The Age of Inequality

After asking for a moment of silence to acknowledge the recent tragedy in Mumbai, Palagummi Sainath began his lecture by explaining the meaning of pictures that played in a slideshow before he spoke. “They are portraits of farmers who have committed suicide and the families they have left behind.”

The number of audience members far exceeded the number of seats in room 200C of the Geography Building, but those without a seat were content to line the walls or sit on stairways to listen to Sainath speak about the farm and food crisis facing India and the role the media played throughout the turmoil.

Sainath, 2007 winner of the Ramon Magsaysay award for journalism, spoke at the event sponsored by the Geography Department. He has chosen to focus his work on the economically underprivileged of India and had a simple explanation for the resilience of the general population of Mumbai after last week’s terrorist attacks. “For 65% of the population, if you don’t go to work that day, you don’t eat.” That startling statistic, he explained, shows the growing distance between the rich and poor of India.

While the country has the fourth highest number of billionaires according to Forbes magazine, a United Nations survey ranks India at 128th in human development. In fact, India has set the poverty line at 24 cents a day. 200 million Indians no longer seek medical attention of any kind because they cannot afford it. It seems that as the number of billionaires grew, the quality of life for the majority of citizens declined. “There is astonishing disparity,” Sainath explained. “53 people, those Forbes billionaires, make up 31% of India’s GDP.”

Sainath believes that modern governments choose to intervene on behalf of the rich and the elite, citing the Wall Street bailout as evidence of such. “There has been an unprecedented rise of corporate power, and they wield incredible influence.” Using California’s 11 billion dollar deficit as an example, he predicts there will be cuts in social welfare and education among other things. “All across the world there is a transfer of resources from poor to rich, it just happens in different ways.”

Because of the world food price crisis, even middle classes families had to start worrying about food prices for the first time, according to Sainath. He attributes the price increases to corporations overtaking the agricultural industry not only in India but also across the world. He explains this is because corporations have taken control of pesticide and seed sales, and over the past few years companies have increased the price of such goods by as much as 700%.

These price increases have made it very difficult for farmers to make any profit. In the past, the vast majority of Indians made their living off agriculture and food crops. But between 1991 and 2006, 8 million people quit farming. Those who continue farming are incredibly impoverished and often times can’t even get a small crop loan from the bank.

According to Sainath, every 30 minutes another farmer in India commits suicide. In fact, over 166,000 farmers have committed suicide since 1991. “Most of the suicide households are neck-deep in debt and the farmer sees no other way out,” Sainath explained.

“But has the media shown much interest in this?” Sainath asked. He believes they did not. Sainath lamented the media’s lack of interest in such troubling issues and cited them as being part of the problem. “The media has been a part of that incredible rise of corporate power. Where we should have told stories, instead we sold products.”

Georgia Women Speak of Poor Conditions for Kenyan Women

Young girls are married off by the age of 15, many to men almost 30 years their senior. Sixty-nine percent of women are considered literate and less than 12 percent continue their education past eighth grade. Mothers walk up to eight miles per day to retrieve the freshest water for their families from still polluted streams and rivers. The women of the Maasai tribe in Nairobi, Kenya live lives of conflict, hardship, and burden.

Female leaders from around Athens and the University of Georgia led a discussion Tuesday afternoon at the school’s Visual Arts Center concerning life in the Maasai tribe. Sponsored by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government International Center, the discussion focused on a recent two-week trip taken by ten Georgia women to Kenya.

The discussion, titled “Women of the Maasai: Empowerment and Networks,” highlighted the rough cultural expectations and quality of life for a woman in Nairobi. Speakers included the Athens Mayor, Heidi Davison, a Stay Safe activist, Joan Prittie, and Njeri Marekia-Cleaveland, a public service assistant from the Carl Vinson Institute.

Throughout their discussion, many of the women voiced the conflict of changing the Maasai way of life without threatening to change the culture.

“It’s hard to do,” says Marekia-Cleaveland. “They don’t want to change their culture, even if it’s for the betterment of their life.”

Marekia-Cleaveland went on to describe the constant struggle among women within Maasai society. With men “wandering around with their cattle all day”, she says, the women are left with the hardships of caring for the family.

She described chores such as milking cows and creating beadwork. The women will fulfill both chores, but since the man is the one allowed to sell them to factories and markets, he will pocket the money.

In addition, the woman will take care of the land, children, and food—further taxing her and increasing her hardships.

Joan Prittie, who is also a public administration and policy professor at UGA, says that it is hard for many Americans to understand why these women have yet to escape their circumstances. She says that to consider their status, you must also consider their culture.

“There is a certain level of accepted violence,” she says.

Many young girls are subject to early marriage, some as soon as 10 years old, and Female Genitalia Mutilation (FGM)—both are illegal in Kenya. The Maasai culture deems a woman pure once she has gone through FGM, a procedure that risks her life and makes childbirth more complex, risking the life of the unborn.

Many members of the 25-person audience gasped and suddenly raised their hands to their mouths in terror. Prittie responded to the shock by claiming, “They either have to face this direct violence or become secondary citizens.”

How African American Women Speak out in Rock Music

ATHENS, Ga - African American hip-hop is a growing sector within American's music scene, however, African American rock-music seems to be hidden, especially women's involvement within Rock-music. 

Dr. Lesley Feracho, whose focus of study are Romance Languages and African American studies, spoke to a crowd of 20 in the African American Center of Memorial Hall on Wednesday. Feracho's lecture entitled, Womanism and Rock-music, focused on the invisibility and empowerment of African American women within the Rock world. 

"A Black woman metal head does not make sense," Feracho said. "For the African American Rock musician, I want their music and message to be heard." 

How do these musicians make a stance within the music industry, when there is a lack of support?

According to Feracho, African American women in the Rock industry have strategies in creating a community and venue to get their music heard. This is where the idea of Womanism comes into play. Certain stereotypes are created when a person thinks of Rock music. An African American women is not one of them. 

Throughout the lecture, Feracho discussed four main African American Rock musicians. Feracho explained how the music created by these women has underlying meanings in the lyrics. 

Cree Summer, who combines Rock aesthetic with Native American influences, was one of the women Feracho discussed. "This song proves history can be erased. The lyrics to this song go all the way back to slavery," Feracho said about Summer's song, 'Curious White Boy.' Feracho pointed out one line of lyrics that read,"Inside the petting zoo, was it good for you?" Feracho believed these words show an objectification of women and stereotyping African American women. The song according to Feracho, "creates a voice for Black women and the awareness of Black history." 

Musician, Tamar-kali, was another African American woman Feracho discussed. Tamar-kali's song, Boot, addresses the social issues of all women. Trina Meade, the lead singer for the band Three 5 Human, sings songs with themes ranging from women's self esteem to women's relationships, according to Feracho. The band title, Three 5 Human, gives reference to the Three Fifths Compromise of 1850, which referenced slaves as being three-fifth human. 

"The Noisettes music is a celebration of the identity that defines the norms for African American women, as a women and also a musician," Feracho explained after playing the tunes of another Rock group. The Noisettes are a Rock-band out of England. According to Feracho, the Noisettes establish a female centered musical, emotional, and spiritual link within their music. "They use music to talk about issues," Feracho said. 

Feracho's dream is for African American women in Rock-music stand out. She concluded the lecture by saying, "hopefully my passion will lead to future projects."