Liberation of Women: June 2004 Archives

by Madeleine Baran

Jun 23 - A federal judge yesterday allowed a historic class-action sex discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart to proceed. With 1.6 million female plaintiffs, it is the largest employment discrimination lawsuit against a company in U.S. history, The New York Times reports.

According to US District Court Judge Martin Jenkins’ ruling, all 1.6 million women who have worked for Wal-Mart’s US stores since December 26, 1998 and who choose not to opt out will participate in the suit. The judge’s order, which marks the latest step in the three-year-old lawsuit, was not a ruling on the case itself.

by Muddassir Rizvi
Inter Press Service (IPS)
24 June 2004

PROUT Editor's note: It is to be noted that the term "domestic violence" is a euphemism for "wife abuse," as statistics by academics reveal that 90-95% of the abuse is directed towards the woman. The woman is the victim. In Asian countries, the perpetrators are not only the husband but his extended family, including his parents, brothers and sisters. The reason for this abuse, including the amputation described below, and in other cases death, is because all societies in the world are patriarchal (male-dominated), and consequently the national laws, framed by men, do not punish the criminals, or they punish them minimally. In an ideal PROUT society, such perpetrators would receive ten years to life imprisonment for crimes against women. This would be the first step to remove the global domination of men over women, and to create an egalitarian society of men and women based on mutual, coordinated cooperation.

ISLAMABAD, Jun 24 (IPS) - More than four months after her in-laws amputated her legs from knees down on the pretext that she was in an adulterous relationship, Musarrat Sultana Shaheen lies in hospital in the northern Pakistani city of Lahore.

Musarrat, 24, hopes that her abusers will get punished promptly. But that remains unclear although the perpetrators who did the amputation on Feb.7 -- her mother-in-law, brother-in-law and her sister-in-law's husband -- are in jail on charges of assault and attempted murder.

Gradual increases in the rate of female suicide and a skewed gender ratio pose a challenge in China

Women in China are trailing behind in the country’s attempts to attain impressive economic achievements, says a report launched jointly, on March 25, in Beijing, by the United Nations and the Government of China.Elderly women in China still suffer the effects of poverty, female suicide is on the rise and a skewed gender ratio among newborns are likely to have a serious impact on the country’s future demography.The 45-page report, ‘Millennium Development Goals, China’s Progress’, paints a candid picture of China’s progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).The report, however, notes that China will probably achieve most of the goals by 2015. Targets such as primary education have already been achieved, 13 years ahead of schedule. But the country may not be on track for halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS, promoting gender equality and providing safe drinking water to its rural population.

Editor's note: The Grameen Bank was founded by Professor Mohamed Yunus in Dakka, Bangladesh. Its goal was to help impoverished women escape from the clutches of abject poverty by providing them low-interest, micro-credit loans. Today more than 40,000 women in villages all over Bangladesh belong to the Grameen Bank. They are trained in practical skills so as to earn their own livelihoods. Eventually they repay the loans provided by the Bank, and thus with this very simple process of providing small loans, have had the chance to escape poverty and live lives of dignity. When provided with the loans, the women are requested to unitedly take the following sixteen decisions.

Source: Times of India, 19 April 2002

By Siddharth Varaddarajan

Editor’s note: This article, while published in April 2002 in the Times of India, should be required reading even today, to help every Indian citizen understand the dangers of communalism as propagated in India by the BJP and its branches. In the words of Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar:

“When people’s ideas are so fixed that they will not entertain any discussion or argument, it is called ‘fanaticism.’ It is said that religion is a question of faith, not logic. In India there are many religious fanatics. Due to religious fanaticism and bigotry, there have been innumerable violent clashes in the past….These fanatics never bother to listen to the beliefs of others, and moreover for them it is a sin to listen to others. In one sense they are worse than animals, because animals do not harbor any communal feeling.”
(May, 1970, from “How to Unite Human Society,” Prout in a Nutshell, Part 21.)

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
June 7, 2003

Ninety-two percent of American women rank domestic and sexual violence as one of their top priorities. One out of every three women experiences at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood, according to a 1996 study by the American Psychological Association. The full extent of such victimization is not known, however, it is estimated that only one in seven domestic assaults come to the attention of the police. So perhaps it is not surprising that the overwhelming majority of women polled in a new survey by the Center for the Advancement of Women indicated that domestic violence and sexual assault are their main concerns. The survey, entitled “Progress and Perils: New Agenda for Women,” is based on two national telephone polls of 3,329 women aged 18 and older.

By Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (advocate for women's liberation)

In the sphere of society building we come across different sections of people moving in different ways. Looking at the whole social structure, these diversities carry a special significance. Had there been no diversities, human society would not have even arrived at the Stone Age, let alone the present civilization. We will have to recognize, we will have to consider with equanimity, every idea, form and colour of diversity which facilitates the process of people's inner growth. If we fail to do so, the part of society that has been nurtured with that particular idea, form or colour shall wither away for good. I don't say this only for those who think deeply about the welfare of society, but for every member of society, so that no one may ever give indulgence to injustice through thought, word or deed.

By Garda Ghista

“Today the clattering chariot wheels are turning. That din is making the hearts of the opportunists quake. This is the decree of fate. The pace of change is fast accelerating. Women in many communities of the world still do the household chores, but the men are earning the money. That is why the men are in an advantageous position. The women are still subservient to the men and the men want to keep them in that state of servitude. But when the situation changes, this cheap slave labor will escape from men’s control.” - Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar.

By Garda Ghista

Perhaps one of the most renowned sayings of Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar is that women are the most dignified section of society. Let us briefly examine the implications of this momentous statement. In his book Ananda Vacanamrtam, Pt. 30 on page 75, he explains in a nutshell the spiritual foundation of dignified living. When someone rushes towards Supreme Consciousness, forgetting all else, and becomes elevated through this process, she or he is known as a sanctified being. When that sanctified being does selfless service to those around her or him, then that person is known as a dignified being. Sarkar has further stated in this book, that this is the reason why he referred to women as the most dignified section of human society.