India: After the Riots, Gujarat Women Step Out of the Home, into Jobs and Government

How Muslim women adapted after riots

Suvojit Bagchi (BBC News)

After 59 Hindu pilgrims were killed when their train was allegedly attacked by a Muslim mob, Gujarat witnessed some of the worst communal riots since India’s independence.

At least a 1,000 people – mostly Muslims were killed in the riots. The Hindu-dominated state authorities were accused of being complicit in attacks on Muslims.

In the aftermath of the riots, most Muslim men either went into hiding or were arrested and the womenfolk were left to fend for themselves.

“The riots left us with no option but to step out of the house,” Ms Sheikh says… [Twenty three-year-old Firoza Sheikh has recently been elected to the local municipality in Saonli a small town in the Godhra district of Gujarat.]

Since the riots in Gujarat, when many men were arrested or afraid to go out in public, more women have been working outside the home. They’ve been running their own businesses, going to school and dealing with government bureaucracy. Some have come to like the higher level of independence they’ve been able to achieve.

Of course, not everyone is pleased with these developments:

many Muslim women in Godhra say they are being held back by none other than their husbands.

“My husband does not want me to go out of the house and interact with other men, this is irritating,” says Shamima Sheikh of Falanagar Colony.

Her husband has recently relented “but still creates problems occasionally…”

Italy: Abandoned Babies and the Origin of “Esposito”

Updating an Old Way to Leave the Baby on the Doorstep

Elisabetta Povoledo (NY Times)

In the Middle Ages, new mothers in Rome could abandon their unwanted babies in a “foundling wheel” — a revolving wooden barrel lodged in a wall, often in a convent, that allowed women to deposit their offspring without being seen…

As in bygone days, it is possible for a woman to leave a baby without being seen, but the moment the child is abandoned an alarm goes off in the hospital’s emergency room, ensuring that the baby receives immediate first aid from a team of specialists…

…In the Middle Ages, new mothers in Rome could abandon their unwanted babies in a “foundling wheel” — a revolving wooden barrel lodged in a wall, often in a convent, that allowed women to deposit their offspring without being seen…

…The problem of unwanted newborns has been documented in Italy since Roman times, when babies abandoned next to a column in a forum were either taken home by a third party to serve as slaves or left to die.

A minority of the children would have the good fortune to be adopted.

And now we come to the origins of “Esposito” and some other common names:

Foundling wheels were institutionalized by a papal bull issued in the 12th century by Pope Innocent III, who was shocked by the number of dead babies found in the Tiber. By 1204, there was a wheel in operation at the Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome, next to the Vatican. A 14th-century home for abandoned children in Naples, annexed to a church, is now a museum about foundlings. Many common family names in Italy can be traced to a foundling past: Esposito (because children were sometimes “exposed” on the steps of a convent), Proietti (from the Latin proicio, to throw away) or Innocenti (as in innocent of their father’s sin)…

A few months ago, Nzingha published a very interesting post about the problem of abandoned babies in Saudia Arabia, and how the government deals with that problem. The Saudi government is torn between punishing women for illicit sex if they turn up at the hospital pregnant and single, and giving these infants a healthy start in life by being delivered in a hospital. Since women face a lashing or possibly a stoning if they try to check into a hospital to give birth, needless to say there aren’t many takers.

The Saudi formula is harsh; yet, in the US, babies are still being abandoned in garbage cans or drowned in toilets, even in states where it is legal to leave an unwanted baby at any hospital or fire station.

There’s no easy answer to this.

The Self-Esteem Movement and Narcissism

Study: College students more narcissistic

David Crary (Associated Press)

Today’s college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.

“We need to stop endlessly repeating ‘You’re special’ and having children repeat that back,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. “Kids are self-centered enough already…”

…Narcissism can have benefits, said study co-author W. Keith Campbell of the University of Georgia, suggesting it could be useful in meeting new people “or auditioning on ‘American Idol.’”

“Unfortunately, narcissism can also have very negative consequences for society, including the breakdown of close relationships with others,” he said.

The study asserts that narcissists “are more likely to have romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth, and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty, and over-controlling and violent behaviors…”

The self-effacing behavior encouraged in many Asian cultures and among Muslims in general, is a sharp contrast to the “I am special” attitude instilled in so many American children.

… Twenge, the author of “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before,” said narcissists tend to lack empathy, react aggressively to criticism and favor self-promotion over helping others.

The researchers traced the phenomenon back to what they called the “self-esteem movement” that emerged in the 1980s, asserting that the effort to build self-confidence had gone too far.

As an example, Twenge cited a song commonly sung to the tune of “Frere Jacques” in preschool: “I am special, I am special. Look at me…”

Whoa. Kids actually sing that????

Kari Dalane, a University of Vermont sophomore, says most of her contemporaries are politically active and not overly self-centered…

…”It would be more depressing if people answered, ‘No, I’m not special…”

Perhaps Dalane and others should remember that thinking you are special doesn’t really mean you are. According to a study done a few years ago, American students have tested very high on self-confidence in math; actual math scores were pitifully low compared to Korea and Japan.

Violent criminals also tend to have higher self-esteem than the population average. They think they’re special, and act accordingly.

Teaching children they are “special” doesn’t compensate for any real problems the child might be having due to family problems, environment or other issues. Indeed, instilling a feeling of “specialness” can do more harm than good, at least according to these studies.