On September 28, 2011 Amnesty International reported that a Saudi woman has been sentenced to 10 lashes for challenging a ban on women driving. This was reported just two days after Saudi King Abdullah granted women the right to vote and run in municipal elections (in 2015). Under Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic laws, women require a male guardian's permission to work, travel abroad, or undergo certain types of surgery. There is no law banning women from driving, but there is a law requiring citizens to use locally issued licenses while in the country. These licenses are not issued to women, thus, making it illegal for them to drive. In May, pro-democracy protests swept through the region, women in Saudi Arabia campaigned for the right to drive. Some women have driven successfully on certain streets, while others said that they were stopped by the police who let them go after signing a pledge not to drive again.
This article highlights two ideas: women not having the right to drive and physical punishment. Should women be allowed equal rights as men? Do all humans deserve basic equal rights? To what extent should culture and religion play a role in a society? Is it ethically right to use physical punishment? What constitutes as a violation of human rights? In this case, ethics and emotion are involved. The women in this society want to have the same rights as men, however, are being punished for thinking so.
The knowledge issue I am going to focus on is should all humans be treated the same, with equal rights? We were all born from our mothers, will live our life in times of happiness as well as sadness, and later on, will someday cease to exist. If the person next to us was born in the same conditions (I mean he/she wasn't sent down from the heavens) and will one day die as well, why should one deserve more than the other? In regards to ethics, should there be a set of universal human rights? Because we cannot control the gender, culture, religion, social status, etc. we were born into, each individual should have equal rights as it is unfair to deprive an individual because of something they cannot control. However, sometimes cultural practices, tradition, and religion play a large role in the structure of a society. If one does not keep their place, how will the world function? As each layer of the food chain is dependent on another, perhaps keeping certain individuals in order reassures the function of an entire unit. Personally, I think that there should be universal human rights because as stated earlier, depriving someone of their rights because of something they cannot control is simply unfair. However, if individuals chose to abuse their rights, they should no longer be able to have them.
This issue can be related with gay rights. On September 27, actress Leisha Hailey and her girlfriend kissed on a Southwest Airlines flight so were asked to leave. In this article, it is stated that the airlines threw them off on the basis that other passengers were uncomfortable by their actions. If this were a straight couple, would they have been thrown off as well for kissing? Would the passengers have minded if they saw a straight couple kiss? In both these cases, we see how a certain group—women in the first case and homosexuals in the second are treated differently than others—men and straight couples. However, could these people have chosen to be women or homosexuals? Should they be treated differently for this?
I think this issue also addresses the boundaries of law. Law is a system of rules that is recognized by a society as regulating the actions of its members, but is it right for laws to limit people’s human rights? Often times, laws set by a government interfere with different types human rights, such as freedom of marriage for homosexuals. To what extent does the government have power in controlling people’s privileges and is it ethical for the government to limit privileges due to difference of belief, interest, or race? In the case of gay rights, I think it is unethical to limit their rights of marriage because of their different interest in sex. Similar to the argument brought up in the blog, homosexuals are humans as well, and therefore they deserve the same human rights.
ReplyDeleteA similar issue is racism. Racism is the discrimination directed against a group with different ethnical beliefs or race. Racism has always existed in all types of society, and often times, those who are different from the general public are discriminated.
I think the special treatment of a particular subset of society is reasonable given certain circumstances and conditions. For example, those with physical disabilities are barred from competing in the Olympic Games, but are allowed to compete in the Paralympic Games. Similarly, those who are not disabled are only eligible for the Olympics. This separation is not due to any dislike for either group, but appears due to the need for fairness and equal opportunity in such competitions.
ReplyDeleteCertainly in the situations you've discussed it appears that there is no reason for such discrimination other than sexism and homophobia---I just believe that special treatment of certain groups is not necessarily a bad thing.
I agree with you the fact that all humans should have equal rights, and it is better that there is a set of universal human rights established. However, on the side of religion, there are also certain rights that exists and clashes with other human rights. As Islam might have the belief that women as less able, they have their rights to believe so. They could point that out to justify that it is a religious practice, which is also a human right, to implement this belief as part of the law. It is too, as you word it, "something they cannot control." Indeed it is an extreme practice, but they believe that what they are doing is right and that they want the people of their nation to live that way. It cannot be helped that strongly believe what they are doing is right. In another sense, if they are told that their ways are wrong, it will be depriving of their rights.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it is absurd that human rights can defend such extreme beliefs. However, it all comes down to people's different views on what are human rights, and which rights are more important. Even being able to have different views itself is a human right. What I am trying to say about the Islamic Laws is that people can use what they think are their rights to justify themselves. It's an extreme defense.
As there are many interpretations of what are human rights, I personally find it impossible to establish a set of rights that people universally agree upon. There will always be disagreement on what constitutes as "rights."
I agree that the law shouldn't ban women from driving solely according to their gender, but I will have to object with you on your third paragraph when you talk about equal rights. We are all born equally, from our mothers and live through life through happiness as well as sadness. But you have to acknowledge that in less developed countries, women don't get the equal opportunity for education as men, and you'll have to consider many more pre-conditioned factors for the authority to make this kind of decision. I think the law might be too harsh, but it makes sense to some extent. However, it would be a better solution if the authority simply give them a ticket for fines like the treatments men get.
ReplyDelete