#firstworldproblems? More like #globalproblems

Photograph: Tony Webster via Flickr

It’s winter right now in the UK and everyone’s a bit chilly. It’s really annoying, actually, because one minute we’re turning up the central heating and donning our dressing gowns, and the next we’re opening the windows, gasping for fresh air, because we’ve overheated the house. Sigh. It’s so difficult to heat our homes to the right level, especially when the insulation in our walls is already doing such a good job, and we still want to watch television and switch on our lamps to make the living room look nice and Christmassy. All that electricity amounts to quite a bit of heat, you know? Eventually we just leave the heating on and get the electric fans out, and the temperature evens out nicely.

I mean, really. Never mind the fact that nearly 1.3 billion people don’t have access to electricity in the world. The other day we had a power cut for a whole hour. I missed my favourite TV show, and my microwave popcorn never progressed to anything more than rock-hard kernels because the electricity cut off ten seconds into the heating time. I had to chuck them away and grab a bag of ready-made popcorn instead. #firstworldproblems, am I right?

Well, no. Not really. The #firstworldproblems concept is a bit of an issue, actually. It encourages the idea that while us westerners are civilised, sophisticated creatures, juggling our cash-stuffed wallets and our controversial red Starbucks coffee cups while trying to fish out the keys to our London apartments, the rest of the world is living in the dark ages. Posts such as “my phone ran out of battery with an hour left of this lecture to go #fml #firstworldproblems” seems to suggest that smartphones and their frustrating habit of running low on juice at the most inconvenient of times, are only ever possessed by the citizens of Paris, London, New York and the like. That’s most likely the reason for some of the hostility against Syrian refugees over the past months. If I had a pound for every ‘But they have smartphones! They can’t be suffering that badly!’ comment I’ve heard since this summer, I could transport people to Syria with their smartphones and see if they stick with their ignorant comments after that.

The main issue with #firstworldproblems, then, while it’s founded in goodwill and an attempt to highlight the inequalities of the world, is that it tends to further the ‘us versus them’ narrative already too prevalent in society. It creates such a strong picture of developing countries as ‘alien’ that when we see photographs of refugees using smartphones, we’re outraged that they’re real people. The comment section of papers such as the Daily Mail draw in the particularly ignorant: ‘V signs, sunglasses and selfie sticks?! For persecuted, terrified refugees they’ve really mastered the art of looking cool. Wonder if they’ll be posting those pics on Facebook later?!’ It’s as if those from the Middle East aren’t allowed to look or act like our young people. Never mind that social media sites like Facebook are crucial for those contacting family back home: the West has done such a good job at the ‘us vs. them’ narrative that we just can’t imagine a group of non-Western youths owning a pair of jeans, let alone a smartphone with internet access.

I use the Middle East as an example because of the coverage it has recently received, but the argument made here is just as resonant for sub-Saharan Africa, for example, or any other part of the developing world. We should never, of course, ignore the reality that in that area of the world, for example, one person in four is undernourished; or that two thirds of the population of Asia go hungry on a regular basis. We should simply remember that while these really, really important issues exist, we should not be treating citizens of developing countries as ‘others’. We’re all humans, at the end of the day. At the same time as one person tweets a picture of their Starbucks cup lying on the floor in a pool of coffee with the hashtag #firstworldproblems, another person in Kenya spills their tea in a Java café and sighs, frustrated. While a businessman on a conference in London jokes about ‘white people problems’ with a raised eyebrow to the receptionist when he can’t connect to his hotel’s WiFi, the CEO of a company in Iraq resists punching her laptop screen for the same reason. #firstworldproblems are not confined to the ‘First World’, and nor does a ‘First World’ exist.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

A case for early sex education

Image: Hey Paul Studios via Flickr

The case for early sex education is strong. It is vital not just for the health of an individual, but for the health of a community. It reduces the risk of unsafe sex during adolescence by teaching about sexually transmitted diseases. Teaching children about consent tackles sexual violence at its source—a lack of education about what constitutes an enthusiastic yes. Contrary to popular belief, teaching sex education early on does not contribute to deviant sexual behaviour later in life. Rather, it counters the inherently violent messages sent through channels such as porn and teaches children to challenge the portrayal of women in the media. It teaches the reality behind impressions of sex portrayed in the media, which are often superficial and unrealistic. And, perhaps most importantly for a child, it teaches them what sex is, and what it shouldn’t be—vital knowledge that can empower a child to recognise and report if they are being abused, for example. Early sex education is the key to a society that is safer for men and women, adults and children alike. So why are countries around the world not taking it seriously?

For some, sex education is hindered by religion. For example, the Catholic Education Resource Centre states that:

The Catholic Church’s traditional teaching about sex education, especially as formulated by Popes Pius XI and Pius XII, is that it should not be primarily a matter of giving explicit information at all, but rather it should be a matter of inculcating modesty, purity, chastity, and morality, a matter of teaching the sixth and ninth commandments. Moreover, it should also be primarily a matter for the parents to impart privately in the home, not something to be purveyed and discussed in mixed classrooms of boys and girls at impressionable ages.

For countries governed by Catholic rules, the lack of ‘explicit information’ given to students means that sex education is lacking. Educational programmes may teach about healthy relationships in a platonic sense, but ignore details about types of sexual activity, the discourses around consent, and advice on safe sex. For the Catholic faith, of course, there is little or no discourse around contraception due to the beliefs and practices of the religion, something that may hinder the ability of young people to practise safe sex if they choose to have sexual relationships. Most significantly, the above statement expresses a wish to engage in at-home, single-sex education given by parents. If there is no established curriculum, there is no requirement for parents to teach their children anything at all about sex. Moreover, separating genders for this purpose does not encourage a healthy understanding of the sexual differences between people. Rather, it serves to heighten the divide between genders and increase the lack of understanding of others’ bodies and sexualities that are vital to healthy sexual relationships at a later stage.

There are, of course, cultural, economic and class boundaries that prevent early sex education, or indeed sex education at all. Developing countries’ approaches to sex education vary, but the struggle to provide a comprehensive education at all outweighs the push for education from an early age. In some African countries, sex education is focused on stemming the growing AIDS epidemic. The World Health Organisation works with many governments on the continent to establish AIDS education programmes specifically for this purpose. For these countries, tackling AIDS is the priority, and early sex education, although vitally important, will have to wait. The same can be said for cultural practices around the globe like female genital mutilation. For countries where the practice is widespread, the focus of campaigners is on protecting women from the operation. Fighting directly harmful practices such as FGM takes priority over early sex education because of this immediacy.

That is not to say that the fight against AIDS, female genital mutilation and other such campaigns is worthless. Clearly, for many countries around the world, certain issues have to take priority before early sex education is implemented. But countries with established sex education programmes should be pushed to tailor and deliver these at different ages. Some studies and articles suggest that programmes are suitable for teaching children from the age of four. Despite the discomfort parents feel around the subject, the evidence is mounting to prove that early sex education is essential to society. As well as encouraging a healthy discourse with teachers, parents and friends throughout their childhood and adolescence, children will benefit from the education they receive as they grow into adults and engage in sexual relationships. For countries in the western world, the conversation about sexuality is opening up, and children should be equipped with an understanding of all aspects of sexual relationships— genders, sexual preferences, anatomy and consent, amongst others—to be able to promote a sex-positive society.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

A sense of community: the power of the internet in bringing people together

Image: Kristina Alexanderson via Flickr

For all the criticism it receives, the internet really isn’t all that bad. The countless banks of knowledge from sites like Wikipedia means that there are few things one can’t learn about in the space of two minutes. It’s changing the world in many ways. Free education sites like Khan Academy and Coursera are closing the gap between the educated and the uneducated, even while traditional institutions remains elitist. Web-based activism and vigilante groups like Anonymous are pioneering a new form of social justice that addresses the governmental roots of the problem. Families split across the globe can keep in touch at the click of a button, projecting their voices and images to each other in real time. In short, the internet is bringing the world closer, and this is crucially important in many ways.

Perhaps one should begin with the example of the Black Lives Matter movement. Spaces for protest for people of colour have long been lacking, but from one Facebook post following the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin, Black Lives Matter was born. According to The Guardian, there are now more than 26 Black Lives Matter chapters across the United States. This doesn’t take into consideration the involvement of people across the world online. Even Barack Obama has addressed the movement. Black Lives Matter is the re-ignition of a civil rights movement much-needed in the US and across the world. If not for the internet, and for social media in particular, the voices of those activists might not reach others in the wider world to create a global movement based on community and affinity.

Other rights movements have gained ground on social media, too. Most notable is that of feminism. Many proclaim that the cause has entered its ‘fourth wave’ on social media. The internet has opened up a platform for feminists of all political persuasions to discuss and dispute each other’s beliefs. While this has led to a widening gulf between different feminist groups – trans-inclusive and trans-exclusive feminists, for example – it has, on the whole, provided a platform for women to join a movement that might not exist in their own local communities. It has brought women together against sexism in a way that could not be done without social media, and this is shown in the smallest of things. A post written in complaint about an unwanted interaction with a man will receive empathetic likes, words of condolence and expressions of anger. The average woman with access to the internet is no longer alone: social media-based feminist groups become a safe haven for those who need them. The same can be said for all minority groups, whether of race, religion, gender, sexuality, or other identity.

Ultimately, this is about safe spaces. Away from social media, websites dedicated to the care of trans people, for example, provide support for those seeking advice on anything from surgery and health to law and employment. Every day, more articles are published worldwide in support of minority movements not represented in their own communities. If one cannot find support from their school, home or government, they can pursue it in many forms online. They can, in fact, find whole groups of people seeking that same support.

As a whole, the internet cannot be unified by its users. The millions surfing the web every day are too diverse in identity, politics, religious belief and morals to be able to form one cohesive whole. But perhaps this is a benefit. We should not seek to find a platform that unites us all, because that platform would quash individual identities and take the spirit out of the web. Rather, the internet provides community across the world to those who need it – to those who cannot find it at home, in their town, or even in their country – every day.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

Artist profile: Jeff Koons

Photograph: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra via Flickr

The term ‘kitsch’ is quite recent. In essence, it refers to material objects that exhibit poor taste: kitsch art is necessarily cheap, sentimental, and tacky. It’s a concept that Jeff Koons does well.

That’s not to say that Koons’ work is in bad taste, though many believe it is. In 2014, an exhibition review in The Guardian of ‘Jeff Koons: Retrospective’ commented on the art’s ability to generate ‘an agreeable queasiness’. Koons draws criticism, too, for the presentation of women in some of his work. Indeed, the same reviewer commented on the ‘cheap, tone-deaf’ misogyny of his ‘Made in Heaven’ series (1989-91)). This comment springs to mind when one looks at the use of the female body in his 'Banality' series — Pink Panther (1988), for example, or Fait D’Hiver (1988). If not misogynistic, then 'Made In Heaven' still evokes a theme running through much of Koons’ art – that of commodification, or consumerism. ‘Made in Heaven‘ is a series depicting Koons making love with his ex-wife Ilona Staller. Staller is a porn star, amongst other occupations. In the context of Koons’ other work, it is difficult not to see ‘Made in Heaven’ as a commentary on the commodification of sex in the porn industry and other venues.

In some of his other work, such as the early series ‘The New’ (1979-83), the critical examination of consumerism is clearer. ‘The New’ depicts brand new vacuum cleaners encased in plexiglass and lit by fluorescent lights. It immediately raises one question: is this art? Perhaps that’s what Koons is trying to provoke. His work exploits popular art to redefine ‘high culture’, and to challenge what is and isn’t art. His work isn’t about representation so much as re-presentation. He presents objects of modern materialistic life outside of their domestic setting, against the white walls of a gallery. In essence, he commodifies consumerism. As one of Koons’s early works, the series has attracted much attention in light of more recent projects. It has become a pinnacle of Koons’ work, to highlight the overwhelming presence of materialism in all areas of society— including high art itself.

Koons might present commentaries about consumerism, but he cannot escape the self-conscious consumerism that surrounds his art. Some of his most well-known achievements have been monetary. Selling for $58.4 million, for example, his sculpture Balloon Dog (1994-2000) became the most expensive artwork ever sold by a living artist. Felix Salmon wrote last year about Koons’ ability to turn money into art. As well as highlighting Koons’ perfectionism, Salmon also drew attention to the expense of his work. He has bankrupted several art dealers, as well as losing enormous amounts of money himself. He is not afraid to ask investors for more money to complete his projects – they are expensive to run, often containing multiple editions of one piece and employing a number of people to help carry out his artistic duties. He’s been called ‘the smooth salesman of surrealism’ by Edward Helmore, not just reflected in the cost of his art: his retrospective exhibition at the Whitney in New York in 2014 set attendance records by the time it closed.

Kitsch art will always attract as much criticism as it does appreciation. For some, it is tacky—indeed, it takes a certain eye to see refined art in Michael Jackson and Bubbles (1988). For others, it is clever. Koons is, indeed, intelligent about his art. It is gaudy; it certainly isn’t ideal for display in the average living room. But like all good art, it communicates an underlying narrative about social issues. For Koons, one of those social issues is materialism, and the self-conscious nature of his art highlights this by becoming an example of it.

Originally published on The Global Panorama. Edits from original are my own.

Ravages of war: when the West intervened – Iraq

Image by openDemocracy via Flickr

It seems that no one paused to think about what would happen after the death of Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi leader was the United States’ initial reason for invading the country in 2003, and western media did much to emphasise his wicked reputation. But the void left after a government suffers a sudden death was never going to be resolved quietly. Violence and disorder following the intervention of the west comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with recent world history. Take Palestine, for example, whose troubles were escalated after British colonisation. Turn also to Syria, where the actions of the west against the government have caused horrific violence on both sides of the conflict. Can western countries make claim to peacemaking when their history of intervention is littered with violence? The events of Iraq since 2003 suggest not.

The United States’ reasons for invading Iraq were never selfless. Saddam Hussein was deemed an immediate threat to US security, and the validity of the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction is questionable. The invasion was fuelled by a hatred incited by the events of 9/11. One only has to look at the vast increase in Muslim hate crimes across the US to recognise that this was an issue not addressed by the American government before they attacked.

Unfortunately, the actions of an extremist minority, and the resulting intolerance by the west, took its toll on the people of Iraq. A website tracking the public record of violent deaths in the country since the 2003 invasion reasons the death toll to be at 224,000. Civilians died of bombing campaigns as much as militants did, and many more were permanently disabled or otherwise wounded. The bombs weren’t just from the west, either: the power vacuum left by the removal of Saddam Hussein’s government led to heavy sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis in a struggle for power that has lasted up to the present day. But civilians were also the target of other attacks, some direct and others incidental, that reached beyond the immediate impact of a bomb and continue to haunt Iraq today.

Western war crimes were made possible by the dehumanisation of Iraqi people. One such example of this is the gang-rape of fourteen year-old Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi and the murder of her and her family in an Iraqi village to the west of Al-Mahmudiyah. One of the five US soldiers convicted of the crime later confessed that he ‘didn’t think of Iraqis as humans’. Britain, too, has been held to scrutiny after increasing accusations of war crimes in the country during the occupation. The men who raped, tortured and murdered Iraqi people are the same men who were celebrated at home for their heroism. Being a soldier does not make someone a hero, and nowhere is this clearer than in the ever-mounting evidence against western soldiers in Iraq. Nevertheless, the impact of the Iraq War on US and British soldiers is well-known. Recovery centres and dedicated charities provide help for those returning from Iraq and other countries with psychological and physical wounds. Awareness of ex-soldier suicide rates and the increase in violent behaviour amongst men who served in the war is on the increase. Help is available for those suffering from PTSD and physical disabilities.

But what of the people of Iraq? For the remaining family of Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi and others like them who suffered directly at the hands of western soldiers, the psychological scars left behind will not heal. But western intervention affected Iraq as a whole as well as those individuals. Since the 2003 invasion, more than four million Iraqis have been displaced, many of them families. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, around 4.5 million children have become orphans, 70% of them since western intervention started. Iraq’s healthcare structure has been torn apart, and half of Iraqi doctors have left the country. All of these factors have a serious impact on the mental as well as physical wellbeing of those affected. Combined, they create a health crisis that is being seriously under-reported – while the fate of western soldiers continues to take priority.

If people are not shocked by the plight of the Iraqi people as a whole, they must at least consider the west’s impact on the children of Iraq. A report by Joanne Baker in 2013 detailed the suffering of Iraq’s youngsters in statistics. Of the four million people displaced since 2003, for example, up to two million were children. Around 20% of these children were reported missing by their families since 2003, amounting to around 93,500 children. Moreover, many of those displaced are suffering further from malnutrition, lack of shelter, and lack of basic healthcare and education. Around 18% of people over the age of nine are illiterate. Because of poor nutrition and water quality, only one in five children will reach their fifth birthday. A report by the World Health Organisation found that 70% of Iraqi children were suffering from trauma-related symptoms. It is worth considering, too, that these figures are from two years ago, and one year before the re-entry of western forces into Iraq.

This report does not begin to cover the entirety of the west’s impact on Iraq. The long-term economic consequences of the war are still developing, and the growing crisis in Syria continues to worsen the situation of Iraqi people. With western intervention restarting in 2014, three years after the withdrawal of troops, the world is beginning to see other consequences that will engulf the Middle East before moving beyond its borders. One such consequence, of course, is ISIS, a product of American intervention that will further the destruction of Iraq and the Middle East for the foreseeable future. We cannot know the fate of Iraq if the west had not intervened, but it can be said with certainty that many of the country’s current problems may have been lessened, or might not have existed at all.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

Town on fire: the coal mine fires of Jharia

Image by international accountability project via Flickr

Vivid images of the so-called ‘Door To Hell’ have circulated the internet for years. Lighting up the sky, the pit of fire in the midst of the Karakum Desert, started by engineers in the 1970s, blazes night and day due to the abundance of natural gases present at the site. While this site is popular for the magnificent sights it produces, a town in the Indian state of Jharkhand has gained media attention for a more sinister reason. In Jharia, like in the Karakum Desert, flames lights up the sky. The town sits on a century-old underground fire that poses a threat to the safety and wellbeing of over a million local people.

Jharia itself is home to around 700,000 people and an abundance of coal. The richness of this area means that low-cost, open-cast mining is a popular way to increase profit. Mining in the area began in 1894 and peaked around 1925. Since then, over one hundred collieries have operated in the area. As one of Asia’s largest coal deposits, and the home to so many coal pioneers and businesses, Jharia is a popular and profitable town, selling coal to Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. Its businesses and its inhabitants, however, have suffered from the town’s rich resources: huge, coal-fuelled fires have burned underground for almost a century.

Fires began after the collapse of a coal mine in 1916 and have spread continuously since then. They have seen the destruction of collieries and other businesses, and in 2003 created the sinkholes that swallowed 250 houses within four hours. Because of the burning coal, the fires also produce large quantities of toxic fumes, including carbon dioxide and sulphur, as well as particulate matter. As a result, the emissions are incredibly hazardous to human health. Local residents suffer from high rates of skin and lung diseases, as well as respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis. This data, as well as the increasing threat to infrastructure from unstable ground, is building up to an eventual humanitarian disaster in the region.

The area is also plagued with environmental issues. Water supplies are contaminated by the gases and sediments purged from the fire. The sulphur produced by the burning coal also increases the acidity of the water. This, combined with the inhospitable land degraded by flames, means that vegetation struggles to grow in the area. As the fourth biggest source of greenhouse gas in India, the Jharia coal fires also have large-scale implications for the world. The area hosts one of the densest collections of coal fires on this planet. The flames consume coal at an alarming rate, with around 37 million tons of the resource lost since 1916, and another 1.5 billion tons deemed inaccessible due to burning. If the fires continue to burn at the rate they currently are, the abundance of coal means that they could last for another 3,800 years.

After the nationalisation of the Indian coal industry in 1971, around 600 collieries were inherited by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), many of them on fire. Despite warnings of the dangers, mining has continued in the region, with the open-cast method replacing underground mining in 1973. Residents now live in close proximity to coal pits dug by miners, and these coal pits are at high risk of fire. Instead of covering the pits with sand and clay, as is traditional after open-cast mining, the coal is left exposed to the air, and therefore oxygen. Even a cigarette stub or a spark could ignite a blaze. Open-cast mining has resulted in fires burning above the ground in addition to the large subterranean fire underneath. The Jharia coal field is now the largest complex of above and underground fires in the world.

Subterranean fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish. The Centralia coal fires in Pennsylvania, for example, have resulted in the almost total abandonment of the area, as well as the neighbouring town of Byrnesville. But rather than trying to tackle the flames, the BCCL and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have decided instead on a relocation programme. If it is successful, this programme will move more than one million people from their homes despite protests from residents of the unfairness of this decision. The decision has also provoked criticism by the media, as well as those cynical of the BCCL’s motives. To many, it seems that residents are not being removed from their homes for their own safety. Rather, the relocation programme is a capitalist venture to clear the way for the BCCL to access the more than 1,000 million tons of coal lying beneath the town, and thus increase the profitability of their floundering business.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

Hidden history: the plight of Palestine

Image by Wall in Palestine via Flickr

In the light of news stories and photographs from the Gaza Strip, the plight of Palestinians has been firmly catapulted back into the public eye. The country’s side of the Israel-Palestine conflict has been largely publicised, provoking sympathy and criticism in equal measures. Palestine’s history of suffering, however, remains obscure. Few who read the news stories and watch the television programmes realise that the plight of Palestine extends beyond the country itself, beyond Israel and beyond the Middle East, to British colonial rule and the failure of the United Nations to solve every crisis with which they were faced.

The Palestinian state had been in the control of the Ottoman Empire prior to the First World War, but following Turkey’s defeat, colonial Britain absorbed the region as the British Mandate of Palestine in 1917. Palestine soon became a forcibly-established ‘haven’ for Jewish people, with Britain and Europe as a whole ignoring the cries of protest from non-Jewish Palestinian inhabitants. Large numbers of Jewish people migrated to the region, peaking in the 1930s during the Nazi-era anti-Semitic movement. This influx led to a three-year national uprising in 1936 against British colonial rule. Although beginning as a largely political protest, a peasant-led resistance marked a more violent second phase in 1937. In British colonial fashion, the revolt was brutally suppressed. Statistics vary, but the death toll for Arabs was estimated at around 5,000, with a further 15,000 injured.

It is the United Nations’ response to this growing crisis of aggression that set the tone for their failures up to the present day. As Britain struggled to control the violence erupting in the region, the UN proposed to partition Palestine into two independent states, one Palestinian Arab and one Jewish, although the latter later proclaimed its independence as Israel. Ultimately, this decision allowed for the absorption of Palestinian land by Israel on one side, and other Middle Eastern countries on the other. The fracturing effect of the division was aptly demonstrated by the mass exodus of indigenous Palestinian people expelled from their homes into neighbouring countries in the late 1940s.

The further absorption of Palestinian territory by Israel in 1967 resulted in another exodus of around half a million people. The fight for Palestinian liberation and the retreat of Israel continued, politically and otherwise, throughout the 1970s. A UN decision to grant the Palestinian Liberation Organisation observer status led to hostility towards the Palestinians from other areas of the Middle East, including Lebanon, in which a large number of Palestinian refugees had settled since the exoduses of the 1940s and 1960s. In 1982, a militia close to the right-wing Kataeb Party massacred Palestinians sheltering in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in West Beirut under the eyes of Israel, despite the latter’s guarantee of Palestinian safety in the region in the same year. The number of deaths in this massacre is disputed: some reports claim around 460 died, but the reality could be anywhere up to 3,500.

The pattern of massacres and mass emigrations has continued into the last few decades of Palestinian history, and has been focused largely on the Israeli-Palestinian region. Attempted and successful Israeli occupations of Occupied Palestinian Territory in 1987 and 2000 led to further heavy losses of life amongst Palestinians as Israelis fighters used brutal force, not limited to extra-judicial killings, suicide attacks and mortar fire. The political and ethical complexities of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict means that it is difficult, if not impossible, to wholly support either side, but figures on the conflict since September 2000 show a huge difference in fatalities between the two: at least 1,198 Israelis have been killed since 2000, whereas in 2015 alone, more than 2,000 Palestinians have died, with overall numbers reaching 9,000 or more.

The plight of Palestine has not lessened in the 21st century, but a large part of recent Palestinian suffering has been significantly neglected by world media. News organisations relish in the controversy of the Israel-Palestine narrative, but rarely jump on stories about internal Palestinian conflicts resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people. The struggles between Hamas and Fatah for control of the Gaza strip, unresolved despite international intervention, remain a key cause of internal tension in the region. The political discordance of Palestine has directly translated into violence and death, with over 600 fatalities since the conflict began in 2006.

It is largely Israeli violence against Palestinians that receives media attention, and indeed Israeli violence makes up a large part of Palestine’s recent history. The huge numbers of Palestinians living under Israeli military rule since the uprisings of 1987 and 2000 continue to suffer under the strict governance of a power bigger than themselves. But while the Israel versus Palestine narrative has dominated media coverage of the conflict, it is important to remember the history that led to this point. The conflict now might be focused inwardly, narrowed down to Israel and Palestine and the regions directly surrounding them, but European countries and international organisations had a significant role to play in the creation of the fragmented region. This history has largely been forgotten, or at least suppressed, and the conflict has been reduced to an ‘us-versus-them’ standpoint between the two countries directly suffering from it. Both are perpetrators and both are victims, and it is impossible to discuss the plight of one without mention of the other. Looking at the long and complex history of the region, though, the failed involvement of other countries and the United Nations should be just as integral to any discussion of the region’s suffering as the Israel-Palestine narrative itself.

Originally posted on The Global Panorama.

Europe’s migration crisis: the importance of foreign aid

Image via Wikimedia Commons

While the migration crisis divides mainstream media and European citizens alike, a new narrative is beginning to emerge. It is becoming increasingly clear that the current climate of chaos and fear is severely unproductive that instead of trying to tackle the crisis on the front lines, more needs to be done in humanitarian and diplomatic terms to ensure that such disasters are avoided in the future.

This is more than crisis management. National newspapers and broadcasting stations in Britain alone are beginning to wake up to the reality of the situation: that the migrants are humans, often vulnerable humans, escaping lives in countries that the Western world only gets glimpses of in the media. Insensitive labels assigned to the migrants such as the British Prime Minister David Cameron describing those crossing from Calais as a ‘swarm’ are being challenged by a growing movement to embrace the humanity of those in Calais and in the Mediterranean. It is, it seems, time to find another route to securing a stable future for those journeying from abroad.

This route can only be found through foreign aid and international diplomacy, which in turn, means the abandonment of military-like defensive stances. While the British government has been criticised by the public for its increasing foreign aid budget, thus demonstrating the anti-migrant, often xenophobic sentiment of much of the nation, the rest of the EU has been urged to meet and exceed Britain’s commitments. The UK International Development Secretary, Justine Greening, told The Guardian in May that the answer to the migration crisis is to tackle the ‘root causes’ of why people are moving in the first place. The consequences of committing to more foreign aid, and thus improving the lives of people in developing and war-torn countries, are far worse for the human traffickers sending migrants across the Mediterranean than they are to the European countries who would otherwise receive them.

Hand in hand with a fairer foreign aid policy across Europe is a diplomatic approach to international relations. Providing military support to countries already in the throes of war only heightens the plight of civilians in those nations. Equally, of course, avoiding intervention altogether gives the impression of an aloof, uncaring government with a disregard for human life beyond their own country’s borders. A stronger, more visible support system made up of Western nations—those who have, historically, intervened to both advantageous and detrimental effect—may do more to help nations struggling with the poverty of their own people than violence or indifference ever could.

Some people, of course, will always be anti-immigration, and others see no issue with welcoming migrants to some of the wealthiest nations on Earth. But to strike an equal balance between these extremes—to provide care and support for those in need whilst taking into consideration the situation in one’s own country—foreign aid and international diplomacy, not brutal border control and negligent naval rescue teams, are sorely needed from countries all over Europe.

Originally posted on The Global Panorama.

The alarming rise of sexism in sport: why are we not talking about it?

Image via Wikimedia Commons

In a world becoming increasingly outspoken against sexism in all areas of life, sexism in sports has recently regained prominence in the global conversation about gender equality after a series of tweets against Serena Williams. A Twitter user was publically shamed by JK Rowling after he commented that Williams is ‘built like a man’, although his tweet has since then been deleted. Rowling’s retaliatory tweet led to a large number of tweets supporting her and Williams but also saw a backlash of those supporting the Twitter troll. That a woman’s appearance is still a major topic of conversation, and that Williams’ incredible career has been accredited to a ‘manly’ body, is a sad reminder of the prominence of sexism in sport on all levels.

As perhaps one of the most separated and stigmatised sports, women’s football has received media attention in the wake of the sports sexism debate. The recently disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter was globally criticised for his comment in 2004 that female footballers should wear ‘tighter shorts’ to make the game more appealing to male viewers—a gaffe that demonstrated the ever-strong sexualisation of women in sport, and is reminiscent of the commonplace comments made about women’s volleyball. In August 2014 at a post-press conference session, Blatter also stated that it is ‘so difficult to accept [women] in the game… not playing the game, but in the governance’, further asserting his already tarnished reputation.

Blatter represents FIFA, but FIFA itself holds up its own sexist values regardless of its president’s bigoted blunders. A comment article in The Guardian by Penny M Venetis, calling for FIFA’s sexist policies to leave football along with Blatter, highlighted the organisation’s high levels of gender discrimination. Women football players are paid a small proportion of their male counterpart’s wages, with the highest-earning female player being paid $400,000 compared to the $19-million base salary earned by the highest-earning male. The article also reports that women are ‘deliberately excluded’ from senior positions in FIFA, with none of the three women on the executive committee, which comprises 27 members, occupying the role of vice-president or higher.

Those defending football and other sports often do so on the basis that there is more money in male sport. This is undoubtedly true. The Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) reported that 0.5% of sponsorship money for UK sport goes to women; men’s sport attracts 61.6% of the market, and team sports receive the rest. But this comes as no surprise when it is reported that only 2% of mainstream sports coverage is dedicated to women’s sports. There is no money because there is no exposure; there is no exposure because of the ingrained sexism present in the media, and in the society in general, when it comes to women’s sports. Even the most widely covered and televised women’s sports, women’s tennis, for example, are only just beginning to reach equality. Only very recently, a decision has been made to pay female players the same as their male counterparts in prize money at tournaments.

From the Twitter row around Serena Williams to the indisputable inequalities present at the core of sports organisations, sexism in sport is as prominent as it has ever been. It is difficult to ascertain how it should be tackled: shutting down sexist comments such as JK Rowling did is a start, but can only address the behaviours of petty individuals. With wider national and even global movements making an impact on women’s sport, the outlook is positive, but a significant change in the mentality of the media, the public and the executive committees of influential sports organisations is needed before any lasting overall change can take place.

Originally posted on The Global Panorama.

The Great Barrier Dumping Reef

Image by greatbarrierreef.org.uk

In an age of increasing awareness of global environmental issues, the Great Barrier Reef is at risk of being labelled ‘in danger’ by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) due to ongoing dredging and dumping that is damaging and destroying coral and seagrass.

According to the ‘Fight for the Reef’ campaign, millions of tons of seabed is due to be dredged from the Great Barrier Reef in order to enable bulk carriers such as coal and gas to access ports. Dredging the seabed will result in the destruction of one of the world’s largest organisms, directly impacting the coral and seagrass; fine sediments from the dredging process can travel hundreds of kilometres and cover the reef’s plant life with rocks, sand and clay. A World First study in 2014 also found that dredging has a long-term impact on coral, with diseases such as white syndrome being more than doubled.

The reef’s wildlife is also impacted. A major dredging operation in 2010 allegedly saw the deaths of dugongs, turtles and diseased fish in the area. The impact of this operation alone reached beyond the environmental, with local fishing businesses suffering as a result of the consequential fishing ban.

An amendment to the marine park’s regulations approved by Greg Hunt, the federal environment minister, proposes to ban capital dredge spoil from being dumped in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The amendment does not, however, apply to the reef’s whole world heritage area. Since 2010, 80% of dredge spoil has been dumped outside of the Marine Park area. While not breaching legal terms of the amendment, these actions contradict the environmental aims of Hunt’s ban. It is on this principle primarily that Unesco have threatened to put the reef on its endangered list.

The Great Barrier Reef is still wholly unprotected from the impact of dredging and dumping. The 3,45,000 square kilometres of the marine park are safe from the actions of bulk carriers, but not from the consequences. Australia has the power to protect the entire World Heritage Site, but the fact that 80% of the dredge spoils are still being dumped outside of the park demonstrates that a holistic approach to the protection of the site is not a high priority for the country. 3,45,000 square kilometres of protection is a start, but the government has a long way to go if they wish to protect a popular tourist attraction, a sanctuary for wildlife, and one of the world’s largest organisms.

First published on The Global Panorama.

International Yoga Day: is yoga religious?

Image by Matthew Ragan via Flickr.

The first International Yoga Day on June 21 sparked controversy in some parts of India as tensions rose between the Hindu foundations of the practice and those claiming that it opposes Islamic teaching. Rather than an isolated incident, these tensions highlight the ongoing debate about whether the nature of yoga is a spiritual experience, or whether it holds religious and political significance, too.

The tensions in June were a result of accusations by significant Muslim figures including Kamal Farooqui, a member of the Muslim Personal Law Board, that by promoting yoga the Indian government was pushing a Hindu agenda. These accusations provoked controversial responses, and one historian, Dilip Simeon, expressed his belief to the Indian Express that the debate was deliberately ‘manufactured’ by Hindu politicians to assert Hindu culture as dominant in the region—a drive towards ‘unification of thought and culture’.

While Simeon suggests that the practice of yoga is somewhat political, debates on the practice around the world tend to focus largely on its religious element. The debate draws on questions of cultural appropriation, the significance of Hinduism in yoga, and the gradual separation of yoga in some cases from its spiritual foundations.

A recent political decision to ban yoga in Russia resulted from fears that the practice could ‘spread new religious cults and movements’, according to the Moscow Times. In Russia, then, political powers have acted on their belief in the inseparable link between yoga and religious practice, despite the fact that yoga is practiced by many purely for its physical and relaxation benefits.

Some religious organisations have been speaking out against the increasing popularity of yoga for a decade. A public elementary school in Aspen, Colorado shut down requests from Tara Guber to teach yoga to its children in 2002 because of their concerns that yoga’s Hindu roots conflicted with Christian teachings. More recently, a legal fight to block the teaching of yoga in Encinitas public schools in San Diego County resulted in media coverage of the controversial nature of yoga in the United States. Although Dean Broyles, the lawyer leading the fight, was unsuccessful, he aims to continue educating parents about the ‘religious intent’ of yoga, expressing his concerns to the Los Angeles Times of yoga’s ‘deceptive religious indoctrination’ of children in schools.

Concerns such as these also work in reverse. According to the Washington Post, some Hindu and Buddhist leaders have long expressed concerns about the gradual Westernisation of yoga, and by extension meditation, in which the practice has been morphed from a religious or at least spiritual exploration into a method of physical exercise. Denying yoga’s Hindu origins, as exercise classes often do, is seen by some as cultural appropriation. While many claim that yoga is for everyone, the arguments for and against it worldwide highlight the controversies surrounding the practice. To separate yoga from its religious roots is seen by many as disrespectful to Hindu culture, but to offer the practice to others with these religious and spiritual roots in place is viewed as a political move towards cultural domination.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

Egypt: state-sanctioned sexual violence

Image via Al Jazeera English

Egypt has seen a significant surge in sexual violence perpetrated by its own security forces since the military takeover in July 2013, according to a report by FIDH. The report, released in May, details the uses of state-sanctioned sexual violence against opponents of President el-Sisi’s regime, NGO representatives and common-law detainees, amongst other victims. It demonstrates the extension of sexual violence from the public sphere to police, state security and military personnel, and the weaponising of such abuse as an explicit form of state violence.

Interviews conducted with victims tell of sexual abuse ranging from sexual harassment, rape and sexual assault to genital electrocution and sex-based defamation. According to FIDH, sexual violence is used by officials to ‘eliminate public protests’ and ‘legitimise the authorities as guardians of the moral order’. Although women make up a significant number of those suffering the regime, members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other political dissidents are also being targeted.

Reports of state-sanctioned sexual violence follow a three-year period of increased mob rapes and sexual assaults following the revolution of January 2011. The FIDH report shows that the actions of the state highlight the increasingly direct role security forces are playing in the perpetration of sexual violence in Egypt. This trend differs significantly from the public announcements made by President el-Sisi’s government claiming their commitment to fighting sexual violence. In a world that is increasingly questioning the legitimacy and trustworthiness of authority, el-Sisi’s government joins a long line of state powers whose actions deeply conflict with their promises.

The history of sexual violence in Egypt does not, however, begin with el-Sisi’s government. As the FIDH report claims, sexual violence is a historic weapon of the Egyptian authorities. Protest movements in the 1990s saw baltagiya (gangs), deployed by the Ministry of the Interior to infiltrate groups of demonstrators, sexually assault women demonstrators with no interference by security forces. The May 2005 ‘Black Wednesday’ is a further example of sexual assault in the presence or knowledge of state officials, including officers of the Ministry of Interior and the riot police.

The history of sexual violence and torture in Egypt showcases the ability of authorities to weaponise such assault with ease. For women, sexual violence threatens to disgrace not only them, but also their families, because of the taboos of sex and its association with shame. Gay and transgender people are increasingly suffering under el-Sisi’s regime of sexual torture, too, demonstrating the intolerance against LGBTQ people despite no laws criminalising same-sex activity or alternative gender identities. For a government acting in the wake of a revolution, with the hopes of Cairo and the wider Egyptian population resting on their shoulders, el-Sisi’s promises to prioritise the fight against sexual violence was a promising start to a potentially revolutionary leadership. The FIDH report, however, has highlighted the false promises and the hypocrisy of the Egyptian government, and is likely to be the start of a further movement to expose and fight against state sexual violence in the country.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

India: eco-feminism changes perceptions

Image by nevil zaveri via Flickr

In a country that traditionally looks at a girl child as a burden, a small village is challenging perceptions of women with an eco-feminist initiative

The village of Piplantri in the western state of Rajasthan plants 111 trees for every girl born into the community in a tradition began by its former leader, Shyam Sundar Palawal, in 2006. In addition to this, a sum of Rs. 31,000 is raised by villagers and the parents for each girl for a 20-year fund, thus reducing the financial strain otherwise placed onto parents. The ‘burden’ of having girls because of the inevitable marriage dowries is alleviated. The sapling planted—often fruit trees—provide resources to the village for its entire population.

In rural India, in particular, where the custom of dowry is still prevalent, a girl child is not welcomed into the family. As a tradition that has come to be interpreted as compensation for the burden of another woman on her new husband’s family, dowries have harmful cultural as well as financial significance. They associate women, even at birth, with great financial strain and a sense of inconvenience to her community. Piplantri’s eco-feminist initiative, then, is a movement seeking to ease the financial strain placed upon families, and to undermine the very notion of girls being a burden from birth.

The tradition has great significance for women and the environment. In addition to the funds raised for the girl from the community, her parents sign an oath that promises to ensure that their child receives an education and reaches the age of 18 before she is married. This gesture in itself is a move towards protecting young girls from forced marriages and the high levels of sexual violence that can be a part of it. The initiative also strives towards equal education for both sexes—a significant step in the direction of gender equality.

Additionally, the planting of trees ensures that the local environment will not suffer at the expense of a growing village population. The trees are cared for and protected, and used for resources for the expanding population of the village. By linking the trees to the birth of a girl, the village of Piplantri makes an important change to the perception of women in India, associating them with the blossoming of natural life. It also makes a point about the integral role women play in society, not merely as wives, but as active members of the community with the right to education and a full childhood.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

Silencing a nation: Spain’s anti-protest Gag Law

Photograph via travelwayoflife via Flickr

The Spanish senate passed a bill in March 2015 that will have severe repercussions for the social movements of the country. The Citizen Safety Bill – to go into effect from July 1, 2015 – includes the controversial Ley Mordaza, or ‘Gag Law’. This law makes most forms of social protests illegal, with fines from 600 euros to 600,000 euros imposed for any breach of its terms. As well as limiting its citizens’ legal ability to protest, the ‘Gag Law’ will affect social media and the press. It will, in short, have a huge impact upon a body of people who have been protesting against their country’s austerity for years.

The Spanish people have been using protests for three years to amplify their voices against the right-wing Partido Popular (People’s Party) government. Demonstrations have risen and intensified over the party’s severe austerity measures and their conservative stance on abortion, which aims to limit abortion to cases of rape or serious health risk. In the wake of the 2008 financial crash, Spain was pushed into economic crisis, and the government’s response to this has led to a large number of protests – some violent – against the consequential austerity measures. The ‘Gag Law’, by limiting the number of acceptable forms of protest, therefore, takes steps to silence anti-austerity demonstrators – the indignados movement – by restricting their capacity to object.

Some of the most popular forms of protest favoured by the indignados movement will be penalised under the law. Protestors will be banned from assembling outside Congress and other government buildings – a rule that can cost dissenters up to 6,00,000 euros if broken. Permission must be sought from authorities before public gatherings can be arranged. The law also affects media coverage and social media activity. Filming or photographing police manoeuvres, and indeed publishing pictures of them will be considered a criminal offence. Online activity is seen to promote or publicise a political event – for example, by using hashtags – will also be illegal. As a huge and effective platform on which anti-austerity organisations can communicate their messages, censoring social media is a major step towards silencing the virtual narrative of dissent underlying the protestors’ real lives.

The ‘Gag Law’ has, of course, been met with outrage. Since the first mention of the bill in late 2014, thousands have joined in solidarity to show their discontent. Their perception of the bill as being harmful to citizens’ free speech has been shown by protestors’ use of gags: the Citizen Safety Bill has been reimagined and renamed to reflect the damaging nature of a legislation used to silence a country’s people. Recently, the world’s first virtual demonstration was staged against the bill in Madrid – a clear reaction to the government’s opposition to ‘flesh-and-blood’ protests. Thousands of holograms marched outside the Spanish parliamentary building on April 11 in a somewhat eerie demonstration organised by the group Holograms for Freedom.

The ‘Gag Law’, and by extension the Spanish government, will impose censorship on people’s virtual as well as their social lives. In a time where protests are the key tool available to social movements against austerity, the bill strongly impacts the Spanish people’s capacity to speak and drastically limits their power. It is the latest act of a right-wing government that drives towards austerity in the face of constant financial uncertainty.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

In India, marriage is a sacrament, but women's rights are not

Photograph by Natesh Ramasamy via Flickr

The Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs, Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, released a statement in April explaining the government’s stance on marital rape. He claimed that the concept could not be suitably applied to India because of factors including poverty, religious beliefs, social customs and the perception of marriage as a sacrament.

The statement follows two years after India’s Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, which explicitly stated that it would exclude marital rape on the grounds that ‘sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not rape.’

Since the gang rape of a young student in New Delhi in December 2012 triggered a national uprising against sexual violence in India, the government ratified laws to help combat harassment, assault and rape against women. Despite this, a survey published by Hindustan Times in December 2014 revealed that 91% of 2,257 women believed that the city had not become any safer for them. The report also stated that 97% of the women had faced sexual harassment.

The statement by Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary demonstrates the need for a complete reform in how India, and countries all over the world, perceives sexual violence. The statement claims that marriage is a sacrament but refuses to acknowledge that women’s rights within their marriages are as important as men’s. It does not see a woman’s right to refuse sex under any circumstances as being as sacred as the marriage itself.

By refusing to distinguish between consensual sex and marital rape, the government is disregarding the fact that marital rape is not a matter of sex, but one of violence. As Congress leader Shashi Tharoor stated in response to the government, ‘whether [rape] happens within a marriage or whether it happens outside, when you are guilty of violence, the state should criminalise it.’

The unclear definition of marital rape in India has consequently led to mixed reactions to the government’s statement. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, the Member of Parliament, who initially raised the question of making marital rape an offence, opposed the government’s response. She argued that criminalising the concept ‘is not against values, ethos or tradition of India. It is about protecting women in our own country within the institution [of marriage].’

Supporters of the government’s reply have argued that criminalising marital rape could lead to husbands being falsely accused of rape, a stance that ignores the low probability of this happening in proportion to the number of women who are actually faced with marital rape on a daily basis. In fact, according to a study by the ICRW and the UNPFA, more than a third of the men surveyed admitted to having forced a sexual act upon their wives.

While India passes laws in an attempt to tackle the issues of sexual violence women face in their public life, it is of crucial importance to take steps to support their rights in their own homes, too. The Indian government must take measures to redefine its attitude towards sexual violence in the context of marriage if it truly wishes to support the safety of women in the country.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

Child labor: Israel's farm settlements

Photograph by Wagner T. Cassimiro “Aranha" via Flickr

A report from the Human Rights Watch released in April has stated that Palestinian children working on Israeli farm settlements are subjected to dangerous working conditions that violate international standards.

Children from the age of 11 have reported being exposed to potentially harmful pesticides and, in some cases, have to pay for any medical treatment they need as a result of work-related illness or injury. The organisation interviewed children who have experienced nausea, dizziness, vomiting and breathing difficulties as a result of their working conditions. The issue has been described by Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East and North Africa director for Human Rights Watch as a human rights abuse.

Many of the children exploited by Israeli farms have a common economic background. According to the report, they belong to communities that have suffered as a result of Israel’s settlement policies, and in many cases have left school to work on the farms in order to provide for their families. The children are paid low wages in return for their labor, and 21 of the 38 children interviewed by the organisation had not completed the 10 years of basic education compulsory under both Palestinian and Israeli laws.

Israel is not alone in exploiting children for cheap labour. Figures published by the International Labor Organisation show that 168 million children undertake exploitative work globally, with 85 million of them in conditions classified as hazardous. While 78 million of these incidences occur in Asia and the Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the highest occurrence of child labor: 59 million children—which is more than 21% of their child population—undertake exploitative work.

Agriculture is the most prominent sector in employing child labour around the world. Competition between producers of global goods is so high that child labour is seen as an effective tool to lower costs and keep their prices competitive. This is certainly the case for the cocoa trade in Western Africa, where 60% of the Ivory Coast’s export revenue comes from cocoa, according to the Food Empowerment Project. Children on cocoa farms, like those working on Israeli settlements, are exposed to agricultural chemicals without protective clothing. The project also reports that the children use chainsaws and machetes as standard tools, which violate international labour laws and a UN convention on child labour.

Like the Palestinian children, too, some of the children working on the cocoa farms do so because they need work to help support their families. In some cases, they are sold to farm owners by their relatives. That families are willing to subject their children to child labour is reflective of the great financial need many face in some of the poorest countries in the world. Although in most cases, the children’s relatives are unaware of the dangers involved in farm work.

The Human Rights Watch report suggests that countries in Europe as well as the United States, should take responsibility in ensuring that they do not contribute to the human rights abuses against children by ending business relationships with settlements. Products produced under child labour are already monitored by the US in an attempt to address this issue, but they do not include Israeli settlement products among these. It is essential that countries around the world are aware of the extent of child labor and take action to ensure that they do not benefit from it: the Human Rights Watch report is a hopeful step towards this.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.

India's unreported police brutality

Photograph by nevil zaveri via Flickr

On April 15, 2014, India’s Supreme Court recognised the country’s transgender community as individuals in their own right. It passed a law that declared the transgender community to be a third gender. The law was regarded as a significant step forward on the civil rights front, and became a talking point for those looking to introduce similar laws in some European countries who had not already done so.

The law came only four months after the Supreme Court re-criminalised homosexuality and bisexuality, which led to a considerable increase in police violence against transgender people across the country. This re-criminalisation is still in place, presenting a danger in the LGBTQ community: while transgender people do have legal recognition, it is still against the law for them to engage in gay sex.

Following the Supreme Court’s recognition of the transgender community, there have been issues around implementing the law, particularly with regards to the fundamental rights transgender people should, by the court’s ruling, enjoy. In an interview with DW, Jayshree Bajoria, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, called attention to abusive colonial-era laws still underlying some Indian states today that make transgender people vulnerable to police abuse.

Transgender people in India have often had to engage in begging and sex work due to the lack of opportunities available to them in working life, and these activities can increase their susceptibility to police abuse. In November 2014, the Indian police detained 167 transgender women in a beggars’ colony in Bangalore. The police claimed that the event was part of a ‘crackdown’ on public begging, but a report from Orinam claimed that many of the women detained were going about their daily chores; some were allegedly dragged out of their homes by the police. Orinam speculates that the ‘crackdown’ merely disguised the police’s real objective to target transgender women in general.

Newspaper reports on the Supreme Court’s recent decisions concerning transgender rights have been decidedly vague about the levels of police violence against the community in India. Most reports refer to a general increase in police abuse of transgender people, but give no specific details. Even Amnesty International’s annual report at the end of 2014 was unable to elaborate on the issue, claiming only that since the ruling in April 2014, ‘cases of harassment and violence against transgender people continued to be reported.’ It is notoriously difficult to find details about specific cases demonstrating the issue many transgender people face in India. This is perhaps a reflection of the conservative position news avenues continue to take when addressing the plight of LGBTQ people in India, no matter how liberal they may otherwise be.

Originally published on The Global Panorama.