The crusade for women's rights

The issue of women's rights is one that doesn't appear frequently here at China in Africa, but rest assured that such a lack is not for want of concern or interest. My undergraduate thesis centered on women's land rights in Africa - particularly Kenya and Botswana - and examined especially the conflict between customary and statutory laws, and the entitlements women enjoy under each. Somewhere between trying to understand Chinese foreign policy, parsing out the do's and don'ts of foreign aid, and attempting to decipher a U.S. policy towards Africa (a recent undertaking, to be sure), however, I seem to have placed the issue on the back burner.

A recent NYTimes article by Kristof and WuDunn has seemingly lead me back to the cause. As the piece aptly notes, focusing on women and girls may well be the most effective way of combating global poverty and extremism. For instance:

A series of studies has found that when women hold assets or gain incomes, family money is more likely to be spent on nutrition, medicine and housing, and consequently children are healthier.

This, as opposed to circumstances under which men control the assets. It has been found that men often engage in unwise spending, with the poorest families in the world spending approximately 20% of their incomes on a combination of alcohol, prostitution, candy (candy!!), sugary drinks and lavish feasts - and only 2% on the education of their children. For this reason among others, we are seeing a growing number of microfinance projects directed specifically at women. Additionally:

It has long been known that a risk factor for turbulence and violence is the share of a country’s population made up of young people. Now it is emerging that male domination of society is also a risk factor; the reasons aren’t fully understood, but it may be that when women are marginalized the nation takes on the testosterone-laden culture of a military camp or a high-school boys’ locker room.

Indeed, some scholars believe that the reason Muslim countries have been disproportionately affected by terrorism has little to do with Islamic teachings about infidels or violence, and more to do with low levels of female education and participation in the labor force. I haven't yet had the chance to gather my thoughts on the matter, but a cursory glance at global terrorist hubs and their corresponding women's rights (to the extent that we can even call them that), seemingly lends much credence to the claim.

Kristof and WuDunn ultimately argue that women's rights must be brought to the forefront of the international development agenda, as it is women who perhaps represent our best hope in the fight against global poverty. Fight on, sister, fight on.

[Image: BBC]

Where 21st century Asian socialism meets 21st century Latin American socialism

Don't blink, otherwise you might miss the litany of deals China has been making across Latin America! China has recently signed oil deals with Argentina, Ecuador, and Venezuela; and has contracts and cooperation deals with governments in Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay - effectively the entire Latin American continent.

In the early stages of Sino-Latin American cooperation, China seemed to be treading rather carefully, hesitant of both its foreign policy and place on the international global stage. The recent increase in overseas activity - from Africa to Latin America, and beyond - however, suggests that Chinese confidence is rapidly growing. The global financial crisis in particular has raised skepticism over America's hitherto seemingly unwavering preeminence, and has at the same time proffered China as a viable alternative. Indeed, an increasing number of countries are now saying "thanks, but no thanks" to U.S. cooperation and assistance, choosing instead to place their faith in the Chinese. Latin America is case in point.

The strategy the Chinese are employing across the continent appears identical to that which is being pursued in Africa, with oil-for-infrastructure contracts as the primary modus operandi. Like in Africa, too, Chinese investment is manifest on many economic levels - from high level government contracts all the way down to small-scale private entrepreneurs who sell vegetables and various knick-knacks on the side of the road. What's more interesting in the case of Latin America, however, is that the partnerships appear to be much more ideologically laden than those in Africa. This is especially true in Venezuela.

In a a great video from Al Jazeera English (HT: Double Handshake), Venezuelan economics professor Jesus Farias briefly touches on the issue of the Venezuelan socialist model and its seemingly logical intersection with its Chinese counterpart (this, around 2:34). He seems to be suggesting that cooperation between China and Venezuela is predicated not only on economic exchange, but has as its broader objective the restructuring of the global political landscape. I'm not wholly certain that this is necessarily the case - or that such is the objective of other Latin American countries engaged in relations with China - but it certainly is an interesting point worthy of further consideration. Viva la revolution...?