How to be self confident

"How is this blog post related to human rights?" you may ask. Good question. Well to be an activist you must speak out for things you are passionate about without the fear of letting others bring you down. But more importantly, being a teenager in a high school where you often feel like you don't belong, can often be detrimental to your well-being, so many will often try to change themselves for the hope that things will be better for themselves. This is wrong, but embracing who you are is definitely easier said than done.
First and foremost, fake it until you make it. Look in the mirror every morning and tell yourself; "Damn. I look good today" even if it may not be true.

The Tunisian Revolution and how it ignited the Arab Revolution

In 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi was selling fruits in the small town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. He was a breadwinner for his widowed mother and six siblings. The problem was, he didn’t have a permit to sell his goods. When the police asked him to stop what he was doing, he refused and was then beaten in public. As a result of this public humiliation he marched to the government building and set himself on fire. The Arab Spring began in Sidi Bouzid and spread all across the country of Tunisia. Civilians across Tunisia protested for the fall of President Zine Al Abidine and his regime, who ruled for 23 years. The Tunisian revolution ignited the protest of many other Middle Eastern nations who wanted a fair democracy and for the fall of their current governments regime.

Tunisia had been seen as the Arab world’s best educational system, largest middle class, and strongest organized labor movement, so it seemed unlikely that they would have to be dealing with these social and economic injustices. Primoz Manfreda states, “In an almost Orwellian way, he cultivated and manipulated the country's international image as a modern, technocratic regime and a tourist-friendly travel destination.” Their government was thought to be very limiting and restricting on free expression and political parties, which obviously angered Tunisian civilians. Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali, president of Tunisia, shaped the world into believing Tunisia was a modern day, tourist friendly nation, however beyond the tourist destinations, lay bleak roads to miserable prospects. To further anger civilians, it was revealed from wikileaks that over half of Tunisia’s commercial elites were related to Ben Ali. After mass protests and uprisings, Ben Ali and his family fled the country. This ended the mass revolution and Ben Ali and his family are now in exile in Tunisia.

For now, the situation in Tunisia isn't necessarily over, but has only gotten better. Progress is being made, but the goal of the revolution has not been fulfilled yet. Nonetheless, the Tunisian Revolution was definitely one that made history and changed the country for the better.

The Execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari

Reyhaneh Jabbari spent 5 years on death row and was executed Saturday, October 25th after she was found guilty of killing a man in self defense who tried to rape her. Despite international campaigns and outcries to spare the life of her death, Iran ignored these pleas and went on with the execution. 

In 2007, Jabbari met a man named Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a 47 year old intelligence ministry worker. They met in a cafe to discuss a business deal for her to help redesign his office since she had been an interior designer. He convinced her to come to his apartment and while there, he had tried to rape her. To defend herself, she grabbed a pocket knife and stabbed him in the back. Sarbandi's family however, insisted it was premeditated murder since she bought the knife only 2 days ago.
Jabbari was arrested and put into solitary confinement where she was not allowed access to her lawyer or family and in 2009 it was decided she should be executed by the Tehran court. She claimed she had only stabbed him and someone else in the house killed him, however this was proven to be untrue later on.
Amnesty International, United Nations, European Union, and the Gatestone Institute contended for her life to be spared, and a global campaign postponed her original date of execution of April 14th 2014 to later on when it attracted 20,000 signatures. However on September 29th, it was announced that her execution was inevitable but would be halted for the time being. Campaigns were launched on social media and many humanitarian groups demanded that the victim's family take back their wish to execute her. Jabbari's family was never able to get a reprieve from Sarbandi's family so the plans for execution continued. Unfortunately, this past Saturday, Reyhaneh Jabbari was executed by hanging at dawn at the Gohardasht Prison, north of Karaj.
After her death, a recording she made for her mother before she died was revealed and it ensured she wanted to be an anonymous organ donor.

This event was an example of the flawed justice system in Iran. Instead of further investigating the case, she was put on death sentence from the request of the family of the victim.
Personally, I believe that it is not the best idea to put the decision in the victim's family, because when someone close has done such a thing, someone would rather not believe it and try to find an explanation in any possible way, therefore laying the blame on the other side. This side being Reyhaneh Jabbari killing for her self defense.

Arguing is tiring

Today, I was apart of three arguments. One took place this morning in pre-calc when the girl in front of me, was explaining to me that she supported Israel and Jews should have a right to their holy land, another was during SMART Lunch, when in AP Physics, a very conservative Christian was trying to explain to me that abortion is not okay under any circumstances, even when it risks the mother's life. And then yet another in German, when we were again-- arguing about abortion.
When I start talking about something I'm very opinionated on, I go off on a tangent, and my mouth becomes an engine going at it until it runs out of gas. However, a lot of the time, I become exhausted on arguing about the same things, and sometimes I just want take a long nap until my face isn't so red from the anger and my heartbeat has slowed down.
I think I will do that actually.

David and Fatima: A movie review

David and Fatima is your modern day Romeo and Juliet, with a dash of belly dancing, deserts, IDF soldiers, and suicide bombers, aka today's Palestine/Israel, depending on where your viewpoints lie.
Fatima is an 18 year old Palestinian Muslim who is planning on becoming a doctor. Her parents expect the best out of her and that she should be an obedient Muslim.
David is an 18 year old Israeli Jew who loves and wants to pursue a career in photography, but must face reality that he will soon be drafted into the IDF. Unlike other Israelis, he sympathizes with the Palestinians and would like to learn more about their lives and culture and does this by taking pictures. His parents also expect him to serve in the IDF, be an obedient Jew, and become a lawyer or a doctor.
One day, Fatima and David bump into each other, and their lives change for better or worse.
It turns out, their families know each other because they ran into each other when they were both born (coincidentally, Fatima and David have the same birthday), and Fatimas father helped deliver David.
From then, comes a rare relationship between an unlikely mix.
After a while, reality seeps into their love, and they must confront the fact that neither of their family, or religions accept their relationship. It's your typical forbidden romance.

I give this movie a 2/5. I liked it because it had an interesting plot and story, however if I made the movie, I'd change a lot of things about it.

First and foremost, the acting was awful. Just--awful. The accents were obviously fake, and with a quick google search of the cast I found out the main characters weren't even Israeli or Palestinian. Heck, the actress behind Fatima wasn't even Arab or Muslim.

The Arabs were painted over as barbaric, violent, misogynistic men, and oppressed hijabis who needed saving. It was evident when Fatima explains to David about honor killings, and describes that luckily, her father is more open-minded about her life, which is different than most Arab fathers. As if honor killings are the norm in Arab households? Also, Fatima's mom is painted as a woman who is powerless under her husbands control, and that she shouldn't disagree with him or get in his way. 

Fatima's potential fiance was often violent as well, and very pushy towards Fatima. When they went out on a date, he ordered that she take off her hijab, and as the powerless Muslim girl that she is, she does so. Then, at the end (SPOLIER ALERT!!!!!) he shoots David with a keffiyeh on. It gave the impression that Palestinian freedom fighters were more like terrorists.

What I did like about this movie however, was it's bridging it's gap between the two cultures, and showing that they have more in common than would be thought and I appreciated the fact that the movie did in fact show a sympathy for Palestine. The naive teenage girl in me was also awestruck by the "love overcomes all obstacles" type of theme going on within the movie. 

I really did like the idea of the movie, and would definitely watch a better remake of this, however this specific movie did not depict the Palestinian struggle well and it was obvious that it did not have much background knowledge on the lives of Palestinians and Arabs, as well as the diversity in the mindset of Jews. It was quite all around unrealistic in a way that could've been avoided. 

Why have we not heard of the injustices of Burma?

Burmese Muslims, according to the UN, are the most persecuted minority in the world, where there were 5 million Muslims recently and now only 3 million.
So what happened to the other 2 million?
In the media, we rarely hear of the situation in Burma (formerly known as Myanmar before the country gained it's independence) on the Rohingya Muslims; these Rohingya Muslims are refugees and outcasts in their own home. They aren't considered citizens, they can't marry, are only allowed two children per family, cannot enter school, have jobs, worship freely (Mosques are closed during Ramadan and Friday prayers are not allowed), or travel freely; these rules however, do not apply to their Buddhist neighbors. They are very often victims of violence and crime and are seldom given justice by police and the government. (I think we've heard something similar to this before) As a result, many try to flee Burma, to Bangladesh where their ancestors are from, however are seldom able to get in, since Bangladesh will not allow them in. As a result many are sent back to sea, with no country to go to, and as many as 90,000 of them have died because of this.

So who is behind this genocide? Well, believe it or not--Buddhist monks, the ones who are believed to be entirely made up of peaceful and humble people. While this is true for 99% of Buddhists, the small group of Buddhists in Burma, run by Monk Wirathu, call for the persecution and extermination of Muslims in Burma and Rohingya. They burn mosques, mob Muslim areas, and even run concentration camps. Doctors Without Borders used to send aid and work in these camps, however were kicked out by the Burmese government, so there is virtually no medical aid to these Muslims.

Government officials have claimed that they "will not tolerate this kind of situation," however little has been done to help the Rohingya Muslims and the government might even encourage it by denying that Rohingya exists and calling these Muslims illegal immigrants from Bangladesh even though they are native to their land. The general feeling towards the Muslims in Burma by everyday Burmese citizens are hatred, racism and disgust. They regard them as violent jihadists, and if they aren't kicked out they will take over Burma. 

So basically, life is hell on earth for Burmese Muslims, and the conflict in Burma is basically on the brink of a full blown genocide. So why is the world ignoring the cries of these poor victims? Well, most people assume that because Burma has recently gained it's independence and is heading towards a democratic state that things are going well, and the international community only focuses on the positive reforms being made in Burma. Underneath these democratic reforms however, lies brutal violence against Muslims.

So what can we do to help? Well, various petitions are being spread all over the internet. You can find these here, here, and here. Donating money to humanitarian groups to send to refugee camps, and tweeting, blogging, or telling your friends and family is a step in the right direction as well. 

The situation for the Burmese Muslims are only getting worse if the international community does not step in and help, we need more international outcry and we need more people to get involved, and right now there is almost none of that.

Rape jokes aren't funny

We've all heard them before. Heck, we might've even chuckled at them, engaged in them or even took part in them. It's just harmless humor, right?
Wrong.
Rape jokes promote rape culture, which has become a growing problem across the world. Rape culture is defined as a culture that is "surrounded by images, language, laws, and every other day phenomena that validate and perpetuate rape." It can be found on TV, books, media, music, the internet, etc. It is so ingrained in our culture that people begin to view rape as "just the way things are," rather than a legitimate problem that needs to be fixed.
Rape jokes are especially harmful to past victims of rape and rapists. They infer that rape is a typical thing and that they should just "get over it," and tell rapists that rape isn't a big deal, who can continue to rape women. I don't know about you, but if someone began to joke about something as psychologically and potentially physically altering as rape, I wouldn't be too happy about it either.
Rape jokes ingrain the idea into many survivors' heads that it may have been their fault, and that just because they were forced to engage in sexual activities that they didn't want to do, doesn't mean they were raped or sexually assaulted, however the literal definition of rape is engaging in sexual activities without consent.
Rape is a very serious problem, and should not be joked about or glorified in our media. 1 in 6 women will be raped in their lifetimes and that is a terrifying issue we need to face.
Bottom line: Never joke about rape.

On "Slacktivism"

You've heard it before, those "darn slacktivists," or "those lazy armchair activists," hiding behind their computers and whining about minute things rather than actually going out and making a difference!
In my opinion, this is just ridiculous, and I believe there is no such thing as a lazy activist-- or at least being lazy and being an activist are two completely different and unrelated parts of someone's personality. While retweeting a tweet of something you feel passionate about is definitely different from going out and putting money and time into that same thing you retweeted, the long term affects of "slacktivism" can make a lasting affect on many activists and causes by spreading the word and shedding a light on it.
Let's take the ice bucket challenge as an example. Many people sat behind their computers and complained about these participants (do you see the irony?), claiming they weren't doing anything to help the cause behind ALS, and that they should just donate money if they really cared. To give proof, the ALS Association made almost 100 million dollars last July compared to the 2.6 million dollars they made the July before, mostly because of the recent newfound knowledge people gained about ALS, and the fact that pouring cold ice on your head represented the feeling people with ALS get. Many ALS patients were also incredibly grateful for this internet trend and expressed their gratitude through videos and ice bucket challenges themselves.
The idea of online activism being lazy is rooted in ableism, classism, and not to mention offline activism is fairly dangerous for many people with mental health problems.
For many physically disabled people, going out and participating in protests or events is a challenge, therefore being able to participate in causes online is something many physically disabled people appreciate and use. Being mentally ill will put restrictions on our engagement with offline activism as well. For example those of whom with social anxiety will have a hard time going out and participating in large gatherings and events.
Also, not all of us have the money to donate, to use public transportation to get to places, and many of us come from families that don't believe in the same things we do and restrict us from engaging in real life activism.
Online activism overcomes many of these barriers and lets all kinds of people of all ages participate.
Online activism isn't lazy, it's revolutionary.

Source

Social Media Empowers Us

These days, social media has increasingly become a part of our everyday life, that we often forget it's tremendous effects it has on our culture and outcomes.

Social media is often seen as a place where we can post pictures of our dinner, tweet gossip, follow our favorite celebrities, and take various pop culture quizzes (Buzzfeed, anyone?). While that may be true to an extent, social media is also a way of liberation and empowerment.

As a young freshmen who was new to the social media world, I was amazed at how I could connect with people from all parts of the world. Scrolling through my twitter feed, I read updates from people, whether celebrities, or everyday citizens from different parts of America, Brazil, Norway, or Japan witnessing events circulating the news, or making history, I could read about their everyday lives, experiences, and the things they shared on the internet. On Tumblr, I followed blogs such as stfuconservatives, humanrightswatch, thepeoplesrecord, and also read stories about everyday people and their many experiences. Some intriguing and inspiring, others devastating and heartbreaking. I also read online magazines such as Rookiemag that introduced me to the world of feminism and teenage activism.

Throughout social media, I was introduced to new people, opinions, queries, and ideas. I began to question societal norms around me, (like why are women portrayed on TV like they currently are? Why are minorities always targeted and depicted differently in the media than white people? Why are the statuses of girls and boys different even if they've behaved the same way? etc.) I enjoyed sharing with my friends these new found ideas and things I learned over the internet. They then, soon began to follow suit, whether through me or others. Growing up, it was nice having friends with like-minded ideas. Granted, I of course had friends from all ends of the spectrum, but it was always nice having those few who I could share and collaborate my ideas with.

Lets take a look at the Arab and Middle Eastern uprisings back in 2012. It's said that a big factor that ignited these uprisings was social media. People began taking videos and pictures of what they witnessed, and uploaded them to Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter. Anonymous pages began to spread information, current events, and news on Facebook. An Egyptian activist once said, "We use Facebook to schedule the protests and Twitter to coordinate, and Youtube to tell the world." By doing this, more and more people in Egypt and around the world knew what was going on and were inspired themselves to join the revolution. Without social media, the Arab Uprisings would be much different.

Meeting like-minded people through social media has become a big thing nowadays as well, and I'm not just talking about dating websites; I mean artists collaborating with other artists, teenagers from all over starting online Zines together. Journalists and aspiring writers getting their voices out through Facebook and Twitter, and ordinary people meeting each other and developing friendships through blogging and tweeting.
For example, last year I met a girl from Muscatine through Twitter. We quickly became friends through our love for Andrew Jackson Jihad and intersectional feminism, and decided to meet up in downtown Iowa City one Saturday. It ended up being a thrilling and exciting experience and to this day we are good friends sharing our ideas through Twitter and the internet.

Anyway, to wrap this whole thing up, social media, when used the right way, can enlighten us, teach us, and shed a light or provide a new perspective on things we've never thought about. And most of all, social media inspires us and empowers us.

Why you should volunteer

The purpose of this blog is not only to shed a light on the current and historical injustices of the world, but to also encourage others to speak out and make a difference, and volunteering is certainly one way to among other ways.
Volunteering can connect you with others and holds your community together. Whether it's working with animals, in soup kitchens, or making food for homeless shelters, such as Waypoint, the help you give impacts your community and others around you.
Not only is volunteering good for your community but also good for you. Volunteering broadens your network, group of friends, and community. Not to mention it increases your social and relationship skills. Volunteering increases self confidence, combats depression and gives you a sense of pride and identity, because you're accomplishing things and making differences.
Places you can volunteer include animal shelters, parks, food pantries such as soup kitchens and Green Square Meals, local libraries, Habitat For Humanity, museums, political campaigns, retirement homes, and hospitals and clinics.
So get out there and see what's in store for you. Volunteering not only helps others around you, but it also helps you expand your horizons and learn about yourself and the community around you.

Playing For Change

Recently, while mindlessly scrolling through videos on YouTube, I came across a channel called Playing For Change. These videos demonstrated people filmed from different parts of the world playing one song together.

The video shown above was Stand By Me, originally by Ben E. King.
These videos really made me think about the power of music and how it plays a role in humanity and peace. The people included in the video varied from region, ethnicity, language, and race, however they all came together to play and enjoy the universal language of music.
Playing For Change was born in 2002 by founders Mark Johnson and Whitney Kroenke, to "hit the streets of America with a mobile recording studio and cameras in search of inspiration and the heartbeat of people." Since then they've been travelling around the world and have created a global family. They also began a non-profit organization called Playing For Change Foundation, which is dedicated to building music and art schools for children all around the world.
This got me thinking to how exactly music empowers people, and how we can use that to bring down differences and unite through music.
El Sistema is a music program in Venezuela that brings students from poor socio economic backgrounds to learn and play music. It watches over hundreds of youth orchestras and around 500,000 children and is financed by the Venezuelan government. El Sistema was began by Jose Antonio Abreu, a classical music enthusiast and former economist who believed everyone regardless of economic or social background should have free access to music. It has brought the children together through music, and has arguably brought down crime, drug use, and more of these children are continuing their education which they may not have done otherwise. There is greater attendence, better test scores, and more overall motivation in these Venezuelan schools.

Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, an orchestra a part of El Sistema

So, in conclusion, something that we perceive as a normal typical hobby can have tremendous effects on the welfare and outcome of many people, and brings us together regardless of background.

On being a Muslim feminist.

As talked about in an earlier post regarding peace in Islam, the media loves to portray the wrong side of Islam, and this portrayal includes how women are treated within Islam.
In the West, both feminism and Islam have very negative connotations to it that drive people away. Many people who are secluded within their own bubble like to call feminists "bra burning man haters" who only want to become superior in society. These same people also like to call Islam a terrorist and extremist religion that oppresses women.
It's especially infuriating when feminists degrade Islam by saying that women in Islam "need to be saved" or when Muslims claim that feminists are radical women who only want to degrade men and let go of their traditions. So is there really an in between? Is it possible that one can coincide with Islam and feminism and appreciate both?
The answer is absolutely, and here's why.
Islam is a religion of over 1.5 billion people, within it, there is a history of over 1,000 years, spanning across many cultures, people, and languages. So of course it is natural that the people who identify with Islam will vary, and so will their beliefs. The same can be said with feminism, which has been around since the beginning of time. To box an entire group of people into one stereotype- claiming that they are terrorists or hairy lesbians-  is rather ridiculous.
Let's look at Femen for example. Femen are a group of women, founded by Anna Hutsol, who claim themselves to be feminists and are globally known for organizing topless protests for a variety of causes. One of these causes, is their view on Islam as an oppressive and misogynist religion. Femen has declared "Topless Jihad Day" on April 1st, 2013, where they rally in front of Tunisian embassies and mosques.

Many protests are known to show women drawing unibrows, beards, and wrapping their heads in towels while drawing the Crescent star (the symbol for Islam) on their chest.

This is not liberation and does not help Muslim women at all. In fact, it's quite racist. Femen boxes Muslim women into one stereotype reinforcing that they are voiceless, enslaved women who need saving. 

Many Muslim women have spoken out against Femen, and Femen's reaction is quite hypocritical, calling them "brainwashed, stupid, and enslaved," as if according to Femen, Muslim women can't have a voice of their own.

Now you may ask, "are you forgetting Saudi Arabia? Afghanistan? Pakistan? What about what's going on with women there?" Of course the hardships women face there are something that needs to be pointed out. However culture and religion are two different things, and the hardships the women face there are cultural issues, not religious issues, that happen all over the world regardless of religion. Many people like to point out the status of women in these countries, however no one talks about the many women who had prominent political positions in Muslim countries, such as Benazir Bhutto, Lala Shevket, Khaleda Zia, Sheikh Hasina, Rawya Ateya, Tansu Ciller, and many other women. Not to mention the many Muslim feminists and Muslim female organizations that shaped the notion of modern day intersectional feminism today. 

Both Islam and feminism are very broad topics that are meant to be explored, questioned, and researched. I personally believe that Islam is a feminist religion and was the first religion to advocate for rights women didn't ever have in history before, such as the right to own private property, to work, to consent to marriage, and more. Of course there may be some things in the Qu'ran that I may not uphold to my values, however being a Muslim feminist is a beautiful thing and I very much cherish that. To be a true feminist, you must advocate for the rights of all women, and to be a true Muslim, you must advocate for the rights of all people, regardless of gender.