and bring harm to people and their liberties. I think this can be seen with muslim countries that use Shariah Law, who don’t believe in women’s rights or acknowledge women as individual deserving of human rights. As such, I believe that having a document generalising human rights is essential, in order to hold people accountable for committing human rights atrocities, regardless of their cultural values and beliefs.
EA Learning Journal #2- Interview with the founder of my NGO
An interview with Mr Arasu, the founder of India Volunteer Care, was very important in enlarging my understanding of the depths behind the tool that is microfinance. Whilst all of his answers were provided in great detail, one that stood out to me was what he thought were the primary obstacles that women using microfinance faced. There were two parts to the response provided to the one question, as given below:
“Sometimes, her spouse may take money from her and put her into trouble of borrowing [from money lenders]”. I think there is a lot to be learnt and understood in this one sentence. Firstly, it speaks to the everlasting presence of the patriarchy subjugating women to the control of men, who impose their will on the decisions and actions of women. I think this is one of the chief deterrents to the success of microfinance to achieve one of its aims of female empowerment. It shows that even though there may be the opportunity for women to thrive and earn respect in their community, social factors that play a great role in the way in which women behave or can behave, inhibit the human or personal development of women. In the context of analysing the effectiveness of microfinance as a tool of female empowerment, it represents one of the aspects that I will have to take into consideration, particularly in the cultural and social backdrop of India. Furthermore, Mr Arasu’s answer also reveals to me about the scope for exploitation of microfinance in India, something I was completely unaware about until now. This may be attributable to the fact that no fraudulent organisation candidly reveals their schemes on their website or to the women who may have to use them. This is always why my active engagement was so important in revealing the intricacies that go on in Pondicherry, with regards to microfinance, that may not necessarily be explicit online. This form of exploitation takes away from the goal of female empowerment by converting microfinance into a service for profitability.
“Often being uneducated, a woman may not know how to use the money for the purpose for which it was offered. She may use the money for her own domestic needs”. This is a common problem that I have previously identified through reading online reports or assessments of microfinance. I think this reveals one of the most important factors that are into play while determining the success of microfinance: education. Given that it is rational to assume that many impoverished women, who have likely not received sufficient education in their past, are the main users of microfinance schemes, it must be analysed just to what extent this lack of education has one the success levels of the businesses run by the women, and their subsequence empowerment. As such, I also learn about the importance of banks/NGOs in facilitating regular checks, in order to ensure that the women use the money to generate long-term, sustainable income, which cannot be attained if it is spent on domestic needs for example.
Here is a photo of the founder, Mr Arasu, and I on my final day, where they gifted me the scarf and handed me my certificate for volunteering with their programs.
EA Learning Journal #1 – Meeting members of SHGs
The NGO I worked with, India Volunteer Care (IVC), is greatly involved with the microfinance programs offered in India, linking them with banks and assisting them to secure finances in order to generate sustainable income. In fact, they help 150 Self-Help Groups with roughly 10-20 women within their organisation, which was tremendously beneficial for my engagement, since it enabled me to meet more women involved in microfinance programs, eventually strengthening my knowledge about the program.
I had the opportunity to meet 12 SHGs, which I believe allows me to acquire a broader understanding of the perspective of the women most actively involved in the microfinance program. One of the commonalities between the majority of all the women I had interviewed was that they made all, if not the majority of, the decisions for the family following their participation in the microfinance program. Not only is this a remarkable change that has been successfully created solely by the hard-work and determination of the women, but it speaks to the effectiveness of this program to empower women in Pondicherry. Throughout the interviews, I was in awe of the independence of the women that sat before me, as I learnt about what invigorated them to form SHGs or about the benefits the program has caused to their lives. I think the women have been able to earn themselves respect in their households, especially given their preceding poverty status, because it shows them shouldering the burdens of the household in a more modern and equal way. In small towns or rural areas in India particularly, there is a belief that women are best to remain in the households, caring for the children, whilst the man assumes the role of the breadwinner. However, with the growing presence of microfinance all over India, there is a way for women to generate an income for themselves and their family, even if they haven’t yet had the sufficient education or training required for that field. As such, I believe that microfinance provides women with a way to challenge commonly-held and regressive social norms in a patriarchal Indian society, which inhibit the ability to improve their well-being themselves. Another thing that I learnt from the greater decision-making power of women under this program is that the impacts of empowerment through microfinance are social, and thus culturally relative. In fact, when asked about the familial decision-making power held prior to participation in microfinance programs, one woman said: “husbands stay quiet while women make the decisions of the house”. Since I am from the north of India, where patriarchal demonstrations occur at a far greater frequency, this greater gender equality of the South of India was a revelation for me. I think this allows me to broaden my scope of analysis into my political issue when the time comes to actually write it.
Here are some photos I took during my visits to different self-help groups.
EA Initial Reflection
The Global Politics course requires a hands-on experience undertaken by each student in an area they are interested in. I chose to evaluate the effectiveness of micro-financing as a tool of female empowerment in India for a multitude of reasons. Poor women are some of the most marginalised groups of the Indian community, falling in one of the lowest bands of India’s orthodox class system. Micro-finance has been a frequently implemented solution for not only alleviating the poverty levels of women but also as a tool for female empowerment, a notion that needs to be more widely supported in a country existing with a patriarchal outlook on society. While I was initially introduced to micro-finance by a documentary that included multiple interviews with women that have been able to sustain themselves thanks to banks that specialise in micro-financing, after subsequent research, I realised that it is not always effective, as it has the potential to cause negative consequences. I became really interested in this political issue due to its evident links to human rights and development. I wanted to explore it within Indian society since it is my country of origin so I think would definitely further engage my passion and commitment towards my Engagement Activity. I have decided to volunteer at India Volunteer Care, a non-profit organisation that provides me with the opportunity to work with these women and procure a first-hand experience of their lives, to analyse how much of an impact micro-finance has had on it. As of today, I simply need to book the flights to Chennai for this summer. I could not be more excited!
Is Liberalism in Retreat?
Liberalism has been a dominant force in the structuring of the 21st century. The philosophy is founded on ideas of interstate harmony, yielding many economic, social and political merits. The presence of harmony amongst sovereign states has resulted in a lattice of interdependent states, alongside globalization. Both outcomes are evident today in the notion of “Commercial Liberalism” that can be traced back to the 19th century. The survival of Singapore, for instance, is dependent upon this theory. Having a key geographical advantage, Singapore plays the role of a port in the world’s fluid transportation of goods and services, and would much likely become a futile land of potential if not for (Commercial) Liberalism. The inhabitants of Singapore as well, would potentially starve and be forced to move out, due to her inability to produce food. Since globalization promotes the reduction of protectionist barriers of trade, such as tariffs or quotas, to encourage the free flow of goods and services, essentially boosting the general welfare of the people, it is especially pivotal in ensuring that Singaporeans can import food and other prerequisites.
So why is Liberalism believed to be in retreat? Well, that is likely the doing of one of the world’s superpowers, the United States. President-elect, Donald Trump, holds the power of a United States that has divided political institutions alongside a fragile economy. With an “America first!” motto, it becomes more and more evident that the US is no longer going to sacrifice its national interests to benefit other states. To realists, or at least globalization-skeptics like Trump that openly undermine the dire plea of their predecessors, the needs of the Americans come first, in a power-hungry, self-help governed global system. Trump is pledging to “terminate” the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a trade agreement between the US, Canada, and Mexico. Trade agreements as such promote trade liberalization, as previously mentioned, that is significant in increasing globalization and interdependence. While the agreements has done wonders to the Mexican economy (who have a $60 billion trade surplus with the Americans) and other Asian economies (auto and manufacturing industries are far more competitive), Trump threatens to overhaul the deal as the Americans (who ended up with higher wages and more productivity) seemingly didn’t benefit from it.
I believe that Liberalism has been in retreat over the past few years, with the two leading powers of the world, the United States and the United Kingdom, suffering economic and political uncertainty. Although trade liberalization and investment across borders have increased the GDP of these countries, it has not been converted to gains for the majority of their populations with median wages remaining as stagnant as ever. The decision to elect Trump or to exit the EU is essentially a campaign to value national over the needs of other states. As the US and the UK transition to standing alone, the Liberal system of vast interdependence is going to be more and more disrupted. It is a concern for the community on a global scale if states choose to follow their example and shut their doors to other nations. It is already evident in Thailand and Malaysia, who choose to usher the Rohingya back to turmoil in Myanmar, rather than facing economic setbacks. Since when have people from other states not been eligible for obtaining help from other countries? With growing numbers of relatively small-scale conflicts affected separate parts of the world (in comparison to the World Wars), countries need to show some humanity and offer help to states that need it.
UWC Day Global Politics Challenge
These post-it notes are a mixed compilation of images from both the UWC mission and the Global Politics course. One can notice many similarities between the two: both display a motion of interconnectedness and a demonstration of the idea that all actions have an impact on your community and peers. Both UWC and the Global Politics course encourage us to develop our own views after evaluating any evidence present, to eventually allow us to have a diverse, yet accepting mindset.
In the spirit of UWC Day, we did an activity called the “Concentric Circles”, where I discussed 4 questions with 4 different students. I’m glad to have done this activity in this class especially, since we have nearly 9 nationalities in a class of only 11. The questions we discussed were as followed:
- What assumptions does our mission make about you?
- How does your course push you to agree with those assumptions?
- Where might your course argue with the mission?
- Which one part of the mission does the course best aspire to?
I was glad to see the effect of the UWC movement on all of the different people I spoke to, as my perspective was predominantly similar to them, and therefore wasn’t effected as much.
Here is a discussion a group regarding how Global Politics and the UWC mission can affect our future itself.
Journal Intime Re-write
6th septembre 2017
Cher journal,
Je suis désolée de ne pas t’avoir écrit depuis longtemps mais honnêtement, j’en ai marre de mes parents récemment! Si tu ne le sais pas déjà, laisse-moi te dire que j’ai commencé le lycée il y a 3 semaines maintenant. Le travail n’est pas particulièrement difficile, cependant mes parents me font perdre la tête! Même si j’ai déjà fini mon travail, dès que je fais une pause, ils me critiquent immédiatement. C’est pas juste du tout!
Peux-tu deviner ce qui est arrivé (avec eux)? Moi, non plus! Je ne peux jamais discuter de rien avec eux! Prends hier, par exemple. Je venais de terminer mon travail et j’étais sur le point de sortir avec Nadine et Mehak. Même après avoir vérifié mes devoirs, ils m’ont empêché de quitter la maison! “Commence à réviser tes exams” ils ont justifié. C’est énervant à la fin! Tu te souviens comment ils agissaient avec moi l’année dernière? Je me sentais plus comme une adulte l’année dernière qu’en ce moment! C’est révoltant!
Ils sont trop stricts mais je te promets, cher journal, que je serai un bien meilleur parent qu’eux, si j’ai décidé d’avoir des enfants. Je leur crierai dessus seulement s’ils font quelque chose d’extrêmement stupide ou dangereux. Je voudrais que mes enfants aient confiance en moi et me parlent de tout. J’envisage d’être une amie pour mes enfants. Après tout, un bon parent, c’est quelqu’un à qui l’enfant peut tout confier, non?
Allez, petit journal, il est tard, il faut que j’aille me coucher.
Merci de m’avoir écoutée, tu es vraiment le seul qui me comprenne chez moi!
Bonne nuit.