Panelists Discuss UN Millennium Goals’ Progress

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Author: Soo Jin Kim

On Thursday, November 15, a panel on the UN Millennium Development Goals met in Johnson 200 to give three short presentations on the issues of HIV/AIDS and gender equality for week 3 of the Social Justice Series, which was organized by Student-Community Alliance (SCA), Oxy Global Action, and the Student Labor Action Coalition (SLAC). The series is being co-sponsored by Environmental Action Coalition, RHA, MEChA-ALAS, CCBL, UEPI, TOA, and ASOC. Last week focused on Public and Environmental Health.

The three featured guests were Mozn Hassan, head of Nazra for Feminist Studies and Occidental’s Diplomacy and World Affairs Department Assistant Professors Anthony Chase and Laura Hebert.

Professor Chase started the meeting with a short presentation on HIV and AIDS in developing and developed countries. He compared and contrasted the two and ended his presentation with a call to focus more on the technological changes that need to be made to save more lives, rather than on the numbers of already saved lives. Chase explained how the resources available to HIV and AIDS patients in the developed world are not available in developing countries. He offered the example of life expectancy in Zimbabwe, which has dropped 30 years since 1990, with the average person currently expected to live until the age of 34.

Chase also pointed to number six of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which states the need to deal with HIV and other infectious diseases. While Chase highlighted the positive parts of the MDG, he also shared his criticism. He explained that there has been a loss of focus on human rights, and that the MDG is slowly becoming a World Bank type of charity program, saying that there is a heavier focus on numbers but no real fundamental change.

The second speaker was Professor Herbert, who based her presentation on gender equality. She called attention to U.S. funding that is meant to help clinics in other countries, but actually inhibits those clinics. She talked about the global gag rule, reinstated by President George W. Bush, which was created to help improve reproductive health outside the U.S.

Hebert criticized the global gag rule. She pointed to China and various clinics in Africa, which no longer receive any U.S. funding. She said that because of this, the $34 million, which was previously allocated to China, is being refrained. This translates to roughly 12 percent of UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activities) annual funding.

Hebert stated that because the global gag rule is focused on helping mothers bear children, recipients of the funds cannot promote or perform abortions. They cannot engage in lobbying for abortion, nor can they offer public education on family planning. She also pointed to the situation in Africa, where many clinics have decided to abandon the policy. Because of this, Hebert said these clinics are now being forced to reduce staff members, no longer give HIV/AIDS testing or any pharmacy help and in some cases close their offices. She pointed to clinics in Zambia where there is a decrease in medical help and condom supplies. Hebert said this has led to the spread of new infections.

Hassan is the head of Nazra for Feminist Studies (NFS), which is based in Egypt. She called attention to the plight of female rights in Egypt, focusing on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which is practiced widely in Egypt and many parts of Africa. She said that because of the unique social position that Egypt is in, many Egyptians take their daughters to be circumcised.

Hassan said the prophet Muhammad is an example as to why FGM is so prevalent in Egypt, explaining that because the prophet Muhammad encouraged circumcision as being part of the Islamic culture, many religious people in Egypt have followed this practice. She also pointed out that while the prophet Muhammad encouraged it, the Quran said nothing about female circumcision. Hassan expressed optimism at the fact that, since the 1980s, more people have begun talking about ending the practice. Due to the UN’s policy of agreeing with governments, however, Hassan feels there is not enough work being done today to abolish FGM. Since Egypt spent a lot of money to become internationally accepted, Hassan said that there was not enough money being spent on gender equity and abolishing FGM.

Hassan relayed a personal story of a friend who was sent home after her marriage to be circumcised because her husband’s family believed in female circumcision. She pointed out that because FGM is a social norm, many parents take their daughters to illegal clinics, where surgeries are not performed by licensed doctors. She called for the UN to work together with the NGOs on this issue.

The week also featured an exhibition entitled “Think Global, Act Local,” which was in the Cooler from November 11 through the 17. The exhibition was made up of a large world map and several facts containing figures of diseases and disasters. The world map was a place for students to write their names on post-its and stick them onto the country or city they are from. According to the poster, the exhibition was to show how “diverse yet connected we are.”

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