Women\u27s Rights Movements in the \u27Arab Spring\u27: Major Victories or Failures for Human Rights?

With the 2011 “Arab Spring”, the issue of women’s empowerment has emerged as a parallel movement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). What are the implications of the women’s empowerment movements in the MENA for improved political representation and rights? Do these developments contribute to long-term socio-political, legal, judicial, and economic reforms that would improve overall human rights, and especially women’s rights in the MENA? This paper is a comparative survey of women’s empowerment and rights, especially in terms of general human rights principles, as well as in terms of political representation in post-revolution Tunisia and Egypt. The level of analysis is Amartya Sen’s theories of “development as freedom”. Applying Sen’s freedom-based development theories, focusing on women’s agency in attaining rights and freedoms for the broader goal of human rights and socioeconomic development accounts for the uniqueness of this study

Women in Afghanistan: A Human Rights Tragedy Ten Years After 9/11

Ten years after the September 11th attacks in the United States and the military campaign in Afghanistan, there is some good news, but unfortunately still much bad news pertaining to women in Afghanistan. The patterns of politics, security/military operations, religious fanaticism, heavily patriarchal structures and practices, and ongoing insurgent violence continue to threaten girls and women in the most insidious ways. Although women’s rights and freedoms in Afghanistan have finally entered the radar screen of the international community’s consciousness, they still linger in the margins in many respects. Socio-cultural and extremist religious elements continue to pose serious obstacles to reconstruction and development efforts. These constraints and impediments have an immensely devastating impact on the lives of girls and women in Afghanistan, and most often result in severely impairing quality of life and even reducing female life expectancy. Another ominous trend that has undermined Afghan women’s rights is President Hamid Karzai’s political constituency, consisting of increasingly conservative and religious fundamentalist characters. In order to appease them and gain political support, the Karzai government has compromised women’s rights, and in some cases has cast a symbolic vote to Taliban-like mindsets. Meanwhile, women politicians, activists, and journalists constantly face intimidation and threats, and a number have even been assassinated. One glance at the health and education statistics pertaining to Afghan girls and women alone is enough to see that improvements have been painfully gradual, and attention to these harsh realities has been grossly deficient. This paper examines these health and education variables, as well as the government policymaking that has triggered setbacks in women’s rights. Trends in violence against women and insecurity are also analyzed. All of the variables that negatively affect the lives of girls and women in Afghanistan are interconnected and interdependent. Therefore, none of them can afford to be overlooked. Overall, the situation for girls and women in Afghanistan remains bleak and tragic. © Hayat Alvi. All rights reserved. This paper may be freely circulated in electronic or hard copy provided it is not modified in any way, the rights of the author not infringed, and the paper is not quoted or cited without express permission of the author. The editors cannot guarantee a stable URL for any paper posted here, nor will they be responsible for notifying others if the URL is changed or the paper is taken off the site. Electronic copies of this paper may not be posted on any other website without express permission of the author

Iran Awakening: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has posed a serious dilemma for re- gional and global peace and security. Today, Iran is more perplexing and om- inous than ever, thanks to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threatening rants and Iran’s supposed nuclear ambitions

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Case report of a rare incidentaloma of the adrenal gland—Schwannoma

The Schwannoma is a benign growth of the nerve sheath cells most commonly seen in the vestibulocochlear nerve. Its prevalence in the adrenal gland is 1-3%. Here we discuss a case that presented as an incidentaloma of the right adrenal gland in a young male patient who had vague abdominal symptoms and a normal hormonal profile. He underwent an excisional biopsy of the right adrenal gland due to the large size of the lesion (more than 4cm). The histopathology report helped to establish the diagnosis of Schwannoma. Incidentaloma is defined as a lesion of the adrenal gland encountered on any radiological investigation carried out for symptoms that are not associated with adrenal pathologies. After discovering such lesions, it is imperative to perform radiological and hormonal investigations in an organised manner to plan further management of such cases. Keywords: Schwannoma, Adrenal Incidentaloma, Adrenocortical Adenoma, Adrenocortical Carcinoma, Adrenalectomy