H - 2.5 -> 2.7 Flashcards
Rohingya Muslims
- Denied Citizenship in 1982, due to Myanmar Nationality Law and then subjected to military crackdowns leading to 740k to Bangladeshi
- stateless population
- 2015-18 crisis has been called a genocide and crime against humanity
Post-colonial Tension
- Countries in Africa-Asia have borders that ignore ethnic / cultural groups
- Could even be straight lines
- Significant post-independence tension
- E.g. Iraq 192
- E.g. India 1947
- E.g. West Africa
- E.g. Roma in E Eur
- E.g. Dalits in India
E.g. Burma
- Military junta linked to organised crime
- Yet 5% of seats have to be military representations, and they can veto constitutional change
Why the problems
- Indigenous groups excluded from administration of colonies
- Lacked experience of running countries
- Opportunist insurgent groups vied for political control, resulting in violence
indigenous people
- More than 370 million indigenous people
- Live in more than 70 countries around the world (5%) of the world’s population.
- 46 million live in the Americas
- 40 million living in Latin America, (13% of the population)
- Characterised by rich diversity of cultures, religions, traditions and languages.
- They face serious discrimination.
threatened by
- Mining, oil extraction, dam building, logging and agro-industrial projects.
- Driven off their homelands and ending up in towns and cities.
- Poorer and less educated
- Worse health
protected by
- 1995: UN recognised the rights of Indigenous People with awareness campaigns,
- 2000: Permanent forum on Indigenous issues (2000)
- 2007: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples (2007).
Demography
- 2% of the US population
- 78% live outside of tribal territories (i.e. dispersed)
Politically
- Sovereign… in theory
- But subject to treaties and federal laws
- Managed via Bureau of Indian Affairs
Socially
Socially
- Indian Health Services
- Looks after 2m people
- Off reservation makes access difficult
- Underfunded – sterilisation and medical records are error-prone
- Underskilled and unqualified staff
- Less than 5% have medical insurance – can’t access US Health Care
education
- Performance is 10% below white population
- 5% attend native schools, with ‘native ways of knowing’
Obama’s Generation Indigenous Initiative
- Health, Education, Nutrition, Juvenile Justice, Housing , Youth
- Funding opportunities
- Invested in buildings and infrastructure
President Paul Kagame
- Grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda.
- Invaded Rwanda with Rwandan Patriotic Front in 1990.
- Ended the genocide with a military victory.
- de facto leader since 1994 (Vice President & Head of Military).
- President since 2000 – won 3 elections, none considered ‘free or fair’.
- Largely authoritarian rule – rapid economic growth, high spending on education (17% of GDP), 90% of pop. enrolled in health insurance
Global Gender Gap Index
- Compiled by the World Economic Forum since 2006.
- NGO?- Davos conference – 3,000 paying members, including heads of state.
- Measures 4 aspects of gender equality in every country – economic, educational, health & political.
- Closer to 1, the smaller the gap between genders.
Measuring it:
- World Economic Forum Inequality Index.
- Economic, Education, Health, Politics.
- Europe (Nordics) high, sub-Saharan Africa &
Afghanistan low. UK 22nd. - Some outliers – Rwands, Nicaragua
Gender Gap
- There are growing equality movements within countries.
- Some countries make progress by choosing to enact laws – Nicaragua, Rwanda.
- Biggest restrictions are linked to distorted religious belief.
- But there is still unequal pay and women are still victims of crime.
Reasons for the Gender Gap
- Historical, religious, economic and cultural realities.
- Ongoing (lack of) access to power and decision making or limited availability of childcare.
- In Arab countries the position of women is not accepted as equal due to Sharia law, yet education is increasingly available (e.g. Oman).
- Elsewhere (Rwanda, Bolivia, Cuba) equality of opportunity for women has resulted in participation in all sectors of society including growing government representation.
- In Bangladesh increased education of girls has resulted in later marriage and falls in birth rate and maternal mortality.
Rwanda
- Post colonial – Majority Hutus (85%) & Tutsis.
- Tutsis favoured by Belgians, but Hutu revolution
in 1959 – 330,000 Tutsis fled country. - Tutsi Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) invade from Uganda.
- 1994 – President’s plane shot down – Hutus kill 500-800,000 Tutsis – Rwandan Genocide.
civil war
ended with RPF military victory. Paul Kagame de facto leader since.
* ‘From blood-spattered wreck to an orderly society with robust economic growth, falling poverty and declining inequality’
* 56% of MPs are female.
Rohingya
Significant groups defined by ethnicity/ religion have fewer rights than dominant group
extreme nationalism in Burma means the Rohingya are hated:
- denied citizenship under the 1982 citizenship law - they are a states less population
- 900k live in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, felling from Myanmar
- estimated 600k in Rakhine state subject to gov persecution, confined to camps without freedom of movement, food, healthcare and education.
Indigenous in America
Home owners - 53% vs 63%
High school diploma - 83% vs 87%
Average income - 38.5k vs 55.7k
Poverty - 27% vs 15%
No health expectancy - 21 vs 9
Average Native American life expectancy
65.8
Average American = 77.8
Kagames Rwanda
- number 6 in WEF gender equality index
- women hold 61% of seats
- women have equal property rights
- Girls Education Task Force and all women Aikiah Insititute
Gender example - women in Pakistan
- progress in improving women’s lives very slow
- child marriages and forced marriages widespread
- female literacy 25% lower
- honour killings are very common
Bolivia
Evo morales is Aymara, so his policies have been targeted at reducing the discrimination against the indigenous, land + education reform + welfare spending has all improved wellbeing for indigenous
But - some argue they’ve made middle class worse off and High taxes discouraged business investment
