Religion and women’s rights

January 15th, 2012

Just as I was putting the blame on mother’s for keeping their daughters in the kitchen and out of the boardroom this article appears in the NY Times. And it’s about Israel and what the Orthodox Jewish faith does to women’s rights. Well, actually there are not that many rights it seems.

I had some ideas about the Jewish religion and the more orthodox thinking. It was something that concerned me when my younger daughter was dating an orthodox Jew. Lovely boy, but was a bit concerned about the sitting upstairs in the Shul part. Indicative, I felt at the time, of how the women are treated in general.

And here is an article in the NY Times that discusses exactly the same issue. A professor In Israel was awarded a prize for a book on hereditary diseases common to Jews. But as a woman she had to sit separate from the men and was not allowed to receive the prize personally. A man had to collect it from the stage on her behalf.

It seems strange to have this kind of orthodoxy in a progressive country such as Israel. But it seems that it’s a growing minority. And it makes one look a little more closely at the rest of the region and what is happening there in regards to women’s rights.

And it’s not looking too good. Because what will most definitely happen in this Arabic world is the rising of Muslim controlled government. As the Arabic world licks its wounds after the 2011 uprising against entrenched dictatorships, the void is being filled by Muslim controlled political parties or religious groups.

In itself this is not that worrisome as the Islamic faith is not per se wrong or bad, except if one looks at the fanatics. And in a way they are very alike the people adhering to the Jewish orthodox faith. Restrictions on human rights, ancient laws of retribution inflicted by religious leaders on a population who have no recourse in a court of law to protect themselves and absolutely no rights to women to determine their own lives.

Doesn’t look too promising for women. Maybe it’s those mothers again who buy into the whole religion thing and who promote it to their daughters? See my previous post on that issue!



What did your mother teach you?

January 14th, 2012

In the ‘good’ old days sons learned their work skills from their fathers and daughters learned housekeeping and baby care from their mothers. Kids also learned from their mothers that boys need never do housework and that girls should find a husband to obey and clean up after. Or else.

So why are we surprised that girls don’t make it into the boardroom, senior positions at Universities, top of the heap in government and other civil services? It’s generations of mothers who have instilled into their girls’ psyche that they should bow before their lord and master. Even movies still carry on teaching us this weird power play.

You might shrug your shoulders and say that those mothers are a generation ago. No, even two generations ago and that modern moms are teaching their girls that the world is their oyster and that they do not have to bow down to boys anymore.

That could be possible. But it’s not this generation of moms of teenagers and young adults. Regrettably. There are many households of young couples where the male partner does no housework at all and wants the woman to cook, wash and iron for him. Raise your hand if you know of any…. Raise your hand if you think this is normal.

It’s going to take a whole lot more than girls being top of end of school examination results. The number of girls graduating from University isn’t going to change the status quo either. This is definitely the case in the UK. And the girls are graduating in Science, Engineering, Architecture, Rocket Science and more. All those previously in the male domain.

But then you see something on Ted and that makes your hopes come alive again that the girls are going to show what they are made of. Three girls that swept the top prizes of the first Google Science Fair speak of their achievements. Watch it and be impressed.

I’m just hoping that their moms are the modern ones. The ones that have told their girls that they need not stand back because they happen to be girls. They can do anything they want. And they are equal citizens. Not slaves in the household. Not second fiddle in the work environment. They can do it! As well as anybody else. Go girls. I have high hopes for you.



Disability is about different abilities

January 11th, 2012

There’s a blog I follow written by a disabled person. And every now and then I want to unsubscribe because his posts are more often than not tirades at the able bodied world and why it’s not taking more notice and making more allowances to the disabled.

Then I don’t unsubscribe because I have to remind myself that I have no idea how it must be to move around in this world in a wheelchair. And furthermore I have no idea what it must be like to be physically disabled but not intellectually and yet be treated as a moron just because you are in a wheelchair.

And it constantly surprises me over and over again how people are unable to see differences as a good thing rather than as an indictment. Something to feel sorry for, disdain, dislike and even be scared of seems to be the reaction. Fear of the unknown and rubbish like that is thrown about when trying to find excuses for bad behaviour towards disabled people.

So it always brings tears to my eyes when I come across somebody most definitely disabled but who has taken an ability they have and made a glorious something out of it. Never mind that he as a physically disabled person has the courage to stand on stage. In the olden times somebody like this would have surely been on stage too. But in circuses or freak shows.

Yet Thomas Quasthoff has taken the concept of different abilities to a new level. He became a concert soloist developing his voice into an instrument to make everybody forget his disability. And what a beautiful voice he has. I came across his name because he has decided to retire from performances. Singing placed too much strain on his body, his publicist says. I’m not surprised. Concert singing is equivalent to marathon running I should imagine in terms of the energy that has to go into the delivery.

So treat yourself to a rendition of Moon River sung by this remarkable man with different abilities.

Or watch it here.



One week left in Vietnam

November 21st, 2011

Hanoi! Motor bike ready outfit!

Just over two years ago I landed in Hanoi as a VSO volunteer. It was my first visit to Asia, never mind South East Asia. What an adventure it has proved to be. Having met many volunteers from other organisations I must say compliment VSO on their exceptional preparation and induction programmes which they put their volunteers through. Added to that excellent in country support and I felt myself lucky to be part of this organisation. Well done VSO.

The year in Hanoi had it’s ups and downs. Learning how to deal with the Asian culture takes time and effort and many misunderstandings later but eventually it sinks in. As for the traffic! That is something that I couldn’t come to terms with. I managed to cope eventually but that is as far as it got.

Hau, my favourite artisan at Hope Center.

Relocating to Hue was a great move. The smaller city was more comfortable for me and easier to negotiate. I was fortunate to have a great boss lady and a fabulous center to work at. Such amazing people. Never mind a disability or a tough background as a disadvantaged person the staff and artisans at the Hope Center are just wonderful.

What also helped was the family joining me on this adventure. It gave me huge respect for people who travel and work in outlying areas and countries all on their own. It’s tough. You don’t know the language, you are trying to adapt to foreign cultures and you have no support systems. Very very tough. And very brave of people to manage that. I met a few VSO volunteers who did their own thing in remote areas of Vietnam. Huge respect for them!

What will I take with me? I’m not as brave as I thought. It’s been quite tough in parts. The language defeated me. I love the sound of it but just couldn’t get my tongue to get those special sounds to be anywhere near what they should be. After many months of struggle I gave up. Probably shouldn’t have. But it’s difficult to carry on with something so difficult when you know you are going to leave again.

The language barrier ment that I couldn’t move as freely as I would have liked to. It also made it difficult to make friends with some people such as my boss lady in Hue. What a fabulous woman. Very special. But we also had to work through an interpreter. Regrettably interpreters in Hue don’t know how to interpret. So it ended up being a chat show between the interpreter and the boss leaving me out of the loop. And I saw many instances of this same problem. Somehow they haven’t learnt that it’s not a chatfest amongst each other. In the end I would sit there and day dream about other stuff while they got on with discussing the weather, babies or whatever else they felt like.

Hue. Ancestor shrine.

But on the whole it was a very good time. Interesting cultural differences. Loved the belief in spirits, karma and ancestor worship. It’s given the people a stoic approach to hardship that was kind of refreshing. The developed world people do so bitch and moan when the slightest thing goes wrong. Here it’s a matter of shrugging and getting on with it.

I loved the sharing aspect of this nation. Celebrations are always accompanied by food and drink. And the sharing is open and welcoming. Even just popping in for a visit will mean instant tea served and somebody will rush out to get biscuits or food to ensure visitors are welcomed. During Tet (the oriental new year) people sat in their thick jackets with doors wide open to ensure people felt encouraged to visit. And it’s a veritable tide of motor bikes with red and gold wrapped presents visiting each other to wish happiness, good luck and health.

Once outside of Hanoi the true people emerged. Hanoi can be very cold towards foreigners. Not so the people of the smaller cities such as Hue. Always ready with a smile, a wave, a greeting and ready to make contact. And some truly outrageous things sometimes. My son-in-law was ‘accosted’ by a granny who wanted a lift on the back of his motor bike. Just like that. He took her as far as he could and it ended up in an argument for a while when he wanted to turn left and her way was going right.

On the other hand prejudices are still there and some of the older generation were not that willing to have visitors. My Hanoi interpreter’s parents didn’t want to meet me. They were worried that their town would think badly of them if they had a foreigner step into their house.

In fact prejudices and old-fashioned habits abound. A baby is taken out of the house on the first trip to having vaccination shots with chopsticks wrapped in tissue to keep the bad spirits away. And paper is burnt, flowers stuck in trees, ancestor temples or temples to deities are in arbitrary trees and on pavements. And even though they might appear to belong to nobody in particular there are lit incense sticks, fresh flowers and other offerings on them.

Some parts of this society are still a little behind. Hygiene in hospitals is unheard of with staff unaware of such niceties as washing hands before touching anybody. Dentists have their doors wide open to traffic and dust. And food refuse is thrown on the floor while eating.

Phoenix School. Still keeping in touch with Vietnam.

But it’s a great community of people living close together and looking after each other. And I will stay in contact with this beautiful country. For the next six months I will still work as a consultant for this school and I hope to be able to help with fundraising.

Of course it’s not an idyllic world either. Washing up dishes in the backyard while squatting down isn’t my idea of fun. And my boss from the school where I am doing some work in fundraising has his staff chopping food on the floor. And you should see his fantastic kitchen that has every modern convenience you can think of. Yet his housekeepers are cleaning veg on the floor outside next to the tap which is right next to a magnificent swimming pool. Hollywood folks would be jealous of it.

But perhaps that’s what’s so charming about this country. The opposites. Five star hotels next to houses where people are still cleaning food in their courtyards. And it is that. People live mixed up with a shack next to a fancy new house. And they all seem to get along somehow. And I suppose sometimes not. But it works. And that’s what I’m going to miss the most about Vietnam. It’s the people’s ability to make things work regardless of the setbacks they encounter. Whether it’s strapping a dozen live chicken to the motor bike or hanging your washing on the neighbour’s fence because that’s where it will get some sun during a break in the rainy season. You gotta love ‘em!



Three Amazing Wooden Houses

November 16th, 2011

There is a variety of material used in the building of beautiful houses. One material that has been used to special effect in homes is wood. Some architects and designers have used this material to construct some incredible structures.

Tree house by Architect Oshatz

Tree house with a difference

One such structures is a house designed by architect Robert Harvey Oshatz for his client Wilkinson. This building, made of wood, takes the concept of a tree house to a new level. Blending into a steep slope this structure blends into the tree canopy which surrounds it.

The client wanted the house to evoke nature as well as the flow of music leading to an intricate design that is almost impossible to capture by a camera lens. It takes a courageous client and an imaginative architect to produce such a different construction of a home.

Fireplace in Norway

Fireplace House to tell stories in
Haugen and Zohar, architects, designed an outdoor fireplace protected by an intricate design of left-over construction site pieces. Its purpose is to enable a gathering where storytelling and laughing is made possible in front of an open fire.

Its design was inspired by traditional Norwegian turf huts and old log constructions. The wooden wall forms a shape that is similar to a chimney and allows for different special effects cast by the open fire. There is only one opening that can be closed with a sliding door.

Simon Dale's Eco friendly home

A Woodland Home
Simon Dale built a home for his family in Wales that could have been cast as a Hobbit home. It’s aim was to create something that would have minimum impact on the environment and provide the family living in it with the opportunity of living close to nature.

Some of the construction features are that for maximum shelter the dwelling was dug into the hillside. The stone and mud excavated was reused in the building of the retaining walls and foundation. Simon Dale used the spare wood from the surround woodland for frames. He used straw bales in the floor, wall and roof construction which enhanced the super-insulation. For more information on how this ingenious house was built check his site.

And remember that if you’re selling your house why not use My Online Estate Agent. My Online Estate Agent is a rightmove estate agent and advertises on many other UK property portals.



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