How effective can a boycott be on countries who do little to nothing about abusing women?

Do you know how many rapes are unreported and unpunished here?

How many women are abused here with little to no recourse?

The only thing we have over other countries is that we punish the murders… sometimes.

We’re not so very far ahead of anyone on these points that we have any room to be telling anyone else what they should do.

@klutzaroo That is true and I say lock them up and throw away the key but in all those other countries the numbers are probably 10 times the amount here. There is always a way to try to get some recourse or at least make things known by the public so other woman can be warned of a preditor. In some of these countries a woman can be raped out in public and not a man in the village will try to stop it. They will look at it like its not their business and she probably had it coming. Look at Egypt. The reporter who got gang raped and beaten by a mob and the only ones to help her were other women and the military. They did this during their so call celebration. Poor girl had simply just finished reporting the news of their celebration. Not knowing that their idea of celebrating was to beat her and rape her. If it wasn’t for the women who where there and helped her than or the military who probably simply where under obligation to help her, than she probably would’ve been killed as well and these guys would’ve gotten away with that too. Our system may not be perfect but we try. They don’t even bother to raise an eyebrow and say, this is wrong.
In our system we at least are trying to protect the innocent from getting wrongly accused. In a lot of these other countries they simply see women as no more important than livestock. They are property and nothing more. Not living, breathing, bleeding human beings. Just an animal that can be snuffed out because they will it to be so. Of course if they do punish you, you can probably offer some restitution to the family by either offering up one of your females to do as you will or maybe a few goats.

I have read and understand your question. These countries and their people, have endured this type of abuse forever. This does not mean I condone it, by any means. True, we do have our own problems at home. I have said this before and I will say it again, we cannot be the police of the world. Afghanistan is a perfect example. This country had the same problems before American troops arrived and the same problems will return, once our troops leave Afghanistan. Think of the millions of tax dollars contributed to making a difference in that country. Has it worked? I seriously doubt it.

Sorry, but if a forceful military cannot make a difference in Afghanistan, then how would a boycott even scratch the surface?

I wish we had a magic bullit that could eliminate these crimes in these countries.

Although I think boycotts can be effective in some matters I don’t think a boycott would be in this one. The change in attitudes regarding rape need to come from the bottom up with guidance from government in the manner of law and enforcement. Something tells me that if a country were to be boycotted and told they needed to clean this area up then they might do it halfheartedly and there would be little change.

This is an area that needs a pervasive change in attitude from families, especially fathers, and mothers from the ground up. Just as this change happened here and is still happening here.

Education is the way to go and then you have to be patient.

@Pandora, those were agents of Mubarak’s who attacked the reporter, not the celebrants, so it had nothing to do with “custom” and everything to do with intimidating journalists to not report on what was happening. I can’t believe that whoever gave out the orders to kidnap and assault reporters and their crews thought that in today’s connected world, such old-fashioned terror tactics would “protect” them and prevent news from getting out to everyone on Earth, but that’s another discussion.

Look at what’s happening in countries like Somalia, where Sharia law has been mixed with ancient custom, and outsiders try to tell their governments what to do. The leaders entrench and harden their stances. Folks get angry when someone else tries to force their hands on a way of life that benefits them to follow. People lash out at what they consider to be outsiders forcing their customs on them. So @tranquilsea is right in that things don’t change in countries because of what an outsider imposes, but because its citizens fight back when the pain of revolution is greater than their fear of fighting back.

@aprilsimnel – not “pain of revolution,” I meant pain of oppression.

@aprilsimnel absolutely right.

Often we have other interests that would dictate not boycotting these countries.

I actually think more effective means would be through education programs. Particularly working with the children in the countries. Perhaps you could start an NGO to provide such education programs.

I know India has changed their attitude towards women a bit. Not as much as one would like but they are at least taking steps forward. What was it that made them go for the change? The Dahli Lama? British? Education? Political Power?

@Pandora doubt it was the Dalai Lama. i think that is overstating his influence. Of course rape in the developing world is highly politicised and a strong indicator of all the “barbarism” that we in the West are itching to civilise. If only people were as repulsed at the mistreatment of women as they are to the waging of war, then we’d be on to something.

And as an aside, rather than boycotting such countries, which incidentally only hits the poor, the US proactively lends support to countries such as Colombia, where the rape and torture of women is an institutionalised policy to repress Female activists, journalists and trade unionists. So i can assure you, we are a long way of Boycotting such countries.

@john65pennington I don’t think @Pandora is advocating that we go into these countries and punish them by using force, but that we pull back from them and punish them by neglecting them, begrudging them aid, etc.

@ladymia69 – that is the way I interpreted the question as well. And the most telling blow that can ever be dealt is to hit someone in the pocket book. So if the government cut off trading with countries who are tolerant of such sexism, definitely that would make them sit up and take notice. And I don’t think that would affect the poor and those who need it most because often that aid never reaches the general population, it stays in the coffers of the powers that be.

But as @marinelife said, there are other interests that would dictate not boycotting these countries. Meaning simply economics rules the world.

@rooeytoo That is exactly what I mean. The politicians in these countries make sure that the poor never get a good foot hold because they keep everything we send their way. They don’t do anything about the so call rebels because the rebel don’t hit their wealthy they only prey on the poor and weak so that countries like ours feel sorry for them and send aid. Its a cycle that we keep going. Want the U.S. to send money, than let some reporters go in and see the violence. Let them see starving children and women who are raped and slaughter and see how fast we send aid to these countries. Its already been proven that some countries have done better once we stop. Its just like welfare. The more we give the less they try to better their situations. If we stop giving them aid than the only way the politicians and the rich can get rich is by creating jobs, educating people to do what others outside the country will never do. Get rid of the rebels because they can no longer bankroll their efforts to suppress their people. Even educate women so they can work and taxes can be collected. It will not stop starvation for good but they will need as many as they can get to work and moved forward so they can line their pockets with tax money. And they have to leave them some cash so they can at least afford to eat and keep up the energy to work.
Then with enough time women will be able to have a voice in their societies.
Yes a lot may die in the mean time but eventually it will slow down once a safer enviroment is put into practice because their own government is making an honest effort to safe guard its tax payers. But for now, they have no incentives to do anything.