I have read the UNICEF-1997 “Progress of nations” report and its contents truly went to the depths of my being. It itemized the degradation of women all around the globe. To believe that raping 20,000 Bosnian Muslim women was an act of war is not only vile but speaks to the evil that we are willing to live with.
We live in a culture that believes and supports human rights. Our government uses the “politics of human rights” as a strong-arm against countries that abuse their people. Favored Nation Status is given to most of the countries listed in the report, except Bosnia and some parts of Asia. It is up to the world theater to stop the politics of violence created by men; they must recognize the vileness of what they do, and we must resensitize people to the violence they inflict.
As the report points out, most of the atrocities are cultural in nature. Slavery was cultural, and we as a nation lived through the Civil War to correct that atrocity.
There should never be a right to “cultural violence,” because it involves a violation of human dignity and often becomes an agent of death. If we just stand by, we must ask what lies ahead for our lives together as a global society. Knowing that these atrocities exist makes us bystanders willing to let it happen.
A few fires can be lit. Just as in the repeal, and the establishment, of the 18th Amendment (Prohibition), the women of the United States stepped forward because of the violence that crime figures were inflicting on their streets, affecting the welfare of their families. We, as a society, cannot tolerate this indifference to “females.” We must demand protection and a resolve to end “cultural violence.”
I strongly encourage people to obtain the UNICEF report and write to those who can do something. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright might be a first step, followed by religious leaders, congressmen and heads of companies doing business with these countries. It is up to us to change and make a difference.
