Religion trumping freedom

[kandrathe]

I don't think this has to do with capitalism. It has to do with a very old-fashioned religiously inspired mind set. If it had to do with capitalism it would happen in Holland (we invented share trading), or Denmark....more secular but very capitalistic countries.. Instead this happens in places like Afghanistan, and yes also Italy.

To some people -- everything bad is due to free market capitalism. To others -- everything bad is due to religion. I don't think the worlds problems are one dimensional.

In our recent past(anthropologically) , work was grueling, dangerous, and often deadly. Women were dominated, often owned by men, and were scarce due to their higher death rate. The advent of law in our societies, has afforded us a way of pursing equal rights for all people regardless of their "might". We've slowly moved women to their rightful place as equal human beings and not our treasures.

Traditionally, our cultures grew around women tending household and children, while men dealt with the things outside of the household. Times have changed, and most Western governments now officially endeavor to assure women equal opportunities. As I said above, male attitudes regarding women are slow to change -- especially amongst traditionalists. These are the men who desire their wife to be the replacement for the mother who waited on them hand and foot, who washed their dishes and laundry, and selflessly served him and his needs.

Are these traditionalists also religious? I think there may be a correlation, and certainly there are a subset of complementarians across various religions and sects, but certainly you need not be religious to have the traditionalist view. On the other hand, there are deeply religious cultures who have implemented gender equality. How would you explain the measured gender equality of the Philippines, or Ireland? The surveys I've seen indicate their religious beliefs are very strongly held, yet they are vying with the Scandinavian countries in equality of pay and position.

Considering your two pretty wildly different examples of Afghanistan and Italy; Why couldn't I correlate the equality of women to the education level of all people within the country?

According to OECD - Better Life Index, "In Italy, 54% of adults aged 25-64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, much less than the OECD average of 74%." Doesn't it make more sense that the less educated one is the more one would cling to tribal traditions? Without a decent high-school level education (or at least travel) wouldn't you be inclined to perpetuate the only things you'd ever known? I would think an isolated Pashto child would grow up to emulate the adults in their village.

As for the free market, you need not look to far to see how far things have changed in the last 50 years. Even in the last decade. Consider Ursula M. Burns, and where the world was in the 1970's. There is still the need for vigilance lest we backslide.

But, I really think this problem with domestic violence has more to do with educating boys on what it means to grow into a man. It is about character. It's not about pushing people around (incl. women), or the size of your monster truck, or your ability to carouse(hang) with the guys.

Some factors to consider in our redefining masculinity in our time;

• How have school environments, and curriculum changed? Do they align with the developmental differences in boys? I'd suggest that we've deemphasized large motor activities in favor of more academics. Boys and girls are different, and their differences need to be recognized and embraced.
• In response to the "hyperactivity" of these boys in an increasingly academic setting, we've seen an epidemic of reported ADD/ADHD cases, which is then medicated. In a way, we are also telling more and more boys that there is something wrong with them.
• How has our changing (less agrarian) more urbanized environment changed the role of boys at home? What do they do there? How much time do they spend doing useful chores or playing (outside) as opposed to watching TV/video games?
• Finally, the usual suspect of the stereotypes of traditional gender roles in popular media. Where do boys learn about the manhood? Where are they misled or taught about gender roles?