Friday, October 07, 2005 10/6/05 Speech: Bush is an Equal Rights Hypocrite We already are familiar w/Bush's record on women's issue (anti-work environment equality, restricting abortion access/ methods of birth control access). But here is Bush's laughable statement on women's rights from his speech on Thurs: "We're making our case through public diplomacy, stating clearly and confidently our belief in self-determination, and the rule of law, and religious freedom, and equal rights for women, beliefs that are right and true in every land, and in every culture." If that statement were even close to be true, then why hasn't the US ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women which was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly? Here, in alphabetical order & w/their official names, are the nations we share this shameful honor with: 1) Sultanate of Brunei, 2) Holy See- no shock to this Catholic on this one, 3) Islamic Republic of Iran, 4) Marshall Islands, 5) Republic of Nauru, 6) Oman, 7) Palau, 8) Qatar, 9) Somalia, 10) Sudan, 11) United States of America. 6 of these nations have Islam as their majority religion, and their culture's treatment of women is reflective of Muslim radicalism, and then of course, 1 is the seat of power for the Roman Catholic Church. These 7 are not exactly shining examples of being beacons for women's rights, female autonomy and equal treatment for all now are they? |