HUman RIghts Poster Assignment.
News Article Assignment.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/6/5/16655884/5923608.jpg)
Child marriage a human rights violation, advocates say
By: Jennifer Quinn News reporter, Published on Thu Mar 06 2014
It was about eight years ago that Shalini Nataraj saw the girl, and she still remembers her. Nataraj was visiting a village in India, and was struck by how young the girl looked — probably about 14. And she was holding a child. Her child.
Nataraj, director of advocacy and partnerships for the Global Fund for Women, a human rights organization, had worked in the region for years. She was used to seeing young mothers, but asked about this girl.
The villagers said she was 18. “And of course they would, because that’s the legal age of marriage in India,” Nataraj recalls. “But then I asked more about the family.”
It was a common story. The girl was one of about a half-dozen children, whose mother struggled to look after them. And like millions of other children around the world, she became a very young wife. Each year, the United Nations estimates that about 14 million girls are married before they are 18, and there are more child brides in India than anywhere else in the world.
“She stays with me,” Nataraj says. “By now, she probably has three or four more children. You see a lot of women who look like they’re in their 50s . . . and then you actually find out they are about 30.”
The issue of child marriage is part of a new Amnesty International campaign, launched ahead of International Women’s Day on Saturday. In it, the human rights group calls on governments to secure sexual and reproductive rights, saying the health and safety of women and girls is under threat.
“It is unbelievable that in the 21st century some countries are condoning child marriage and marital rape while others are outlawing abortion, sex outside marriage and same-sex sexual activity,” Salil Shetty, the group’s secretary general, said in a statement.
Canada has made the elimination of child marriage a foreign policy priority. Last year,Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird introduced a resolution at the United Nations on the issue and announced $5 million in funding to combat the practice.
Lynne Yelich, minister of state for foreign affairs and consular services, was recently in Geneva for the launch of a photo exhibit on child marriage; in a statement, she called child marriage “a violation of freedom and human rights and we, as citizens of the world, have an obligation to protect these children.”
The numbers are startling. UNICEF says that in the developing world, one in four adolescent girls between the age of 15 and 19 is married; in South Asia, that number is one in three.
And they are often married to much older men. In places such as Gambia and Sierra Leone, UNICEF survey data shows that more than half the teenage girls who are married are with men at least a decade older than they are; in places like Bangladesh, about a third of grooms married girls 10 years younger. (The statistics are based on demographic and health surveys and other research conducted by the United Nations.)
Social, cultural, religious and economic factors contribute to a society’s decision to allow child marriage, experts say. They can include tradition, belief that the girl will be protected from sexual assault or promiscuity, and especially — like the girl Nataraj still remembers in India — poverty.
Early marriage can have negative consequences for both the girl and her children: she will very likely be unable to continue her education or escape poverty; her health may be threatened by early and repeated pregnancies and childbirth; she can be exposed to HIV and domestic violence.
“As an ethical issue, as a human rights issue, those of us who want to see a better world need to deeply care about what is happening to young children, adolescent girls, who lack choice and voice, and what happens to them,” Nataraj says. “If we want to respect our own humanity, I think we really need to be concerned about what is happening, and the scale at which it is happening.”
A report by Human Rights Watch on child marriages — also released Thursday — focused on the sub-Saharan country of Malawi, where about half the female population is married by the time they are 18.
Called “I’ve Never Experienced Happiness,” the report calls on Malawi’s government to create an action plan to combat child marriage, develop and implement a national policy on adolescent reproductive health, and establish shelters for women escaping abusive situations.
“I feel very sad when I see small girls getting married,” a 28-year-old named Danira told Human Rights Watch researchers. She told them she was married when she was 13; her husband was 30.
“They don’t know the hard life that awaits them there,” she said. “I wish I had gone to school. Life could be better for me because I could get a job.”
https://docs.google.com/a/googleapps.wrdsb.ca/document/d/1hUq-cNZJ40UGTuIuIpqzBisbVNax--nyjw1qKt6Xr5A/edit#heading=h.evjjwdjgkhfg
Summary:
Connection to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 16. (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
This right is meant to allow fully grown adults who want to get married. Child marriage is arranged marriage, generally entered into by a fully consenting, full aged man and a young girl of less than full age, who is forced into a marriage. Child marriage is arranged by a girl’s parents, and the girl generally doesn’t have an option to say no. She’s removed from her home and her life, forced to live with a strange, usually much older man, and possibly be exposed to rape, domestic abuse, and become a wife and parent much before she’s ready. These girls don’t choose this life, it’s a part of the culture they were born into. Tradition, culture, religious and economical factors should not take away the human rights of young girls in developing countries.
Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
This right is violated by child marriage and the culture surrounding it, because women are seen less like humans and more like objects to be owned. Men in that kind of society feel that they are worth more than women, and should therefore have more rights. Women and young girls are forced into huge things like marriage or motherhood without their consent. They're bought and sold like they're no better than common farm animals. Because of the cultural and societal norm of men over women, women are disregarded, mistreated and violated, which shouldn't be acceptable in any way.
Question:
In your opinion, why would some governments allow things like child marriage (and therefore marital rape and domestic violence), but make generally non-harmful things like sex outside of marriage illegal?
By: Jennifer Quinn News reporter, Published on Thu Mar 06 2014
It was about eight years ago that Shalini Nataraj saw the girl, and she still remembers her. Nataraj was visiting a village in India, and was struck by how young the girl looked — probably about 14. And she was holding a child. Her child.
Nataraj, director of advocacy and partnerships for the Global Fund for Women, a human rights organization, had worked in the region for years. She was used to seeing young mothers, but asked about this girl.
The villagers said she was 18. “And of course they would, because that’s the legal age of marriage in India,” Nataraj recalls. “But then I asked more about the family.”
It was a common story. The girl was one of about a half-dozen children, whose mother struggled to look after them. And like millions of other children around the world, she became a very young wife. Each year, the United Nations estimates that about 14 million girls are married before they are 18, and there are more child brides in India than anywhere else in the world.
“She stays with me,” Nataraj says. “By now, she probably has three or four more children. You see a lot of women who look like they’re in their 50s . . . and then you actually find out they are about 30.”
The issue of child marriage is part of a new Amnesty International campaign, launched ahead of International Women’s Day on Saturday. In it, the human rights group calls on governments to secure sexual and reproductive rights, saying the health and safety of women and girls is under threat.
“It is unbelievable that in the 21st century some countries are condoning child marriage and marital rape while others are outlawing abortion, sex outside marriage and same-sex sexual activity,” Salil Shetty, the group’s secretary general, said in a statement.
Canada has made the elimination of child marriage a foreign policy priority. Last year,Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird introduced a resolution at the United Nations on the issue and announced $5 million in funding to combat the practice.
Lynne Yelich, minister of state for foreign affairs and consular services, was recently in Geneva for the launch of a photo exhibit on child marriage; in a statement, she called child marriage “a violation of freedom and human rights and we, as citizens of the world, have an obligation to protect these children.”
The numbers are startling. UNICEF says that in the developing world, one in four adolescent girls between the age of 15 and 19 is married; in South Asia, that number is one in three.
And they are often married to much older men. In places such as Gambia and Sierra Leone, UNICEF survey data shows that more than half the teenage girls who are married are with men at least a decade older than they are; in places like Bangladesh, about a third of grooms married girls 10 years younger. (The statistics are based on demographic and health surveys and other research conducted by the United Nations.)
Social, cultural, religious and economic factors contribute to a society’s decision to allow child marriage, experts say. They can include tradition, belief that the girl will be protected from sexual assault or promiscuity, and especially — like the girl Nataraj still remembers in India — poverty.
Early marriage can have negative consequences for both the girl and her children: she will very likely be unable to continue her education or escape poverty; her health may be threatened by early and repeated pregnancies and childbirth; she can be exposed to HIV and domestic violence.
“As an ethical issue, as a human rights issue, those of us who want to see a better world need to deeply care about what is happening to young children, adolescent girls, who lack choice and voice, and what happens to them,” Nataraj says. “If we want to respect our own humanity, I think we really need to be concerned about what is happening, and the scale at which it is happening.”
A report by Human Rights Watch on child marriages — also released Thursday — focused on the sub-Saharan country of Malawi, where about half the female population is married by the time they are 18.
Called “I’ve Never Experienced Happiness,” the report calls on Malawi’s government to create an action plan to combat child marriage, develop and implement a national policy on adolescent reproductive health, and establish shelters for women escaping abusive situations.
“I feel very sad when I see small girls getting married,” a 28-year-old named Danira told Human Rights Watch researchers. She told them she was married when she was 13; her husband was 30.
“They don’t know the hard life that awaits them there,” she said. “I wish I had gone to school. Life could be better for me because I could get a job.”
https://docs.google.com/a/googleapps.wrdsb.ca/document/d/1hUq-cNZJ40UGTuIuIpqzBisbVNax--nyjw1qKt6Xr5A/edit#heading=h.evjjwdjgkhfg
Summary:
- Shalini Nataraj, director of the Global Fund for Women, worked in an Indian village for years as a human rights activist
- Nataraj and other workers for women’s rights investigates in small Indian communities to gain insight as to who are underaged brides, and why the situations are occurring
- The legal age of marriage in India is 18, however many illegal, underage marriages take place
- In places like India where this practice is common, communities say nothing and lie about the ages of those in the underage marriages
- Each year, the United Nations estimated that 14 million young girls become underage brides
- A campaign against child marriage called “Amnesty International” was recently launched in an effort to urge governments around the world to protect these young girl’s rights
- Some countries allow child marriage and marital rape, yet condemn abortion, sex outside marriage and same-sex sexual activity
- Last year, Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, introduced a resolution at the United Nations, and announced a funding of $5 billion to combat child marriage
- In the developing world, ¼ girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are married
- About half of young brides are married to men at least 10 years older than them
- Factors contributing to child marriage include cultural, social, religious, and economical
- Child marriage has a very negative effect on the young women entering these marriages, including exposure to HIV and domestic violence, emotional trauma, loss of a childhood, lack of education, and poverty
Connection to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Article 16. (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
This right is meant to allow fully grown adults who want to get married. Child marriage is arranged marriage, generally entered into by a fully consenting, full aged man and a young girl of less than full age, who is forced into a marriage. Child marriage is arranged by a girl’s parents, and the girl generally doesn’t have an option to say no. She’s removed from her home and her life, forced to live with a strange, usually much older man, and possibly be exposed to rape, domestic abuse, and become a wife and parent much before she’s ready. These girls don’t choose this life, it’s a part of the culture they were born into. Tradition, culture, religious and economical factors should not take away the human rights of young girls in developing countries.
Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
This right is violated by child marriage and the culture surrounding it, because women are seen less like humans and more like objects to be owned. Men in that kind of society feel that they are worth more than women, and should therefore have more rights. Women and young girls are forced into huge things like marriage or motherhood without their consent. They're bought and sold like they're no better than common farm animals. Because of the cultural and societal norm of men over women, women are disregarded, mistreated and violated, which shouldn't be acceptable in any way.
Question:
In your opinion, why would some governments allow things like child marriage (and therefore marital rape and domestic violence), but make generally non-harmful things like sex outside of marriage illegal?
Film Review: The Help.
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/6/5/16655884/650645413.jpg?417)
By Alex and Harley
The film, The Help, accurately depicts the violation of several human rights articles, as seen in the universal declaration of human rights.
The first article violated in the film is Article 1, which states that all humans all born free and equal. This is clearly violated in the sense that not all the people are treated fairly, and brings up the point of segregation playing a big part of society. Equality is a huge issue in this film, because it centers around the issue of racism, which completely represents inequality. Characters in the film are on two completely different levels and standards of living based on nothing else other than their skin colour.
Another human rights article violated is Article 2, in which it says that: everyone is entitled to the rights and freedoms set forth in this article. Just stating the violations that occur is enough proof that this article is completely disregarded. “Everyone” is clearly not an inclusive term in the film, as people with different coloured skin were treated completely different when it came to their rights and freedoms and were only granted a limited amount of these rights.
“No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms” is a direct line from the Declaration, from Article 4. This clearly states that slavery should not be happening, and yet that is exactly the issue that the film The Help is centered around. In the film, it’s most common for caucasian households to have slaves, servants, or maids, being people of colour.
Article 5 states that no one shall be subject to cruel and inhuman treatment/punishment, which is also violated in the film. People of colour were forced into slavery, and were subjected to other cruel and humiliating punishments throughout the film. They were severely mistreated by the caucasian characters for no reason other than the colour of their skin.
Both article 6 and 7 are violated in this film, and each goes hand-in-hand with the other. People are supposed to be seen as exactly that, people, in the eyes of the law. In this case, it does not work out in such a manner, as different ethnicities were not given the same protection as caucasian individuals when it came to the justice system.
Articles 18 and 19 state that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, expression, and opinion. These rights are violated when it’s made clear that caucasian people are to have a certain opinion about people of colour, and vice versa. In addition to that, the character Skeeter, had these rights violated when she wanted to write about the stories of the women who were kept as servants or maids, and it was completely rejected at first. In addition to that, if the book had been written by a different character, Aibileen or Minny for example, the idea would probably have been completely rejected from the start simply because of their race and status. Their freedom of opinion and expression were taken away because others didn’t like what the women wanted to say. Commonly, the servants or slaves weren’t allowed to express their own opinions either, instead being forced or simply expected to go along with whatever they were told to do or how to think. Sub-section 2 of Article 21 states directly that all individuals have equal access to the public services in their country. Aibileen had said to Skeeter, that she was not allowed in the same hospitals, libraries, or even stores as caucasian individuals. This is a complete opposite to what the article is saying, as forcing people to use different buildings and services than that of the rest of the population shows discrimination.
Article 23, which states that all individuals are subject to equal pay for equal work, is most definitely violated. Women like Aibileen and Minny worked much harder than other caucasian people at the time, and received much lower wages for their work, again because of their race.
In the film, Article 25 is violated in quite an unfair manner as well. Everyone in society has the right to a fair standard of living, which includes the right to a style of life that entails adequate health and well-being of oneself and their family. This entails a reasonable amount of food, medical care, and social services. Both Aibileen and Minny, and many other characters in their community, were not given the entirety of the necessities in order to live a healthy lifestyle. Minny lived in what was basically a trailer, with a massive family consisting of several kids, as well as an abusive husband. Minny did not always enough money or food to support her children. She was also unable to go to the hospital when her husband hit her, making her life that worse off. In short, many, many basic human rights were blatantly violated in this film.
Violations of the Declaration of Human Rights always have an impact on individuals as well as societies. The film, The Help, is no exception. Since racism is the main focus of the movie, it is, or things connected to it, are what violates all of the human rights. Everyone in the society is affected in one way or another by racism in this film, as there is a major focus on segregation of the different races of people. However, the violations have the greatest effect on those that are treated as slaves or servants, because they are the ones suffering from the mistreatment. Those individuals suffer personally. Then there are the caucasian individuals who were born into or exposed to the slavery and mistreatment, who were lead to think that this is the only way to treat people, and how society is supposed to function. Society in general was absolutely affected because of both of these groups of people. The whole societal structure in the film was based around who was a slave, and who had the most slaves, and was therefore the richest. Society completely depended on the violation of these basic human rights, and that’s just really a skewed way for the world to be. It’s not even as if people felt remotely close to bad for violating these rights, they seemed to not even care that they were hurting these people in more ways than imaginable. Both groups of people, whether they were the ones violating the rights, or having their rights violated, were affected deeply and profoundly because of it.
The cinematography featured in The Help dramatically adds to the atmosphere, and which creates a feeling of catharsis in the audience, and gives a better understanding of how each of the characters feel in certain scenes. Music is included in the many scenes to fit the emotions on screen, and to reflect how the characters feel. In one such scene, Miss Celia sits in her backyard, burying the corpse of her dead baby, while in the background there is a rendition of piano music that is absolutely slow and saddening, which fits the scene perfectly, and reflects perfectly the sadness that she feels. In cheery moments, such as the book being released, and showing how the citizens of Jackson are enjoying the book, there is a very upbeat feel in the music, adding to the happy feeling in the environment. Another major piece of cinematography that was important in the film was the use of lighting in the different communities or settings. In the predominantly caucasian communities the lighting was brighter and it seemed to represent the surface-deep perfection of the communities in question, while darker lighting was used in the homes and communities of people of colour. This definitely gives the audience the feeling that the areas in which the “higher class” caucasians live, are safer, happier and generally better places to be, while the other settings are darker, grungier, worse places. Which, in a way, represents the oppression and freedom of the characters in the different communities. Camera angles are also utilized in the film to create feeling. For example, during the scenes that Aibileen shares with Mae Mobley, the shots are often close-ups of their faces, on the little girl’s level, which somehow makes the scene feel extra emotional. Another example of a good usage of camera angles is the scene in which Aibileen gets fired and has to leave Mae behind. The scene cuts in between Aibileen walking away and crying, Mae watching her go, sobbing, screaming, and banging on the window, and Mae’s mother, clearly upset by the situation. The jump cuts invoke emotion, and they showcase how each character involved feels. There are definitely some great aspects of cinematography used in this film, to create catharsis.
The film, The Help, accurately depicts the violation of several human rights articles, as seen in the universal declaration of human rights.
The first article violated in the film is Article 1, which states that all humans all born free and equal. This is clearly violated in the sense that not all the people are treated fairly, and brings up the point of segregation playing a big part of society. Equality is a huge issue in this film, because it centers around the issue of racism, which completely represents inequality. Characters in the film are on two completely different levels and standards of living based on nothing else other than their skin colour.
Another human rights article violated is Article 2, in which it says that: everyone is entitled to the rights and freedoms set forth in this article. Just stating the violations that occur is enough proof that this article is completely disregarded. “Everyone” is clearly not an inclusive term in the film, as people with different coloured skin were treated completely different when it came to their rights and freedoms and were only granted a limited amount of these rights.
“No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms” is a direct line from the Declaration, from Article 4. This clearly states that slavery should not be happening, and yet that is exactly the issue that the film The Help is centered around. In the film, it’s most common for caucasian households to have slaves, servants, or maids, being people of colour.
Article 5 states that no one shall be subject to cruel and inhuman treatment/punishment, which is also violated in the film. People of colour were forced into slavery, and were subjected to other cruel and humiliating punishments throughout the film. They were severely mistreated by the caucasian characters for no reason other than the colour of their skin.
Both article 6 and 7 are violated in this film, and each goes hand-in-hand with the other. People are supposed to be seen as exactly that, people, in the eyes of the law. In this case, it does not work out in such a manner, as different ethnicities were not given the same protection as caucasian individuals when it came to the justice system.
Articles 18 and 19 state that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, expression, and opinion. These rights are violated when it’s made clear that caucasian people are to have a certain opinion about people of colour, and vice versa. In addition to that, the character Skeeter, had these rights violated when she wanted to write about the stories of the women who were kept as servants or maids, and it was completely rejected at first. In addition to that, if the book had been written by a different character, Aibileen or Minny for example, the idea would probably have been completely rejected from the start simply because of their race and status. Their freedom of opinion and expression were taken away because others didn’t like what the women wanted to say. Commonly, the servants or slaves weren’t allowed to express their own opinions either, instead being forced or simply expected to go along with whatever they were told to do or how to think. Sub-section 2 of Article 21 states directly that all individuals have equal access to the public services in their country. Aibileen had said to Skeeter, that she was not allowed in the same hospitals, libraries, or even stores as caucasian individuals. This is a complete opposite to what the article is saying, as forcing people to use different buildings and services than that of the rest of the population shows discrimination.
Article 23, which states that all individuals are subject to equal pay for equal work, is most definitely violated. Women like Aibileen and Minny worked much harder than other caucasian people at the time, and received much lower wages for their work, again because of their race.
In the film, Article 25 is violated in quite an unfair manner as well. Everyone in society has the right to a fair standard of living, which includes the right to a style of life that entails adequate health and well-being of oneself and their family. This entails a reasonable amount of food, medical care, and social services. Both Aibileen and Minny, and many other characters in their community, were not given the entirety of the necessities in order to live a healthy lifestyle. Minny lived in what was basically a trailer, with a massive family consisting of several kids, as well as an abusive husband. Minny did not always enough money or food to support her children. She was also unable to go to the hospital when her husband hit her, making her life that worse off. In short, many, many basic human rights were blatantly violated in this film.
Violations of the Declaration of Human Rights always have an impact on individuals as well as societies. The film, The Help, is no exception. Since racism is the main focus of the movie, it is, or things connected to it, are what violates all of the human rights. Everyone in the society is affected in one way or another by racism in this film, as there is a major focus on segregation of the different races of people. However, the violations have the greatest effect on those that are treated as slaves or servants, because they are the ones suffering from the mistreatment. Those individuals suffer personally. Then there are the caucasian individuals who were born into or exposed to the slavery and mistreatment, who were lead to think that this is the only way to treat people, and how society is supposed to function. Society in general was absolutely affected because of both of these groups of people. The whole societal structure in the film was based around who was a slave, and who had the most slaves, and was therefore the richest. Society completely depended on the violation of these basic human rights, and that’s just really a skewed way for the world to be. It’s not even as if people felt remotely close to bad for violating these rights, they seemed to not even care that they were hurting these people in more ways than imaginable. Both groups of people, whether they were the ones violating the rights, or having their rights violated, were affected deeply and profoundly because of it.
The cinematography featured in The Help dramatically adds to the atmosphere, and which creates a feeling of catharsis in the audience, and gives a better understanding of how each of the characters feel in certain scenes. Music is included in the many scenes to fit the emotions on screen, and to reflect how the characters feel. In one such scene, Miss Celia sits in her backyard, burying the corpse of her dead baby, while in the background there is a rendition of piano music that is absolutely slow and saddening, which fits the scene perfectly, and reflects perfectly the sadness that she feels. In cheery moments, such as the book being released, and showing how the citizens of Jackson are enjoying the book, there is a very upbeat feel in the music, adding to the happy feeling in the environment. Another major piece of cinematography that was important in the film was the use of lighting in the different communities or settings. In the predominantly caucasian communities the lighting was brighter and it seemed to represent the surface-deep perfection of the communities in question, while darker lighting was used in the homes and communities of people of colour. This definitely gives the audience the feeling that the areas in which the “higher class” caucasians live, are safer, happier and generally better places to be, while the other settings are darker, grungier, worse places. Which, in a way, represents the oppression and freedom of the characters in the different communities. Camera angles are also utilized in the film to create feeling. For example, during the scenes that Aibileen shares with Mae Mobley, the shots are often close-ups of their faces, on the little girl’s level, which somehow makes the scene feel extra emotional. Another example of a good usage of camera angles is the scene in which Aibileen gets fired and has to leave Mae behind. The scene cuts in between Aibileen walking away and crying, Mae watching her go, sobbing, screaming, and banging on the window, and Mae’s mother, clearly upset by the situation. The jump cuts invoke emotion, and they showcase how each character involved feels. There are definitely some great aspects of cinematography used in this film, to create catharsis.