Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RachaelRoo]

First there was the woman who was gang raped on order of the village elders, as punishment for her 14 year old brother allegedly being seen walking with a girl belonging to another caste. Not only was she gang raped, she was forced to walk home - naked, bleeding, and crying - in front of the entire cheering village.
Now this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/opinion/31kristof.html?n=Top%2FOpinion%2FEditorials%20and%20Op-Ed%2FOp-Ed%2FColumnists

Note the part about how women can be proscecuted for adultery after the rape.
Women in Afghanistan may indeed be better off now than they were under the Taliban, but what does the Bush administration plan to do for those in Pakistan? As much as they have done for the women suffering in Saudi Arabia? Yeah, I know it isn't their fault - but this is just disturbing, and the U.S. is a very powerful influence over the current Pakistani and Saudi governments.
This is just disgusting.

[dulouz]

That would be interfering in an someone esles government. Would you like an invasion perhaps?

[rapier]

U.S stands back: "America does'nt lift a finger to help, because theres no oil!"

U.. Invades: "The Americans are arrogant imperialists, Forcing unconstitutional, illegal wars of occupation on innocent countries!"

[RachaelRoo]

I'm basically implying that the economic, military and political ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia/Pakistan would give the U.S. immense influence that could be used to slowly improve things for women. It would provide the Bush administration an excellent argument to gain support back home, and I think that Laura Bush has tried to make women's rights one of the issues people identify her with.
It would entail interfering in another nation's government. Sometimes that kind of intereference can be a bad thing, sometimes it can be a good thing. During apatheid in South Africa, foreign interference was probably a positive pressure. In this case, it is obviously the right thing to do.
Love it or hate it, the fact is that when George W. Bush speaks, the whole world listens and takes it very seriously. I think this particularly applies to Perves Musharraf, who relies on American support to keep him in power in Pakistan, with such a resistant populace.
Invade Saudi Arabia? Well, if the Americans believe in hunting down terrorists, controlling oil, and (even if only as an unindended consequence, even if only slightly) improving the status of women, then this is starting to sound better and better.

[Kuros]

The U.S. State Department has not sat by idly.

[Gopher]

deleted

[Ya-ta Boy]

Historically, Britain has more influence with Pakistan than any other western country.

[rapier]

[bucheon bum]

[Bulsajo]

Without a doubt Pakistan is a big cluster *beep*

It's a terrible thing to say but women's rights are probably going to remain on the back-burner as long as a nuclear-armed fundamentalist-Islamic state remains a very real possibility for Pakistan.

It's sick perhaps, it's a rock and a hard place definitely, but it's the reason why no govt will put pressure to have Islamic tribal practices seriously curbed in Pakistan.

Imagine if the invasion of Iraq coupled with the destruction of the Taleban regime in next door Afghanistan created enough support among Muslims in Pakistan to overthrow Musharref? Give the moderate Muslims a common-cause with the extremists it's all over. And there was a lot of support for the Taleban before 9/11 among Pakistan's military and military intelligence...
Unfortunately it doesn't take much of an imgaination at all.

Given Musharref's position, I DON'T think there's that much pressure the US can put on him- If Bush tries to force him to do anything that's any more likely to have him strung up by his heels than he already is now, well he's just going to shrug his shoulders, isn't he?

[The Man known as The Man]