When I think of current events in Southeast Asia, the things that pop into my head are authoritarian regimes, ethnic tensions, border clashes, and so on. There is an entire list of current conflicts going on in this region. An example of a border dispute would be Thailand conflicting with neighboring Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos and …
Tag: Global Issues
Jun 17
Looking Back on China (2): Socialism or Capitalism?
“No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat, as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat.” It was probably the most influential quote of Deng Xiaoping, the Chief Architect of Chinese Reform and Opening, who further interpreted that “Do not restrict yourself from the difference between Socialism …
Jun 11
Ending Child Brides
There are many things that are stopping girls from being able to get an education, from lack of infrastructure to natural disasters. However, there is one large, looming obstacle that is keeping many girls from schools; child brides. It is estimated that in the next decade 14.2 million girls will be married before their 18th …
Jun 06
Education Development in Cambodia
Did you know that Cambodia has a literacy rate of 74 percent? That is considered one of the lowest rates in Asia. Literacy rates are used to determine education quality in each country. However, the primary education completion rate in 2009 was 84 percent and has been slowly increasing. The literacy rate is fairly low …
Jun 04
Why Education for Girls is a Worthwhile Investment
“First, I think girls’ education may be the single most cost-effective kind of aid work. It’s cheap, it opens minds, it gives girls new career opportunities and ways to generate cash, it leads them to have fewer children and invest more in those children, and it tends to bring women from the shadows into the …
Jun 04
The Extremist, Radical Box
I think a lot of people can call me the quintessential Jersey girl without the gym, tan, and laundry. I have enough feistiness to account for the entire East Coast, and yet I am always meekly waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Though I am surrounded by some of the most understanding people in …
Jun 03
Looking Back on China (1): Hello China?
“Are you a spy?” My supervising attorney asked me this when I was volunteering in the Pima County Superior Court. I told him I came here to study law, the field of which has been regarded as the realm of the elites in this society. Obviously, he could not figure out why I, a foreigner …
May 31
Election Results Destabilizing Malaysia
During the fall, I interned for a candidate running for congress. In the end my candidate did not win and though I was sad and even furious that the opposition won, it was a done deal.There may be certain aspects of the American election process that are unclear and corrupt, we might talk with our …
May 31
Inequality of Breast Cancer
In this world, there are those who are privileged and those who are less fortunate. Let’s face the fact that America’s history illustrates its structure of social inequalities. America is full of Americans who have and those who have-not. For example, the way in which women are screened and treated for breast cancer is no …
May 28
Born with the wrong parts: When genitalia doesn’t define gender
In nearly every picture from my childhood I am wearing ballet leotards or a tutu, mostly because I studied ballet as a child, but also because I identified with the ballerina. It was my “girl” thing, and the ballerina represented the woman I wanted to become. My brother always appears wearing a baseball cap or …