Society – Page 2 – Rainer Ebert

Human Rights, LGBT rights, Society, Tanzania

Interview: The LGBT community in Tanzania

🇹🇿 Tafadhali bonyeza hapa kupata toleo la mahojiano haya kwa Kiswahili.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Tanzania experience substantial prejudice, discrimination, and violence, which has a significantly negative impact on their well-being, and are being denied their most basic human rights. I talked to three Tanzanian LGBT activists who are themselves members of Tanzania’s LGBT community to learn more about the lives of LGBT people in Tanzania. Lulu is a lesbian woman in her late twenties, Grace is a trans woman in her mid-twenties, and Baraka is a gay man in his mid-thirties. These are not their real names, as they live in Tanzania and do not feel safe coming out to the general public. Their experiences, however, are painfully real. I am grateful to them for having the courage to speak up, and I hope reading about the human cost of the evils of homophobia and transphobia will help the reader better understand the urgency of LGBT rights advocacy in Tanzania.

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Human Rights, Society

A license to rape

Sudha was a healthy 16-year-old student in South India. Now she is dead. It was not COVID-19 that killed her – not directly anyway. She was found hanging in the village of Ranganathapura at the end of last month, and died shortly afterwards at a nearby hospital. Sudha committed suicide, after being forced to marry a relative. Allegedly, police initially attempted to hush up the case, but eventually the parents of both the bride and the groom were arrested. The groom is still at large. The government body tasked with the prevention of child marriage told local press that the marriage remained unnoticed by the authorities for longer than usual because the responsible officer was not working, due to India’s coronavirus lockdown. If the marriage had come to the attention of the authorities earlier, maybe Sudha would still be alive.

Each year, 12 million female children across the world are married. That is nearly one girl every three seconds. Countries in West and Central Africa as well as South Asia have the highest prevalence of child marriage. In Niger, for example, 76 percent of women between the age of 20 and 24 were first married before they were 18 years old. In Bangladesh, it is 59 percent. While there are differences in prevalence within and across countries, child marriage remains a universal challenge, and occurs across regions, cultures, and religions. Continue reading “A license to rape” →

Bangladesh, Human Rights, Society, Tanzania

Child domestic labor: We must refuse to accept the unacceptable

Moyna cannot sit at the table and eat with the rest of the household. She is the other — in the house, but not a member of the house. Her humanity is reduced to the work she does. Who she is as a person, those around her do not know. She functions in the background, keeps the household running. She is a six-year-old domestic worker in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. “I wake up at six in the morning and go to bed at midnight. My daily chores include sweeping and wiping the floors and stairs, doing the dishes and laundry, opening the main gate downstairs, switching on machines, a little bit of shopping, cleaning the toilet.” In the morning, her workload is particularly heavy, Moyna tells a researcher with the Bangladesh-based Alternative Movement for Resources and Freedom Society. “I help to prepare breakfast, and I eat two breads for myself in a hurry. The same situation arises during lunch and dinner time; I always eat last.” Moyna has no father, and her mother remarried a man who beat her for no reason, which is why her grandmother sent her to Dhaka to work. She has never been to school. Her employer does not allow her to watch TV or talk to outsiders, and makes her wear worn-out clothes. She is slapped or verbally abused for small mishaps, and brutally beaten and locked up for up to 24 hours without food for what her employer considers more severe offenses. Continue reading “Child domestic labor: We must refuse to accept the unacceptable” →

Bangladesh, Society, Tanzania

For the love of postcards

Before Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter, there was the postcard. Many young people have never sent one to anyone. Communication today is mostly instant, and mail is derogatorily called “snail mail” by the digital crowd. Since the world’s first picture postcard was sent to London-based writer Theodore Hook in 1840, the postcard has enjoyed much popularity as a means to share images and thoughts across regions and cultures. In recent times, that popularity has rapidly declined, mostly due to the rise of mobile phones and social media. Sending a postcard takes more time and effort than sending an email, or a message on social media, which makes postcards even more meaningful now than they were when there was no instant alternative.

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Human Rights, LGBT rights, Philosophy, Society, Tanzania

Let Paul Makonda come to America

Should active enemies of freedom be allowed into free countries? In 2007, speaking at Columbia University in New York City, then-President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad memorably declared that there are no homosexuals in Iran, drawing derisive laughter from the audience. He also made similarly outrageous remarks about the Holocaust and women’s rights in Iran. Thousands protested, and the world saw him for what he is – an ignorant bigot who as president exhibited “all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator,” as the university’s president put it in his introduction. Untrue and immoral speech tends to discredit itself, especially under scrutiny, and that is precisely why it should not only be permitted but welcomed.

Secretary Mike Pompeo last week declared Paul Makonda and his wife, Mary Massenge, ineligible for entry into the United States. In a statement released by the U.S. State Department, Pompeo said he was banning Makonda “due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights, which include the flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons.” He did not state which right violations specifically led to the decision. I say, let him come, and treat him to some good old American free speech. Continue reading “Let Paul Makonda come to America” →

Society, Tanzania

Mapenzi ya kadi za posta

Kabla ya Facebook na Instagram, kulikuwa na kadi ya posta. Vijana miongoni mwetu huenda hawajawahi kutuma hata moja kwa mtu yeyote yule. Mawasiliano leo hii ni ya haraka, na barua huitwa kwa dharau “barua ya konokono” na umati wa kidijiti. Tokea kadi posta ya kwanza ya picha itumwe kwa mwandishi wa London-Theodore Hook mnamo mwaka 1840, barua ya posta imepata umaarufu kama njia ya kutumiana picha na kushirikiana kimawazo katika maeneo na tamaduni mbalimbali. Katika siku za hivi karibuni, umaarufu huo umepungua sana, kwa sababu ya simu za rununu na mitandao ya kijamii. Kutuma kadi za posta huchukua mda mwingi na nguvu kuliko kutuma barua pepe, au ujumbe kwenye mitandao ya kijamii, ambayo inafanya kadi za posta ziwe na maana zaidi kuliko ilivyokuwa wakati hakukuwa na njia mbadala ya papo kwa hapo. Continue reading “Mapenzi ya kadi za posta” →

Human Rights, LGBT rights, Society, Tanzania

Kile Unapaswa Kujua Kuhusu Mapenzi ya Jinsia Moja

Bonyeza hapa kupata mahojiano na mwanamme shoga na mwanamke msagaji kutoka Tanzania. Bofya hapa kujifunza zaidi kuhusu jinsia.

Mwelekeo wa kimapenzi ni nini?

Mwelekeo wa kimapenzi humaanisha muundo wa kudumu wa kimhemko, kimahaba, na/au mivuto ya kimapenzi kwa wanaume, wanawake, au jinsia zote. Mwelekeo wa kimapenzi unaweza kuwa wa toka kuvutiwa na jinsia tofauti tu hadi kuvutiwa na jinsia moja tu. Japokuwa, mwelekeo wa kimapenzi kwa kawaida hujadiliwa katika makundi matatu: mpenda jinsia tofauti (kuwa na mvuto kwa wahusika wa jinsia nyingine), shoga/msagaji (mwanaume anayevutiwa na wanaume/mwanamke anayevutiwa na wanawake), na mpenda jinsia mbili (mwanaume au mwanamke anayevutiwa na jinsia zote mbili; “bisexual”).

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Human Rights, LGBT rights, Society

Kill Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill: Love is not a crime

Last Thursday, Uganda announced plans to resurrect the infamous “Kill the Gays” bill, possibly within weeks. A version of the bill was first signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni, and then ruled invalid on a technicality by the courts, in 2014. If passed by the parliament, the new bill would impose the death penalty not only for gay sex, but also for “promotion and recruitment,” effectively criminalizing vital rights and health advocacy work. This will only serve to increase anti-gay hate and violence in a country where acceptance of homosexuality is already much lower than in most parts of the world, and cause suffering for thousands of innocent Ugandans. Continue reading “Kill Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill: Love is not a crime” →

Human Rights, Philosophy, Society

Ubaguzi mubashara: kadhia ya maadili dhidi ya uwepo wa mipaka

Jaalia katika fikra zako kwamba: leo ni siku muruwa ya mwezi wa Septemba. Hakuna joto wala baridi, upepo mwanana unapepea na mawingu yanang’ara angani. Unachukua blanketi lako na kuelekea katika moja ya fukwe huru za jiji la Dar es salaam. Unajiandaa kwenda kujipumzisha ufukweni hapo na kufurahia machweo jua. Bali unapofika ufukweni mipango yako inatibuliwa bila ya kutegemea. Unaelezwa na afisa ulinzi kuwa serikali imeweka sheria mpya za matumizi ya fukwe. Unaambiwa kwamba huwezi kutumia ufukwe huo kwa vile wewe ni mtu mweusi. Watu wengine wowote wanaruhusiwa kutumia fukwe hizo isipokuwa watu weusi tu, na iwapo mtu mweusi yeyote angekaidi amri hiyo basi nguvu ingeweza kutumika. Continue reading “Ubaguzi mubashara: kadhia ya maadili dhidi ya uwepo wa mipaka” →

Philosophy, Society

Philosophy means business

If you study engineering, medicine, law, or almost any of the other subjects taught at university, you learn this, and you learn that, and in the end you know some things that others do not. Philosophy is different, and rather unique in that regard. After studying it for many years, I feel like I know not more but less than when I started, and I suspect the feeling is common among philosophers. That is because philosophy is not so much about providing answers as it is about asking questions. A consequence, unfortunately, is that the value of studying philosophy is easily underestimated. After all, what use is an academic discipline that cannot provide definite answers? With so many mundane yet significant day-to-day problems, why waste time and resources on splitting hairs and pondering in abstract thought? The concern behind these questions might seem particularly relevant in Tanzania, where a large portion of the population still lives in poverty and there is an understandable longing for immediate practical results, and it might be part of the reason why the Department of Philosophy at Tanzania’s oldest public university, the University of Dar es Salaam, was finally established only five years ago, in 2013. Continue reading “Philosophy means business” →

Human Rights, Philosophy, Society

Discrimination in plain sight: The moral case against borders

Consider the following thought experiment: It is a pleasant day in September. It is not too hot, not too cold, and not too windy, and the sky is clear. You grab a blanket and head to one of Dar es Salaam’s public beaches, intent to make yourself comfortable by the seaside and enjoy the sunset. Once at the beach, however, your plans are rudely thwarted. You are informed by a law enforcement officer that the government has put a new policy in place. You are told that you may not access the beach – because you are black. Black people and only black people are no longer allowed on the beach. If necessary, that policy will be enforced by the use of physical force. Continue reading “Discrimination in plain sight: The moral case against borders” →

Animal Ethics, Philosophy, Religion, Society

Africa and her animals (Pretoria: Unisa Press, 2018)

Africa and her animals
Philosophical and Practical Perspectives

Edited by Rainer Ebert & Anteneh Roba, and published by the University of South Africa (UNISA) Press

With a foreword by J. M. Coetzee,
the 2003 Nobel Laureate in Literature

ISBN 978-1-86888-900-6
xxi + 358 pages

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Human Rights, Society

Populismus bekämpft man nicht mit mehr Populismus

burka

Unter heftigem Beifall hat Angela Merkel letzte Woche beim CDU-Parteitag in Essen ein Verbot der Vollverschleierung gefordert, “wo immer das rechtlich möglich ist.” Diese Forderung wurde dann auch so von der CDU beschlossen.

Abgesehen davon, dass es in Deutschland praktisch keine vollverschleierten Frauen gibt und es sich deshalb um eine reine Symboldebatte handelt, ist die Forderung nach einem Verbot von Burka und Niqab strategisch falsch. Rechtspopulisten wie die AfD bekämpft man mit einem überzeugenden Eintreten für freiheitliche Werte, nicht mit mehr Populismus und dadurch, dass man deren Positionen legitimiert. Sie ist darüber hinaus sachlich unbegründet. Continue reading “Populismus bekämpft man nicht mit mehr Populismus” →

Human Rights, Press Review, Society

Fremdenfeindlichkeit in Deutschland

This interview was published in the Ipf- und Jagst-Zeitung on November 12, 2015.

Society

Die eigentliche Krise

This letter to the editor was published in the Schwäbische Post on November 5, 2015. Versions of it appeared on the same day in the Gmünder Tagespost and the Ipf- und Jagst-Zeitung.

Bangladesh, Human Rights, Society

Commemorating Avijit Roy on his 44th birthday

AvijitRoy

Today is the first birthday of Avijit Roy that we commemorate without him. His life was taken by Islamic terrorists earlier this year, when he was in Bangladesh to attend the Ekushey Book Fair. Avijit was a prolific and accomplished author, a fierce defender of human rights, and dedicated much of his life to the promotion of freethinking, humanism, and rationalism. Continue reading “Commemorating Avijit Roy on his 44th birthday” →

Philosophy, Religion, Society

Atheists ain’t bad people; neither are theists

atheism

Last year, a Pew Research Center survey found that Americans have a significantly less favorable view of atheists than of Jews, Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus. Only Muslims were rated more negatively than atheists. That is consistent with another survey conducted by the same institute in the same year, which found that about every second American would not be happy with a family member marrying an atheist. In a 2012 Gallup poll among Americans, 43 percent of respondents said that they would not vote for a presidential candidate who is an atheist. Simply put, Americans do not like atheists. As everybody knows who knows anything about Bangladesh, neither do Bangladeshis. Continue reading “Atheists ain’t bad people; neither are theists” →

Bangladesh, Human Rights, LGBT rights, Society

Marriage equality in Bangladesh

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Last month, the United States Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states of the Union, and the District of Columbia, adding the United States to the list of nearly two dozen countries, mostly in Europe and the Americas, that recognize marriage between a man and a man, and between a woman and a woman. The decision, which is nothing short of historic, made waves around the globe, including in Bangladesh, and is a cause for celebration for everybody who believes in equal human dignity. Continue reading “Marriage equality in Bangladesh” →

Human Rights, LGBT rights, Society

Ehe für alle

„Alle Menschen sind vor dem Gesetz gleich.“ So steht es im Grundgesetz. Das heißt auch, dass niemand wegen seiner sexuellen Orientierung benachteiligt werden darf. Die sucht man sich nämlich genauso wenig aus wie sein Geschlecht oder seine Hautfarbe. Es ist also eigentlich ganz einfach: Die Ehe für alle muss kommen (nicht die „Homo-Ehe“, die es genauso wenig gibt wie die „Homo-Geburt“ und den „Homo-Mietvertrag“). Continue reading “Ehe für alle” →

Animal Ethics, Bangladesh, Philosophy, Society

নিরামিষ খাবার নিয়ে দু’টি কথা

আপনি কয়জন বাঙালীকে চেনেন যে শর্ষে ইলিশ ভালবাসে না? কাচ্চি বিরিয়ানি অথবা গরুর রেজালা ছাড়া কোন বাংলাদেশী বিয়ে কল্পনা করতে পারেন? অনুমান করতে পারি আপনার উত্তর হবে খুব বেশি না অথবা একেবারেই না। যদিও বাংলাদেশ সম্পর্কে আমার জ্ঞান সীমিত, আমি এটুকু জানি, বাঙালী মাংস ভালবাসে, মুসলমানেরা হিন্দুদের থেকে বেশি, আর সব বাঙালী মাছ ভালবাসে। সেজন্য মনে হতে পারে বাংলাদেশে প্রাণীদের অধিকার নিয়ে কথা বলা বাতুলতা। কিন্তু আমার অভিজ্ঞতা সম্পূর্ণ বিপরীত। Continue reading “নিরামিষ খাবার নিয়ে দু’টি কথা” →