Kumari devi -Tradition vs Human Rights-

Human rights is hard to define because this so-called “human rights” are western perspective of  the way people consider all human being are equal and live without any decimation or violation from any situation. 

However, is this accepted as a global norm? Not so much. There are so many culture and society around the world and people have a different perspective. This is cultural relativism that Mahoney says in his book, The challenge of Human Rights. I would like to explore this with Kumari, manifestations of the divine female energy figure and devi which is Sanskrit word for goddess in South Asia.

Kumari is a living goddess in Nepal Buddhists and some Hindu culture and is a prepubescent girl who live is chosen from the Shakya clan of the Nepalese Newari community in Nepal.

The selection of the Living Goddess is a highly elaborate tantric ritual. Upon passing the preliminary test, this is merely concerned with their 32 attributes of perfection, including the colour of her eyes, the shape of her teeth and the sound of her voice. Her horoscope must also be appropriate. 

The 4 to 7 year poor girls from the Sakya community are made to confront a goddess in the darkened room. The sight of the Buffalo heads scattered around, the demon- like masked dancers, the terrifying noises they encounter scare some of these innocent babies. The real goddess is unlikely to be frightened, so the one who is calm and collected throughout the tests is the only girl who is entitled to sit on the pedestal for worship as the Living Goddess. Then as a final test similar to that of the Dalai Lama, the Kumari then chooses items of clothing and decoration worn by her predecessor. (Visit Nepal)

Once a girl gets chosen as Kumari, she has to serve as a living goddess until she gets the first menstruation.

This is a religious tradition in Nepal. However, if we put this in the human rights, what to do? This is an obvious violation of children’s right. If we put this to UNICEF Convention on the Right of the Child, we can say this is the practice of child labor because a girl once become Kumari, she has to pray for Nepali people and practice the rituals. Also this is child abuse because Kumari candidate girls have to go through all the process in abusive situation to testify such as they have to see the Buffalo heads or other scary things. Another point is that they don’t get to go to school to have a primary education so they don’t have a right to receive education.

But you know what? This is tradition that have been continuing practicing for thousands of years and this is something people inside of the culture appreciate and consider its precious.  But western imperialism always goes for this, push from the top and say, this is abuse of human rights and you have to stop this!!!

Really? Is it true???

This is why human rights is really hard to define..

http://www.visitnepal.com/nepal_information/kumari.php

WTO as a brutal killer? -a story of Korean farmer-

Kyung-Hae Lee on the protest against globalization  during the WTO conference in Cancun Mexico

Do you know this Korean guy? His name is Kyung-Hae Lee, a farmer from South Korea later became an anti-globalization activist against World Trade Organization.

Lee was born in Jangsu, Jeollabuk-do in united Korea in 1947. After graduated from Seoul Agricultural College in 1974, he decided to pursue farming as a carrier. In 1979, he became a president of the Jangsu Lovestock Breeders Association and worked to improve the situation of farmers nationwide. Starting from that, he had been actively involved with several farmers association in South Korea and his action received the  attention from The Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN and he received the award for Farmer of the Year in 1989. 

He started to protest WTO because he thought the WTO's trade policies destroyed South Korean farmers and made them in poverty or worse. He carried out a hunger strike in 1994 because the WTO put pressure on South Korean to open its markets to foreign agricultural products. The situation of the Korean farmers were getting worse and worse. WTO asked to opened the rice market in Korean government which led the fatal damages to the Korean farmers since rice has been the major farmer product in South Korea.

Lee killed himself by a knife during the protest against WTO during WTO conference in Cancun Mexico to show the global struggle for the survival of a millenarian culture now threatened by free trade policies.

This is one of five monopolies that Amin proposed in his book, Financial Control  of Worldwide Financial Markets which is an unprecedented efficacy thanks to the liberalization of the rules governing their establishment. Worldwide financial institutions have been taken over the world economy. (Amin)


Also WTO is one of the trannational corporations (institutions) in the world that helps other underdeveloped region in the world to open up their economy.


I am wondering  if the worldwide economical institution like WTO is good for those local fishermen and farmers in the periphery class countries? I think they are not helping establishing those countries which they really need helps from the international institutions and states financially. 

Globalization for the exploitation of the local business?

Hello everyone. I am writing the very first blog today. I started the blog because I have an unique assignment on a class called Sociology of the Globalization and I can do whatever I want to do creative for my assignment so I decided to start this blog. Also you know it is so fun to write whatever I think about current human right and globalization issues that both are my favorite topic to talk.

So today I would like to talk about the Jamaican economy and their relationship with IMF and World Bank which is a topic I was shocked and shaking my head after I watched a documentary called Life and Debt.

After their independent from British on 1962, Jamaica, a country where they have to figure out their own way to build the state asked money for IMF and World Bank and currently suffering for the debt that they cannot pay off but just increasing their debt from IMF and World Bank.

According to the CIA World Fact Book, they have $11.55 billion of gross external debt by the end of 2009 and people are suffering their way to find how to pay off this burden. Why? because every time Jamaican government ask  IMF and World Bank for money to use for the country, they have always requested to remove tariff off from Jamaica and make it possible to import cheap agricultural and ranch products from North America and Europe. Under the circumstances of 14.8 % of people who live in below poverty line and also 14.5% of unemployment rate in the nation, people tend to buy cheaper products from outside of the country but the expensive fresh products from  local to help their local economy. Small local farmers cannot beat the price of potato which is from Idaho potato farmers who make their products using massive machines in their vast extend of land.  So as milk ranch farmers too. They cannot sell their milk anymore but have to drain fresh milk away because no body buy their local milk but cheap powder milk imported from North America and Europe.

Those facts bring more debt in the state endlessly and because of their economical situation people tend to go for the cheaper products that they can afford, local business are shutting down and the state's economy decreases. This depressive cycle are rolling without the end.

Does IMF and World Bank are really helping the economy of Third World? This is a crucial question. It seems like wealthy people from rich countries just talking and decide what they want to do to help their country's economy and bring the world where they want to bring to gain their own profit.

Poor countries are hopeless and just sinking into the hell of debt?