http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,313426,00.html
This article is mainly about the British woman, Gilliam Gibbons, teaching in Sudan when she was arrested for allowing her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad. The Sudanese government had charged Gibbons with inciting religious hatred, a crime as the article states, that is punishable by up to 40 lashes. Eventually she was released, so the article is a little out-of-date. Although many feel that Fox news is generally not a good source for unbiased news, some interesting points are brought up regarding the current state of the feminist movement in the United States in relation to this whole incident.
According to the article, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was quoted that it had not taken a stance on the situation. NOW's inaction prompted Tammy Bruce, a former president of a chapter of NOW, to assert that the reason NOW is refusing to take an official stance is that "they're afraid of offending people" and that "they are bound by political correctness.” It seems that Bruce is saying that NOW will not take a stance since they are afraid of offending individuals belonging to certain religious groups.
As we have seen in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, the clash between culture and good intentions often causes unintended results that can be detrimental to others. We see this same theme regarding the condemnation of an act that is a result of religious beliefs. This incident poses an interesting question of whether it is appropriate to disregard culture and religion in order to uphold situations regarding human rights. The issue of standpoint theory is clearly evident in a situation like this as well. An individual of a certain religion may find the act of naming a stuffed animal after a religious figure an offense worthy of a punishment, while others may see a punishment as a violation of human rights. Perhaps, if the teacher had a greater understanding of the culture she was in, then a situation like this may have been avoided all-together. Still, the question remains if it is permissible to violate and offend a group of individuals and their own values in order to end the oppression of another? I naturally feel that religion and cultural issues would and should take a backseat to human rights issues, but anything involving culture deeply intertwined with religion seems so sensitive and complex, especially for an organization to take a stance on. This situation is likened to when in war, the side that is defined as the "bad guys" depends on the perspective of who you are talking to.
Another interesting point found in the Tammy Bruce section regarding NOW is the idea of women studies/feminist theory on an international level. Thinking back on the course, nearly everything we have read about dealt with examining issues within the United States from the critical perspective of feminist theory. This was relatively simple since we all have lived in the United States for some time and understand the country's culture and society. I feel like it would be more difficult for us to apply feminist critiques on an international scale due to issues regarding standpoint theory and the potential for large differences in culture between the United States and whatever country the issue being examined takes place in.
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2 comments:
I was a little concerned with Gilliam Gibbons actions. As a female visitor teaching in a foreign country, Gibbons should have known the outcomes of the situation she placed herself in. While I personally believe it was not a big deal at all and did not deserve any form of punishment, I am also not Muslim. Here actions seemed also mocking of the religion. Even if Gibbons was unaware of mistake, she, or the organization she worked through, should have thoroughly educated her on the Sudanese culture, religions, and norms. I believe it is ignorant and rude to enter a foreign country without at least a basic understanding of the new culture. I feel as if many Americans face this problem when traveling. Many US citizens feel as if they are superior to all other cultures because they come from such a prosperous nation. However, we have no right to treat visitors and other US citizens with the same ignorance and complain when other cultures turn against us. For example, Americans who call all Muslims terrorists or assume that all people from the Middle East are Muslims is plain ignorance. People need to learn more about others before they can pass judgment.
The development of the case of the Gillian Gibbons, the British school teacher in Sudan who named the class teddy bear Muhammad, has thoroughly demonstrated the force of cross-cultural inconsistencies. On one side of the debate it appears that Ms. Gibbons has made an innocent mistake. Muhammad is one of the most common names in the Muslim world so it seems natural that it may be selected for a class project. Furthermore, the teddy bear was named Muhammad based on a class vote in which 20 out of the 23 students in the class voted to select the name Muhammad for the teddy bear. If Ms. Gibbons’ actions were particularly offensive towards Islam it should be unlikely that the vast majority of her students supported naming the bear Muhammad. In addition, Ms. Gibbons had the support of many Muslim Britons, along with non-Muslims, in fighting for her freedom from the Sudanese prison.
However, on the other side of this debate, as has already been argued by trweinb, Ms. Gibbons can be accused of being culturally ignorant. Before entering a country with a large Islamic population, such as Sudan, she should be aware that the use of the name Muhammad for inanimate objects may be deemed insulting to Islam. Furthermore, the recent conflicts between the Sudanese and the Danish illustrate that the depiction of Muhammad is a sensitive issue within the Islamic culture. The Sudanese have not allowed Scandinavian peacekeepers into Darfur because Danish newspapers published caricatures of the prophet Muhammad two years ago. The cartoons ignited a series of riots within the Muslim world and several dozen people were killed.
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