Paris Journal 2009 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com

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I like to have fun with my French. For the second time within the space of a week, a female friend has written “bon chance” to me. This gives me the opportunity to say something like “La chance, c’est feminin, bien sur! Un mot comme ‘probleme,’ c’est masculin, bien sur!” I like to tease Tom by pointing out that things that are problems are masculine in the language. L’ordinateur, c’est masculin, bien sur! That’s because computers, les ordinateurs, can be such a pain in the you-know-what. So, luck, being a good thing, is feminine. Bonne chance! I know that my friend Jim H. will come up with many exceptions to this rule, but I like to play with it anyway. War, la guerre, of course, is generally not a good thing. But it is time for people on this planet to wage war against the atrocities being committed against women in countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan. I am so angry today, after reading both Thomas Friedman’s and Nicholas Kristof’s columns in yesterday’s International Herald Tribune. (While I’m at it, I’ll add Albert R. Hunt’s column to the pile that added to my sense of righteous indignation.) At least these three men get it. They understand. I guess I won’t worry too much about the subject of Hunt’s column, because I am fairly certain that Judge Sotomayor will be appointed to the Supreme Court in spite of the sexism and racism that Hunt so aptly reveals. But I am severely concerned about the oppression of women by religious extremists in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan. It just goes on, and on, and on. Of course we’ve had horrible problems with oppression of minorities, in particular African Americans, in the U.S. But what happened? When these citizens were denied basic rights like the right to vote, eventually Christians rose up and said NO! Christians (and others) organized and went to register blacks to vote in places like Mississippi. Some Christians walked the walk, finally; at least enough of them did in order to make a difference. Those Christians refused to let the Ku Klux Klan hijack their religion. Now, the world is filled with an astonishing number of Muslims, and their number is growing immensely. Islam is a wonderful, peaceful religion. Why are so many Muslims throughout the world allowing violent extremists to hijack their religion? This oppression of women in the name of Islamic extremism has been going on for an amazingly long time. But now there are so many practicing Muslims, and so many in countries where they have access to education and the means to make a good living and basic human rights; why are these people not acting in huge numbers against the extremists? Why are the extremists getting away with such crimes against humanity, women in particular? Why is it that Greg Mortenson is the one who’s out there building schools for girls in tribal areas? God bless him for what he does. And I support him in what he does. But shouldn’t there be Muslims also out there demanding these schools, and making them happen? According to the Interior ministry, there are over 4 million Muslims in France. Of course there are problems of job and housing discrimination against Muslims in France. These problems must be addressed. But the outrageous oppression of women in certain countries is something the entire Muslim world should rise up against. There are large numbers of Muslims in the West who have been educated and who have the financial means to make a difference to women in poor countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Why aren’t their efforts to help these women on the front page every day? I think of these women often; I see their handiwork, their tribal weaving, every day, both here and at home. One of my many Barbara friends recently asked me what I think of President Sarkozy’s call for banning the burqa in France. I don’t know what it is, but something is happening here. Just a few years ago, I saw many more burqas here in Paris than I do now. Now, a burqa is a rare sight in Paris. At least, that’s true in the parts of Paris where I tend to be. I used to see women in burqas routinely, just down the road at the end of the rue du Theatre. I don’t know whether those women are gone, but their burqas seem to have vanished completely. I don’t really want to say what France should or should not do in regard to their laws; I know Americans don’t like it when the French try to tell us what we should and shouldn’t do with our laws. While our democracies are similar, they are also different in some ways. In some states of the U.S., it is illegal to wear a mask in public. An old friend of mine from high school days once ran afoul of this law in Ohio when he and a buddy wore Halloween masks in a K-Mart and began behaving weirdly. They were arrested for wearing their masks, not for their weird behavior. I can see the validity of such laws, for security purposes. But what President Sarkozy is proposing is for different purposes. I see his point, but I also think there are much greater problems facing women in some Islamic countries. Could the world please deal with those first? I leave you today with this quote from the web site at www.ikat.org: The Girl Effect The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society. Why girls? Adolescent girls are uniquely capable of raising the standard of living in the developing world. Girls are the most likely agents of change, but they are often invisible in their societies and to our media. Check out this video: http://www.girleffect.org/#/video/ Education is the key. Sign my guestbook. View my guestbook. ← Previous Next →

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 The Musée du Quai Branly, the “cultural dialogue” museum in Paris, offers some interesting views because of its interesting architecture (above and below). Benches that look like books in the Square Gabriel Pierné on the rue de Seine in the 6^th arrondissement. A school desk on display at the Galerie Downtown at 33 rue de Seine.