THOUGHTS ON EDUCATION AND SHARING on WOMEN FROM AROUND THE WORLD AS “HEROES” THIS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WEEKEND
By Kevin Stoda, Kuwait
Alongside my regular private school teaching load, for the current two month periods I am teaching Sunday School to pre-teens from India and the Philippines.
So, it was a pleasure as a lifelong educator to find that this International Women’s Day (March 8) weekend, our Sunday Bible school class for Pre-Teens’ focus was first on two strong women found in the Old Testament: [1] Deborah, the prophetess and leader of ancient Israel and [2] Jael (Yael), the female assassin of Israel’s arch enemy, Sisera, whose Canaanite military forces had taken over and dominated Israel militarily in the 20 years prior to Deborah’s leadership.
Happily, at least one boy already knew the tale quite well, but sadly the majority of boys and girls in class here in Kuwait—as well as in the USA and around the world--don’t know the tale of Deborah, and how she also served as judge of Israel (as well as being famed as prophetess).
The second part of this weekend’s Sunday school lesson focused on Burma’s legendary female leader and Nobel Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi.
http://www.dassk.com/index.php
The children in my Sunday school class learned from a handout prepared by DPI publications on Aung San Suu Kyi that this modern day heroine:
-was born in Burma and her name means “A Bright Collection of Strange Victories”. -became fatherless at age 2 when her father, Aung San, hero of the War of Independence against the British Occupation, was assassinated in 1947 -was educated in India while her mother served as Ambassador there for Burma -graduated from Oxford University with degrees in philosophy, politics and economy -returned to Burma to serve her mother at her mother’s death bed around 1988 -was asked to help lead the Movement for change & democracy in Burma -was the winner of elections in Burma but was immediately jailed for 6 years as the Burmese military oligarchs refused to give up their fascist power -is a disciple of Ghandi’s non-violent principles and fasted on behalf of persecuted and tortured friends and supporters while under house arrest -became in 1995 UNESCO’s special advisor on human rights.
I added, to my student’s amazement, that Aung San Suu Kyi is again under house arrest—and has been for most of the last two decades. These young children whom I was teaching Sunday school to were simply astounded and asked. “How could she still be alive after all that time imprisoned?” they questioned.
“Well, I noted, she certainly must do exercises and eat right most of the time. She must also pray.” I answered.
As our lessons this month focus on “conviction and courage”, I asked the students what they thought Suu Kyi’s convictions are. Immediately, the children replied that Suu Kyi believed in freedom and felt she had to speak out against the military junta that was destroying her land and her peoples desire for freedom.
The same DPI Sunday school text added this question for the class:
“Suu Kyi (Soo Chee) chose to stand up and fight for her convictions. The opportunity arose for Suu Kyi to live out the convictions she had learned in her family. Her father had died for those same convictions. What are some of the convictions that you have, and how do the people in your life see those convictions?”
KEVIN STODA has been blessed to have either traveled in or worked in nearly 100 countries on five continents over the past two and a half decades. He sees himself as a peace educator and have been a promoter of good economic and social development--making him an enemy of my homelands humongous spending and its focus on using weapons to try and solve global issues.
"I am from Kansas so I also use the pseudonym 'Kansas' when I write and publish. I keep two blogs--one with blogger and one with GNN. My writings range from reviews to editorials or to travel observations. I also make recommendations related to policy--having both a strong background in teaching foreign languages and degrees in teaching in history and the social sciences. As a midwesterner, I also write on religion and living out ones faith whether it be as a Christian, Muslim or Buddhist perspective."
It would be nice to mention here that International Women's day emerged as a pro-socialist, communist even holiday and Klara Tzetkin, the prominent German Communist was at the cradle of it. This is not to bash communists, just the opposite in fact. There were many prominent women- communists and one of them, Rosa Luxemburg was beaten to death by the German officers/gentlemen in 1918. Do they teach that in the classrooms?
It would be even nicer to at least slightly mention that in all Communist states except for China women were officially equal with men on all counts. This is not the same in the capitalistic democracies. BTW the communist govts did not allow any women- trafficking which is flourishing now in the 'free Eastern Europe' and in China.
Even nicer it would be if it is mentioned that when the Russians occupied Afghanistan they freed all women unequivocally. Hello? Where is the praisement?
Maybe the women in Kuwait are struggling to become freer but I doubt if killing their men as we do indiscriminantly will help them.
It would be even more nice to mention glorious American women like Martha Corey, Bridget Bishop, Elizabeth Proctor and other ' Salem witches' whose behavior at incredible odds was an ultimate act of heroism.
Even more nice would be to talk about an ultimate woman -hero Joanne D'Arc.
Yael, who killed Cicara while he was sleeping under her roof was such a monster that even Mark Twain mentioned her mockingly in his ' Innocents abroad'.
And more and more we need to recognize that picking on Kuwait, Islam and other 'places abroad' while avoiding a real history does not serve the purpose, sorry.
by
Mark Sashine (50 articles, 19 quicklinks, 242 diaries, 3434 comments)
on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 8:31:16 AM
Comment as a whole is informative and point of womens day
The first 75%plus of your comments at beginning of your comment letter are very appropriate. As an international educator in Kuwait from 2004-2008, I write wear I am planted once or twice a year on women's issues or politics in Kuwait. The first article on WOMENS DAY was 2004 at this sight pp. 8 to 12.
Well, I give up. all those links are dead-THE FRANCHISE FOR
THEFRANCHISEFORKUWAITIS, IRAQISAND ME (from 2005 article)
Meanwhile, here in Kuwait, I am hoping that women voters here receive the franchise sometime this next parliamentary session, sometime in 2005. That is, I hope that Kuwaiti women get the right to vote even before the Brazos County (Texas) election board finally sends me my long-awaited 2004 absentee ballot. I need also to observe that I have certainly been jealous of those expatriate Iraqis, currently living in the U.S. and Europe, who were recently able to vote in their homeland’s elections prior to January 30, 2005. It was certainly a contrast to my recent working relationship (voting experience) with the Brazos County Texas Election Board—where it appears I have likely been barred from voting for some reason or other. Certainly, at the very least, Iraqi voters were at least forewarned as to what the ballot looked like, i.e. filled with numbers representing some 100-plus political parties. Hence, before voting, Iraqis were given the opportunity to memorize numbers of each candidate or political party (rather than having to try and recall all candidates by office as well as by first and last names—as my last-minute vote with a provisional ballot from Texas required me to do). On the other hand, this past January 30, I note that alone in Fallujah, Iraq some 200,000 residents never received a ballot at all—let alone a provisional one. Perhaps this is all representative of the unequal sort of democratic (voting) experience Bush and his clan from Texas (and Neo-con occupied America) expect of the Middle East in coming decades.
by
ALONE (129 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 279 comments)
on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 10:57:41 AM
anyway thanks for your list of womens day memories
I appreciate your list of womens day events related to Germany etc. However, I think a more appropriate comment would have been on heroes only--like Mother Jones--and Rosa L. (whom you do mention).
I am going to be happy if my other students in Kuwait even get to know who Aung San Suu Kyi is. Having supported relief activities on the border of Thailand and Burma for the past 16 years, I am anxious that every school child around the world knows about this living hero, but dead ones are just as important.
I am shocked to find in my teaching that many youth in Kuwait and elsewhere do not have any heroes---however, there are heroes here who fought for women's rights and are steering a new course.
I am delighted, sure I understand your challenge and I did not mean to denigrate anything. But there was some grain of salt in my comment: in some aspect we here promote an idea of ' heroism' in the behavior of the female as the one who ' fights' for something. In sorts- does a man's job ( sorry for the metaphor). But we must not ignore those who preserve. Whether people they preserve or traditions or music or poetry or paintings or children or ( the highest possible preservation) love and compassion- those we must not discard. Joanne D'Arc is revered as the Maiden of France not only because she fought for freedom but also because she inspired and at the same time- preserved people. Children love winners, love fights, love battles but they do not see the bright light of preservation which shines everywhere. When Napoleon was asked what woman he considers the most revered in his time he said,'The one who gave birth to a lot of children.' That was a tough but honest answer: his mother was like that and he loved her dearly.
by
Mark Sashine (50 articles, 19 quicklinks, 242 diaries, 3434 comments)
on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 12:36:12 PM
8 comments
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