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Le dernier numéro de l’émission "Le grand oral" diffusée par la télévision privée Chinguit TV et animée par Mohamed Ahmed Salihi...

By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Feb 4 2019 (IPS)

Is there a connection between sex education, gender equality and promiscuity? On this website, Fabiana Fraysinnet recently denounced a Brazilian crusade against sex education conducted by conservative and religious sectors. Such initiatives are common in several other countries, where politicians and religious leaders accuse sexual education of blurring boundaries between male and female and thus foment homosexuality and transsexualism, as well as a moral relativism undermining family structures and adherence to religious guidance and dogma.

An opposite position is reflected by the personal motto of the Norwegian-Swedish journalist and socialist agitator Elise Ottosen-Jensen, who in 1933, together with a number of radical medical doctors founded the Swedish Association for Sexualiity Education (RFSU):

I dream of the day when every new born child is welcome, when men and women are equal, and when sexuality is an expression of intimacy, joy and tenderness.

Through her work as a journalist Elise Ottosen-Jensen had gained insights into the everyday life of working-class women. Scarce resources, hard work and domestic violence were common problems. Her conviction that the many unwanted pregnancies were a problem for several families and also a threat to women´s health and well-being turned her into an outspoken promotor of contraceptives and an agitator against the so-called sex laws, which prohibited use of contraceptives and penalized homosexuality. Until 1938 Swedish laws forbade the use of, information about, as well as distribution and marketing of contraceptives and it was not until 1944 that homosexuality was decriminalized. In 1955, sexual education was made compulsory in Swedish schools.

While I studied pedagogy in the 1970s the Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire´s Pedagogy of the Oppressed was obligatory reading for all future Swedish teachers. Freire stated that pupils simply memorized “facts” transmitted by their teachers, maintaining that all education instead ought to problematize what appears to be simple truths and provoke students to “self-determination”. I was taught that the Swedish school was supposed to support the ”development of critically thinking individuals,” able to dispute generally accepted dogmas and opinions.

Sexual education was part of that agenda and connected to gender equality. It was emphasized that all over the world girls and women are facing social, economic and cultural barriers impeding their education and livelihoods and that even more lack comprehensive sexuality education, which serves as a tool for women to take control of their bodies, to plan their future and avoid unintended pregnancy, child-, early- and forced marriages.

Some educators soon developed Freire´s theories into something they labelled as “anti-oppressive education”, i.e. a commitment to empower youngsters from minority groups by making them question norms that determine people’s perceptions of what is “normal”. Such views have increasingly come to influence the current Swedish debate about the rights of people who identify themselves as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer).

Swedish radicals have recommended that children are given “gender neutral names”, while children´s books address norm changing themes, for example Kalle som Lucia, “Kalle as Lucia”. This particular story is about a boy who wants to be Lucia. In all Swedish schools winter solstice is celebrated by processions headed by a beautiful girl chosen by the pupils to be Lucia, Bringer of Light. While connecting traditional gender roles to normative change, books like Kalle as Lucia are supposed to teach kids that it is OK to be different.

Another Swedish norm changing initiative has been the replacement of the Swedish words for she and he with the neutral hen (from the Finnish gender neutral hän). Such efforts have been criticized as “ridiculous”, or even worse – as a Government supported scheme to blur the difference between the sexes, described as an integrated part of efforts to secure gender equality, which in reality is an entirely different endeavour. Gender equality aims at fomenting equal access to resources and opportunities for people of different sex, it does not at all seek to abolish biologically conditioned differences between women and men.

People who use bio-determinism as an argument against gender equality, claiming that promoting equal rights for women and men is a violation of religious and natural laws, ignore the fact people are able to change. John Stuart Mill, the 19th century economist and promoter of women’s emancipation, emphasized the dangers of bio-determinism:

Of all the vulgar modes of escaping from the consideration of the effect of social and moral influences upon the human mind, the most vulgar is that of attributing the diversities of conduct and character to inherent natural differences. 1

We have over time developed social patterns that resist aggression and selfish behaviour. While living close together, humans have used their superior brains to comprehend how violence and excessive dominant behaviour are intrinsically bad for the survival of our specie. Humans are able to change their habitats, instead of exclusively adapting to them, something that is due to the fact that human beings are genetically programmed to make use of reason, culture and free will, an endeavour supported by education aimed at promoting openness, mutual support and compassion.

Ignorance about reproductive health is currently threatening to increase rates of teen pregnancy, communicable diseases, misogyny and abuse of girls and adolescents. Attacking gender equality and sex education in the guise of opposition to norm criticism may prove to be harmful to the entire society and not the least the wellbeing of women, whose health is threatened by the bigotry of religious leaders, harmful traditions and prejudiced politics.

Some years ago, I visited Andean communities, interviewing women about their life situation. I had previously found that as a foreign man one of the best ways of approaching reticent women in rural settings had been to do so in the company of a local midwife. What worried me during my encounters with Andean women was their often poor state of health and I assumed it was the midwife´s presence that made them reveal their pains.

Several suffered from vaginal prolapse and other conditions affecting the female reproductive system. Ailments caused by congenital malformations, or difficulties during pregnancies that came too early in life and often had been far too frequent. Women´s suffering could also have been a consequence of difficult deliveries, poor hygiene, deficient preventive healthcare, hard work, badly treated infections and venereal diseases. Disease affecting productive organs were generally suffered in silence, considered to be shameful since everything connected with female bodies was burdened by prejudices, chauvinism and religious narrow-mindedness. My meeting with these women made me realize that gender equality is not only an issue of equity between men and women, but physical differences between males and females have to be addressed as well.

We are able to change our destiny for the better by liberating ourselves from shackles of intolerance supported by murky traditions and misinterpreted biological determinism. This is one reason to why gender equality, and not the least – unrestricted access to healthcare and sex education for both women and men, benefit the entire mankind. Fear of male power loss and an assumed spread of homosexuality cannot be allowed to forbid sex education and become an obstacle to women´s health and wellbeing.

1Collected Works of John Stuart Mill: Principles of political economy. University of Toronto Press. p. 319

Jan Lundius holds a PhD. on History of Religion from Lund University and has served as a development expert, researcher and advisor at SIDA, UNESCO, FAO and other international organisations.

The post Sex Education and Women´s Health appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Photo: Sheikh Nasir

By Quamrul Chowdhury
Feb 4 2019 (IPS-Partners)

(The Daily Star) – Every year on February 2, nations have been celebrating the World Wetlands Day since 1997. But unfortunately, despite national and international efforts, wetlands are still treated as revenue-generating machines or wastelands in many countries including Bangladesh. Apparently, nobody would like to think of wetlands as a natural solution in adapting to the global climate change.

Many people don’t even bother to think that these ecosystems play a significant role in mitigating the adverse impacts of climatic change. Hence, many wetlands have already been encroached, degraded or polluted. The theme of this year’s Wetlands Day is “Wetlands and Climate Change”—and it has been chosen to highlight the important role played by wetlands, as a natural solution, in terms of adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Many developing and developed countries as well as their economies and natural ecosystems have been battling with an unprecedented degree of climatic change in recent years. Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP), prepared in 2008 and revised in 2009, identified that water security, food security, energy security, health security and livelihood security are being threatened by the adverse impacts of climate change.

As one of the lead authors of BCCSAP, I know that many of the 45 programmes included in this plan couldn’t be implemented because of resource constraints, deficits in programme preparations and planning problems. This is quite unfortunate.

It should be noted that wetland ecosystems are severely affected, for example, by sea-level rise, coral bleaching, hydrological effects, changes in water temperature, and alterations in water availability and quality. Wetlands in Bangladesh, like in many other developing countries, are particularly affected by socio-economic pressures and the climate change, which result in the degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and a concomitant negative impact on human communities, especially those on the coast.

The adverse impacts of climate change are particularly significant in our country and will decrease ecosystem resilience. Different reports suggest that around 90 percent of the wetlands, hosting more than 70,000 water birds, are in the coastal region and under threat of submersion following a sea-level rise.

Many of our coastal, haor, dry and upland regions are likely to lose large numbers of wetland species as a result of climate change. Wetlands, particularly coastal and haor wetlands, are important in the process to mitigate climate change because they help to manage extreme weather events through the multiple services that they provide. Important wetland functions include water storage, groundwater recharge, storm protection, flood mitigation, shoreline stabilisation, erosion control, and retention of carbon, nutrients, sediments and pollutants (Dugan 1990).

Experts say that wetlands are also significant carbon stores. According to the Ramsar Convention, it has been estimated that peatlands contain at least 550 Gt of carbon, which is almost double the amount stored in the world’s forests. Although they cover only 3 percent of the world’s landmass, they contain 30 percent of its soil carbon (Parish et al, 2008; FAO, 2012b). Wetlands such as mangroves like The Sundarbans, saltmarshes, haors and coral reefs play crucial roles in controlling flood peaks and spreading the water table. Thanks to their vegetation, such as trees and root mats, wetlands act as permeable barriers that slow waves, reduce flooding, and offer natural protection for coastlines against destructive weather events.

Wetlands are an important source of water everywhere, including in places where resources are scarce. Local populations and animal and plant species benefit from wetlands as providers of water. Wetlands allow water to reach the underground water table, making the resource available in dry periods.

Thus, wetlands are key for groundwater recharge and allow ecosystems to cope with drought in places like Barind Track. By the same process, by releasing underground water, wetlands help to maintain the flow of rivers when precipitations diminish. These enormously valuable natural bodies also offer solid evidence that investing in natural solutions is a cost-effective way to enhance resilience to climate change in vulnerable coastal areas and communities.

But with the degradation or encroachment of wetlands, human well-being is being compromised. It is raising the risk of flooding of houses and infrastructure, and increasing the risk of exposure to water shortages and drought. Against these threats, initiatives to conserve wetlands can make a difference and benefit the well-being of the future generations of people and wildlife.

I think our policymakers should help raise public awareness of the importance of wetlands. They should ensure stakeholder participation in wetland management to maintain human well-being including livelihood. Strengthening national legal and policy arrangements to conserve all wetlands is an urgent task and that should be an integral part of Bangladesh’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) which should be prepared without any further delay.

I would also suggest developing and implementing NAP as per the NAP Roadmap prepared in 2015 and it should be our high priority along with revisiting Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. Coastal, haor and unprotected wetlands are expected to be most severely impacted by climate change, but conserving and restoring the wetlands is an effective way to mitigate climate change impacts for people and biodiversity. Revisiting the Delta Plan is essential before it enters its implementation phase to ensure people’s participation in the formulation and implementation of this long-term plan, with more adequate public consultations.

Quamrul Chowdhury is a climate, water and sustainable development specialist, a former Chair of UN Kyoto Protocol Joint Implementation Committee, former member of UN Climate Adaptation Committee, and member of World Water Scenario Group.
E-mail: quamrul2030@gmail.com

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

The post Conserving wetlands to tackle climate change appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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Un phénomène inhabituelle au Bénin.
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F. A. A.

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