(taken fron an article from Mrs. Zohreh Ataei Ashtiani, Women Engineers Association (WEA),Copyright,1997)
Introduction
At the end of the World War Two, the world encountered the power of two systems, one based on capitalism and liberalism (liberal capitalism) with regards to the individual freedom, and the other with the belief in governmental economy and socialism. These two systems were established as the political, cultural and economical skeletons (frameworks) of the west and the east.
After the failure of the East, eventually the thought of the necessity of an overall ruling system was reinforced and followed by a kind of modeling social patterns for developing the "New World Order".
According to this policy, a passive political move with economical discipline can be considered in the international decision making centers and assemblies, which claims human mandate under the name of human rights.
What is now propaganded in the international Assemblies and councils, as peace, human rights, abolish discrimination, freedom and human development, comes from the same previously-arranged policy, based on capital and material compulsory domination and materialistic monotheism.
Today from the international view point the concept of human development is nothing but captivity or an organized greed-based situation.
Under such circumstances, the evaluation of women's rights and designation of her status in society, without considering human social rights, is not possible because women as great part of society are both effective in development and at the same time affected by it.
Human Rights' Concept
Today the conduct of human evolution process is based on materialistic system. Also the whole dimensions of life are based on profitability of capital and increased efficiency in productivity.
As UNDP report of 1995 points out; investing in women's issues is not only valuable in itself, but is also the certain way to contribute to economic growth and overall development.
As a result of the sovereignty of this view, in addition to development in profitability and capital repletion, a direct effect on bearing relations and suitable ethics to the model of capitalism comes out. Meanwhile, women encountering the issues of this view, in terms of empowering materialism, put up with multiple oppression.
Today, the concept of human development, as pointed in UNDP 1995 report, will be a major indicator in the 21st century. Besides, the existence of a growing quality of opportunity for people among all nations will be an important issue. This issue will dominate the development debate in the final years of the 20th century.
It should be acknowledged that despite development in the past few decades, the disparities are concurrently increased and have taken place among all nations. Also, despite of growing struggles to equalize opportunities for women and men, little success has been achieved. The 1995 Report shows that women still constitute 70% of the world's poor, and two thirds of the world's illiterates.
Therefore, the removal of disparities from human beings in general and from woman, in particular can not solve the women's problems as long as they exclude woman from decision making positions. As we can already observe, there are countries world wide that have removed disparative laws, and women are statistically equal with men, but they are not equal in literacy, employment, and holding parliament positions, yet.
The reason why oppression does still exist is because these systems are found by experts with materialistic background. In this context, issues such as gender equality, and women's rights rise from essential oppression governing international organizations, which are imposed by international law.
The most important effect of materialistic indices is outlined through three main subjects that is developing materialistic issues in:
1. Cognitive and mental form
2. Communicational form
3. Functional form
Each of which plays directly the main role in society for developing:
1-1. Materialistic political motivation
2-1. Domination of capitalistic laws
3-1. Improvement of the functionality of hardware.
The above are used as establisher of politics and culture and verify the system in society.
What is observed now, is not other than unjust distribution of political, cultural, and economic possibilities that are the real causes for abnormalities and deviation such as oppression, poverty, illiteracy and health deficiencies.
A Statistical Look at Women's Position
Regarding GNP, according to UNDP report, 1997, which assigns our claim, declares that in the past 15-20 years more than 100 developing countries have suffered disastrous and deep failures in growth, and more prolonged cuts in living standards than the great Depression of the 1930s.
As a result of these setbacks, the incomes of more than a billion people have fallen below levels reached in the last 3 decades.
About a third, 1.3 billion people live on incomes of less than $1 a day. On the other side, poverty must be addressed in all its dimensions, not income alone. Nearly a billion people are illiterate. Well over a billion lack access to safe water. Some 840 million go hungry or face food deficiency.
Whilst according to UNDP report 1995, gross National product (GNP) for industrial countries is $21352, developing countries $ 924, Latin America $ 662 Africa $ 365, least developed countries $ 356.
With regards to the GNDs preceding and comparing industrial countries with developing and under d eveloped countries; we shall find the reason for reliable and smooth path towards great development for a known minority of the people in the world.
On the other side, in the recent years, programs according to human rights and development, with the slogan of removing disparity from women, equality of men and women, observed which actually has put women in a rough path resulting in loss of human essence and ruin of her training role in family, society and the world; which this in turn benefits international policies.
Besides, a considerable increase in violence, transgression and divorce rate has caused family foundation to be unsteady and consequently single-parent children to become more common.
Limiting strategic needs of women to needs such as schooling, employment, individual freedom, health, etc. and overstating such needs, is the result of materialistic and vain enthusiasm. Women's capabilities can be of value and favor only when they are regarded as agents and beneficiaries of changing situation. Investing in women's capabilities and empowering them to exercise their rights is not only valuable in itself, but also contributes to economic growth and overall development.
The report declares if the doors to education and health opportunities are opened to women, the doors to economical and political opportunities are barely ajar.
Application of Human Rights Act in the world It is questionable whether the United Nations has been successful in attaining the assigned duties and principles or not while being equipped with all required implements such as laws and other instruments?
It is questionable whether in the 50th year of the universal declaration of human rights, can there be found any valuable record of services and implementation of its principles in the world or not? And finally whether or not any detectable development in human dignity, freedom of self expression and opinion, equality, removal of disparity, torture, etc. can in reality be offered to the world?
Taking a glance at the events in the past fifty years and today's work of the United Nations and so called "developed countries" claiming to carry out human rights, makes one hesitate to answer positively. Regardless to the past events world wide, and oppressions upon people, an evaluation of the present situation of man and the current events, we find out how human rights has been suppressed. How the conventions and committees for human right are conducted by universal arrogance?
The very long and redundant story of Palestine and oppression by Israel as murders, crimes, injuries, deprivation of property rights and expelling Palestinians from their houses, military interference of powerful western countries, and finally preventing people from contributing to their faith and nation is continuing. Besides, the situation of Algeria, Bosnia and Iraq, economical sanction, massacre, and racial slaughter which causes irretrievable injuries to women and children, all demonstrate the violation of human primary rights and the failure of UN in implementing its goals.
Now the current circumstances at the UN and its allied committees show that the Human Rights Declaration is indeed at the service of some powerful western states to oppress the so called "less developed" countries, specially the third-world. Imposing standards and models of human rights of particular countries as accepted value systems, (and a universal compulsory sample) on other culturally different nations, is an essential sign of disregarding human fundamentals and beliefs.
Evolutional View of Human Rights
Fundamental change of view and developing a new outlook for human society, seem to be the essential duty of every concerned man.
Today people willingly seek justice and the eradication of oppression. These can not be achieved without reviewing the bases of ethics in the direction of religion. This in its turn, will cause a change of view and a new look towards human rights.
Islam takes man into account as an honorable, rational, empowered, and independent human. Moreover, the philosophy of prophecy, (specially that of the prophet of Islam PBUH) liberates human from any kind of worldly dependence, and notifies man of his essential honor and dignity.
From this view, man (regardless of his gender) are equal in dignity, essence, and value. Therefore, discrepancies such as color, sexuality, nationality, and race, could not be a superiority but rather a differential factor.
Some parts of the Holy Qu'ran specifies this point to promote human maturity.
"Whoever does good whether male or female and he is a believer, we will most certainly make him live a happy life, and we will most certainly give them their reward for the best of what they did". ("Sura Nahl, Ayah 97")
According to this view, the direction of evolution is towards an evolved extreme which ratifies the presence of man in the society.
Cognitive system
Functional system
"Social Balance System" is charged with distribution of responsibilities and options so that not only designates the dignity of different social categories towards one another, but also prepares the way for the political, and economic progress of all groups.
Therefore, woman and man have special duties, options and impositions in the society due to their different physical conditions and emotions. Differences in duties and responsibilities are not reasons for any superiority or retardation in human essence.
Today, the materialistic regulations exist in cognitive concepts, social relations & in functional mechanism, but these materialistic regulations and social relations are completely contradictory to concepts of development.
By altering the ruling materialistic criterion, it will be possible to coordinate all existing concepts in the world which finally results in more benefit for humanity. In other words, the process of changing, takes place as follows:
1. Technology for fostering human enthusiasm, results better deliberation.
2. Technology for fostering human "thought" results better understanding.
3. Technology for better human relation results better negotiation.
In this system, man and woman together provide the ground for developing humanism. The position's of both man and women are similar in dignity and status for developing a unique resolution, in which "man" is the symbol of justice and woman the symbol of emotion. No activity is perfect in the world without justice and emotion.
The result of analogy between man and woman is the authority of deliberation, understanding and negotiation, in social balance system amongst mankind. Therefore, the response to all of human right in three levels is as below:
1. Micro and individual rights.
2. Macro and social rights.
3. Developmental rights.
1. Micro and Individual Rights
In case the women's emotional system faces individual needs such as freedom, employment, etc., naturally her prevailing behavior will remain at low and constant level. Unfortunately, the international regulations only cover this level of needs.
For instance, laws related to women only attempt to attain the superficial rights, which result in encountering man and woman, and only can benefit their longitudinal needs.
2. Macro Rights
According to social balance of society, the macro rights can result in the attendance of woman in society and consequently submit responsibilities to her so that she can highly contribute to decision making at national level.
Under such circumstances, the world's major decisions will not take place without considering women's benefits. So developing proper possibilities for women, in order to organize their issues based on their social rights, causes the formation of social structure at a high level.
For instance, women who are the main consumers, are not involved in decision making, manufacturing and distribution of goods.
3. Developmental Right
Developmental rights are responsible to organize the strategies of the society. In other words, these rights make it possible to enable the required conditions to develop political, cultural and economical phenomena and to lead the change at the level of creating new human needs, and developing new relations and stands in human societies. Therefore, a new horizon will appear in the human society.
At this level, the results of society's development are as below:
1. Spiritual changes and political development.
2. Cognitive changes and ethics, culture and development of mind.
3. Behavioral changes and economical development.
The above mentioned factors cause improvement in social relations at a national and universal level as below:
A. New Structure system
B. New organization system
C. New planning system
Therefore, a change in the pointed criteria will cause the society to form in the direction of evolution. In this case, authority, benefiting, and greedy behavior is replaced by responsibility, coordination, and excessive generosity behavior, respectively.
In this case, the disparity between poverty and wealth will pass off and the share of the cooperation of people in different concern will be considered in accordance with their responsibilities. Then, men and women stand on their own special stands and positions. Any defect or disability in each will cause a defect in social hardware (instruments) and software (management).
Email: mwro@excite.com
