Global Slavery and Women: Why Women Should Worry - Part II

The first article in this series focused on the growing scourge of the slave trade of women and children in the new global marketplace. The modern slave trade has reached pandemic proportions and women and children are the primary targets. Yet, slavery is - at its core - a thriving global business enterprise that is subject to changes in the marketplace. In his book entitled 'Collapse', Jared Diamond argues that 'the interests of big businesses, environmentalists, and society as a whole coincide more often than you might guess' (Diamond, p. 442). In short, the slave trade in women and children exists because there is an economic need for the trade to exist and the solution to ending the repugnant practice lies in finding a way to end the economic need for the trade.

Glimmers of Hope

Just last month, after a public outcry over the death of a young child, female genital mutilation was banned in Egypt. Unfortunately, as Maggie Michaels points out in the article she wrote for the Associated Press, the practice had already been banned in the country since the early 1950's and had simply gone underground before being legalized a second time in 1995. Female circumcision is far more dangerous than male circumcision and is a form of mutilation meant to control women's sexual drive. The procedure is an aspect of slavery because it limits the reproductive options of women. However, the practice is not limited to Asia or Africa. In fact, months before the widely acclaimed decision in Egypt, female genital mutilation was banned in Switzerland because the practice has spread around the world. Still, public outcry is beginning to have an impact on a primarily female problem and shed a light as to how to slow the practice of enslaving women and children by demonstrating that societal changes can be made by public decisions.

Economics

Female circumcision is merely symptomatic of the pervasive attitude towards women that has allowed the continued growth of the slave trade despite multiple efforts to ban the trade by the United Nations. Women and children are bought and sold on a much wider scale then men simply because they have less access to cultural, educational, legal and economic resources. Women and children are seen as easier to exploit and therefore offer cheaper sources of labor in key areas critical to countries with expanding industrial needs or tourist based economies - manufacturing, general labor and prostitution. It boils down to, 'either work or starve'. In addition, culturally and religiously dismissive attitudes towards women have significantly contributed to the trade and it's various aspects including forced prostitution, illegally arranged marriages, genital mutilation and inexpensive domestic servitude.

Expressed more simply: women provide a valuable resource for countries who wish to capture overseas markets by using or creating inexpensive products. Slave labor is cheap in the short term and exports will increase if wages are kept to an unrealistically low level. In addition, tourists flock to countries where they perceive they can 'own' a person legally without recourse. There are three steps that need to be undertaken to lead towards solving the problem.

Bringing Might to Bear -Three Steps

Statistics vary but women in developed countries with stable economic ties need to remember that somewhere between fifty and a hundred million women and children are kept in slavery at any one time around the world. These people should not be confused with the old medieval concept of serfdom because serfs sometimes had property rights as well as varying levels of other freedoms. The people in question are slaves who are producing cheap products or giving up their bodies with little or no recompense due to impoverished economic conditions or related cultural issues in their native country.

Step One: Public Outcry
Public outcry - a continued and ongoing public spotlight - is the first step towards establishing the crushing prevalence of being sold into slavery. However, public outcry does little good in countries that do not allow an independent press or where society condones women and children having their bodies mutilated, forced marriages or the selling of people like cattle. In many cases, women are sold into slavery because of horrific economic problems or wars in their native countries.

After all, if countries all over the world can come together to celebrate Earth Day then why can't the world celebrate the eventual end of slavery? The idea behind public outcries is not to judge the actions of another culture but rather to demonstrate that other opinions and options exist in the world. In mythology, the god Janus was always depicted with two heads so that he could look to the past while seeing the future. In this sense, public outcries are meant to demonstrate new options while still maintaining and respecting cultural ties.

Step Two: Changes Will Create New Problems
Again, the United Nations has proven ineffective in curbing the growth of slavery despite requiring each signature to ban the practice of commercial slavery. Arguably, the second step in banning the practice slavery is not simply changes in international law but rather focused economic boycotts that lend strength to existing laws. Countries that are known participants in the slave trade should have tariffs and related fees imposed on their cheaply made products and exports. Also, women who have economic clout should look for and actively boycott products that are involved in the slave trade. This may seem a difficult and cumbersome practice in light of the numerous cheap products available on the open market but consumers should be aware that cheap products seem harmless until one examines the human misery involved in the manufacturing process behind the creation of that product.

However, imposing fines and boycotts may cause additional burdens for women and children in various countries because new questions and problems will be created during the process of slowing or eliminating slavery in our world. Slaves will need to find new homes if people are unwilling to make the products that they make or sell. Where will these people go when their manufactured products become too expensive due to import and export changes that lead to lay offs off at their place of work? What will happen to sexually exploited women if tourists become more selective and reduce the demand for prostitutes, arranged marriages or domestic servants?

In addition, many countries will jump the gun and pass laws that claim to protect women but in reality ban them from leading economically productive lives. New laws may be worse than the problem because slave traders are part of large international businesses that have considerable economic clout in their native countries. Banning the product while still condoning the action will not solve the problem and will - in all probability - disrupt fragile economies.

We must take the high road and be prepared for the long haul. Public outcries and economic boycotts will put economic pressure on the slave trade but these two actions are not sufficient to end the trade in human flesh and sorrow.

Step Three: Leap of Faith
The third and final step to solving the global slavery issue begins by giving women all over the world the economic clout necessary to sustain the change begun by the banning of slavery in international law. Part of this process can be done through economic grants from UNIFEM, the World Bank and related organizations. However, neither the World Bank nor other international organizations have the funding required to end centuries of social tolerance and encouragement of this horrific practice.

Women - and men - who have economic clout to actively support women and help them through this process will be required to lead the charge against the practice of slavery. In a sense, the idea is similar to feeding a child for only pennies a day. Women or men with money and education have to forge economic ties and educational partnerships with other women by encouraging them to grow within their communities. Women - and men who understand the importance of the calling - must work together to free other women around the world by forging economic ties and relationships.

As an example, Gandhi encouraged people in India to buy products made at home rather than buying products overseas because he was trying to stimulate a stronger national economy. He recognized the need for international trade but he also recognized a greater immediate need to stimulate growth in his country. In the United States, minority owned businesses often support other minority owned businesses. As a business person myself, Marshalling resources and working together can often lead to greater profits and future markets.

The process of ending slavery will not be simple. Women worldwide will need to be given greater access to education, medicine, raw resource materials and funding in order to finance new business ventures. They will probably not find immediate support for these goals from their respective governments because they are slaves without rights in those states. Instead, women - and men - with access to funding and resources will need to shoulder the burden and demonstrate the strength and profitability of creating alternative markets to countries that tolerate the practice of slavery all over the world. Former women and children slaves must be taught and encouraged to become productive and profitable members of industry or else the terrible practice of slavery will continue to spread like a plague across the globe. It will take time and patience but it must be done or in the future millions will continue to fall prey to the practices of slavery without hope of recourse.

References:

Diamond, J. (2005). Collapse Penguin Books. New York, NY.

Kapstein, E. (2007). Foreign Affairs - The New Global Slave Trade. retrieved July 6, 2007 from http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20061101faessay85609/ethan-b-kapstein/the-new-global-slave-trade.html

Michaels, M. (2007) Egypt Officials Ban Female Circumcision retrieved July 1, 2007 from http://www.palmbeachpost.com/health/content/shared-gen/ap/Health_Medical/Egypt_Female_Circumcision.html

Moyer, B. (2007). Rich World, Poor Women. PBS retrieved July 5, 2007 from http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/womenlabor.html

SwissInfo (2007). UNICEF Calls for Ban on Female Circumcision retrieved July 1, 2007 from http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/Unicef_calls_for_ban_on_female_circumcision.html?siteSect=105&sid=7597004

UNIFEM (2003). Trafficking in Person - A Gender and Rights Perspective. retrieved July 7, 2007 from http://www.unifem.org/attachments/products/traffkit_eng.pdf

White, H. (2007). Britain Awakens to New Slave Trade in Bordellos. retrieved July 5, 2007 from www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jan/07011109.html

Wikipedia (2007). Slavery retrieved July 5, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery/Etymology