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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political control & freedoms > Human rights
Virtually everyone supports religious liberty, and virtually
everyone opposes discrimination. But how do we handle the hard
questions that arise when exercises of religious liberty seem to
discriminate unjustly? How do we promote the common good while
respecting conscience in a diverse society? This point-counterpoint
book brings together leading voices in the culture wars to debate
such questions: John Corvino, a longtime LGBT-rights advocate,
opposite Ryan T. Anderson and Sherif Girgis, prominent young social
conservatives. Many such questions have arisen in response to
same-sex marriage: How should we treat county clerks who do not
wish to authorize such marriages, for example; or bakers, florists,
and photographers who do not wish to provide same-sex wedding
services? But the conflicts extend well beyond the LGBT rights
arena. How should we treat hospitals, schools, and adoption
agencies that can't in conscience follow antidiscrimination laws,
healthcare mandates, and other regulations? Should corporations
ever get exemptions? Should public officials? Should we keep
controversial laws like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or
pass new ones like the First Amendment Defense Act? Should the law
give religion and conscience special protection at all, and if so,
why? What counts as discrimination, and when is it unjust? What
kinds of material and dignitary harms should the law try to
fight-and what is dignitary harm, anyway? Beyond the law, how
should we treat religious beliefs and practices we find mistaken or
even oppressive? Should we tolerate them or actively discourage
them? In point-counterpoint format, Corvino, Anderson and Girgis
explore these questions and more. Although their differences run
deep, they tackle them with civility, clarity, and flair. Their
debate is an essential contribution to contemporary discussions
about why religious liberty matters and what respecting it
requires.
When a country experiences a civil war, media reports are mainly
brought to the attention of the outside world by those who can only
report on the surface impressions obtained during a short visit or
from the comfort of a studio thousands of miles away. My
experiences, living and working at the grass roots level, during
and after the crisis in Nigeria in the 1960s has a different
perspective. As a young Scotswoman married to a Nigerian from the
breakaway republic of Biafra we lived as refugees with our young
family, forced to leave our home seven times in the 30 months of
the civil war as the war raged around us. Cut off from the outside
world, in a situation the British High Commissioner in Nigeria had
predicted at the onset, would be over in two weeks, we lived a life
full of experiences which gave me a `qualification in survival' no
university could have imparted. Without electricity, gas, petrol or
phones, and often without money, medicine or safe drinking water we
learned to appreciate the basic necessities of life. I was 18 years
old, living in Dunfermline, Scotland when the man I was to marry
asked me for a dance at the Kinema Ballroom. Two years later my
career plan to qualify as a nurse was over and I was married to Len
Ofoegbu, with a baby daughter and we were on our way to a new and
very different life. Our first home was in the capital, Lagos, and
was a big culture shock to Len and I. The newly independent West
African country was already experiencing political and civil
unrest, leading to violence, massacres, coups, and the inability of
the central government to control the situation. Hundreds of
thousands of Easterners who had settled throughout the whole of the
country now `went home' as they had become the targets of
slaughtering mobs. The secession of the Eastern Region, calling
itself Biafra, followed and a David and Goliath bitter conflict
ensued. The word `kwashiorkor' and pictures of starving children
and adults appeared in the Western press for the first time. I was
one of around a dozen, mainly British, foreign wives of Biafrans
who remained with their husband throughout the civil war. I worked
voluntarily with relief agencies in feeding centres, clinics, an
orphanage and, after Biafra surrendered in January 1970, in a
children's hospital in return for food for my growing family. In
May 1970 we moved back to live in Lagos where we went through more
crises as a family. I became an early member of Nigerwives, an
organisation for foreign wives and partners of Nigerians which
became like an extended family as we gave mutual support and strove
to resolve anomalies in Nigerian laws which put unnecessary
restrictions affecting our particular circumstances. By the 1980s I
accepted that my husband and I had grown so far apart that I could
no longer remain with him. My legal reason to remain in Nigeria was
`to accompany him' and he could withdraw his immigration
responsibility for me at any time. I needed a security which he
could not give me and I left him and Nigeria to begin a new life
and career in Britain in 1985. I was advised when I completed the
original manuscript in the 1970s not have it published as Nigeria
was extremely sensitive about any account which was sympathetic to
the Biafran side of the civil war. In 1986 a much shorter version
of Together in Biafra, titled Blow The Fire, telling the story up
to 1970 was printed by Tana Press in Nigeria. I retain the
copyright. It was published under my married name Leslie Jean
Ofoegbu. It has been cited in academic papers. An example is A
Lingering Nightmare: Achebe, Ofoegbu and Adichie on Biafra,
Francoise Ugochukwu 2011.
When a country experiences a civil war, media reports are mainly
brought to the attention of the outside world by those who can only
report on the surface impressions obtained during a short visit or
from the comfort of a studio thousands of miles away. My
experiences, living and working at the grass roots level, during
and after the crisis in Nigeria in the 1960s has a different
perspective. As a young Scotswoman married to a Nigerian from the
breakaway republic of Biafra we lived as refugees with our young
family, forced to leave our home seven times in the 30 months of
the civil war as the war raged around us. Cut off from the outside
world, in a situation the British High Commissioner in Nigeria had
predicted at the onset, would be over in two weeks, we lived a life
full of experiences which gave me a `qualification in survival' no
university could have imparted. Without electricity, gas, petrol or
phones, and often without money, medicine or safe drinking water we
learned to appreciate the basic necessities of life. I was 18 years
old, living in Dunfermline, Scotland when the man I was to marry
asked me for a dance at the Kinema Ballroom. Two years later my
career plan to qualify as a nurse was over and I was married to Len
Ofoegbu, with a baby daughter and we were on our way to a new and
very different life. Our first home was in the capital, Lagos, and
was a big culture shock to Len and I. The newly independent West
African country was already experiencing political and civil
unrest, leading to violence, massacres, coups, and the inability of
the central government to control the situation. Hundreds of
thousands of Easterners who had settled throughout the whole of the
country now `went home' as they had become the targets of
slaughtering mobs. The secession of the Eastern Region, calling
itself Biafra, followed and a David and Goliath bitter conflict
ensued. The word `kwashiorkor' and pictures of starving children
and adults appeared in the Western press for the first time. I was
one of around a dozen, mainly British, foreign wives of Biafrans
who remained with their husband throughout the civil war. I worked
voluntarily with relief agencies in feeding centres, clinics, an
orphanage and, after Biafra surrendered in January 1970, in a
children's hospital in return for food for my growing family. In
May 1970 we moved back to live in Lagos where we went through more
crises as a family. I became an early member of Nigerwives, an
organisation for foreign wives and partners of Nigerians which
became like an extended family as we gave mutual support and strove
to resolve anomalies in Nigerian laws which put unnecessary
restrictions affecting our particular circumstances. By the 1980s I
accepted that my husband and I had grown so far apart that I could
no longer remain with him. My legal reason to remain in Nigeria was
`to accompany him' and he could withdraw his immigration
responsibility for me at any time. I needed a security which he
could not give me and I left him and Nigeria to begin a new life
and career in Britain in 1985. I was advised when I completed the
original manuscript in the 1970s not have it published as Nigeria
was extremely sensitive about any account which was sympathetic to
the Biafran side of the civil war. In 1986 a much shorter version
of Together in Biafra, titled Blow The Fire, telling the story up
to 1970 was printed by Tana Press in Nigeria. I retain the
copyright. It was published under my married name Leslie Jean
Ofoegbu. It has been cited in academic papers. An example is A
Lingering Nightmare: Achebe, Ofoegbu and Adichie on Biafra,
Francoise Ugochukwu 2011.
The Beauty Trade takes seriously the frequently maligned and
trivialized beauty economy, just as it has become one of the most
important worldwide industries. Through the lens of beauty
products, practices, and ideas of youth in Guadalajara, Mexico, the
book analyzes whether and how beauty norms are changing in relation
to the globalizing beauty economy. It looks at who benefits and who
loses from beauty globalization and what this means for gender
norms among youth. Weaving together fascinating ethnographic
research on beauty practices, global political economy, and
feminist analysis, the book presents a feminist analysis of the
global economy of beauty. Rather than a sign of frivolity, the
beauty economy is intimately connected to youth's social and
economic development. Cosmetic makeovers have become a modern rite
of passage for girls, enabling social connections and
differentiations, as well as entrepreneurial activities. The global
beauty economy is a phenomenon generated by young people, mostly
women, laboring in, teaching, and consuming beauty. Globalization
in the beauty economy is a phenomenon propelled by youth, eager for
belonging and originality, using every mechanism at their disposal
to look good. Contrary to popular wisdom, globalization in the
beauty economy is not homogenizing beauty standards to a Western
ideal; it is diversifying beauty standards. The Beauty Trade
explains how globalization, combined with youth's desires for
uniqueness, is enabling the spread of a diversity of beauty
cultures, including alternative visions of gender appropriate looks
and behavior.
The Justitia Omnibus is the journal of the the Amnesty
International society at the London School of Economics and
Political Science. Written, designed and edited by students, the
journal has become an annual endeavour for the society. The journal
aims to provide a platform for students to express their views on
human rights issues all over the world as well as to highlight the
work our society undertakes to support Amnesty International on
campus, such as campaigning and fundraising events.
The LSESU Amnesty International Society aims to further the work of
Amnesty International UK on a campus level. We run campaigns to
raise awareness of key human rights issues and host events to raise
money which goes towards helping AIUK further its vital work.
Highlights of this year include a panel discussion on the human
rights concerns evident in the Syrian conflict and our campaign
week to highlight the need for an International Arms Trade Treaty.
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not
used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad
quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are
images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to
keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the
original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain
imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made
available for future generations to enjoy.
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019, a powerful,
well-researched, fictional account exploring the trokosi tradition
for the curious and the open-minded. Abeo Kata lives a comfortable,
happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter
of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the
Katas' idyllic lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, Abeo's father,
following his mother's advice, places the girl in a religious
shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as
atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall
Abeo for the fifteen years she is enslaved within the shrine. When
she is finally rescued, broken and battered, she must struggle to
overcome her past, endure the revelation of family secrets, and
learn to trust and love again. In the tradition of Chris Cleave's
Little Bee, Praise Song for the Butterflies is a contemporary story
that offers an educational, eye-opening account of the practice of
ritual servitude in West Africa. Spanning decades and two
continents, Praise Song for the Butterflies is an unflinching tale
of the devastation that children are subject to when adults are
ruled by fear and someone must pay the consequences. "Abeo is
unrelenting - a fiery protagonist who sparks in every scene.
Bernice L. McFadden has created yet another compelling story, this
time about hope and freedom." Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here
Comes the Sun
International law and state practice mirrors the recognition of
children's particular need for protection during peacetime, but in
situations in which international crimes are being committed the
prosecution of international crimes committed against children
before international courts and tribunals is also well embedded.
While international prosecutions are thus in line with the overall
development of protecting children from the consequences of armed
conflict and large scale violence, the involvement of the child in
international criminal proceedings also gives rise to new questions
which relate to the procedural involvement of the child.As child
participation in the proceedings before the International Criminal
Court (ICC) constitutes a matter of fact, one may raise the
question whether such participation is a welcome development. This
study examines the procedural implications of child participation
and thereby intends to contribute legal views and perspectives to
the underlying debate on the adequacy of child participation in ICC
proceedings. The study concludes with ten recommendations that
underline the call.
This volume brings together reflections on citizenship, political
violence, race, ethnicity and gender, by some of the most critical
voices of our times. Detailed and wide-ranging individual
reflections, take the writings of prominent Ugandan political
theorist Mahmood Mamdani as a touchstone for thinking about the
world from Africa. Contributors apply this theory to argue that we
cannot make sense of the political contentions of difference,
identity and citizenship today without understanding the legacies
of colonial rule on our world. Chapters examine the persistence of
the past, and how we must reckon with its tragedies, its
injustices, and its utopias in order to chart a new politics; the
politics of possible futures that are more inclusive and more
egalitarian, and that can think of difference in more equitable
ways. In a time when the call to decolonize knowledge, and politics
rings loud and clear, this is both a timely and a crucial
intervention.
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