May 03
Essentialism in Western Media Perspectives Even today, among reputable news sources, there still remains a level of ignorance and an essentialist undertone in Western media perspectives of the “developing world.” For example, in a recent issue of The Economist, I came across a feature on Gendercide in India, which discusses the distorted sex ratios in …
May 03
Osama bin Laden is dead. The news spread like wildfire as it was being released,consuming the feeds of social networking sites, forums and blogs. The reaction in New York City was particularly robust, with people crowding around Ground Zero and chanting “USA! USA!” Many expressed a deep sense of satisfaction at his death, thankful that …
Apr 28
Over the past decade, public spending on education in sub-Saharan Africa has increased by more than 6 % each year, according to the latest report released by UNESCO. Thereal question however, is not how much money is being spent, rather how exactly it is being distributed. The report showed some promising results. The increase in …
Apr 27
Donald Trump has asked for the President to provide his birth certificate several times and has made a new statement that the President wasn’t “Qualified for the Ivy League.” I am not sure how the President performed at Harvard, and honestly I think it is a question that the American public should not really care about. …
Apr 26
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also know as female circumcision or genital cutting, is a procedure performed for non-medical reasons that is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in four different types: Type I – Partial or complete removal of the clitoris and the clitoral hood. Type II – Partial or complete removal of the …
Apr 25
We’ve all heard the phrase: Every 45 seconds, a child dies from malaria. Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites transmitted by mosquitos. Statistics also show that the number of deaths resulting from this disease has been reduced over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, these statistics serve to remind us that people are still dying from …
Apr 22
Today, April 22nd, is celebrated as Earth Day. The idea is to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment and was first celebrated on April 22, 1970. The idea for Earth Day is credited to Gaylord Nelson, a former U.S. Senator, after he witnessed some of the side effects of the 1969 massive …
Apr 22
“Hi I am Sal Khan. I am the founder and faculty of the Khan Academy and we are trying to educate the world.” These were the first words I heard Salmaan Khan speak when I watched my first video on the Khan Academy. I was instantly impressed. A single article would never be able to …
Apr 21
On Tuesday I posted about the history of CEDAW ratification in the United States and some of the arguments made against it, and wrote about how there is a new campaign pushing for it in the US as soon as possible. There are, of course, arguments in both directions for its ratification or not, but …
Apr 19
The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the United Nation’s international human rights treaty on gender equality. It has been ratified by all but seven of the United Nation’s members: Iran, Nauru, Palau, Somalia, Sudan, Tonga, and the United States. I would be very willing to argue that …
