Thought Black People Had It Tough? Try Being Untouchable.

Living in the West, when I hear about discrimination I think of gender, race, religion and even age. One word that doesn't come to mind is caste but for an estimated 250 million people worldwide, caste discrimination is a serious problem. A caste is a combined social system of occupation, endogamy (marriage within a specific ethnic group), culture, social class, and political power. According to UNICEF, discrimination based on caste is prevalent mainly in parts of Asia and Africa.

The Indian caste system is comprised of four different castes, and outcasted social groups. Caste barriers have mostly broken down in large cities, though they persist in rural areas of the country, where 72% of India's population resides. In some rural areas and small towns, the caste system is still very rigid. The Government of India has officially documented castes and sub-castes, primarily to determine those deserving reservation (positive discrimination in education and jobs) through the census. The Indian reservation system, though limited in scope, relies entirely on quotas. The Government lists consist of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.The caste-based reservations in India have led to widespread protests, such as the 2006 Indian anti-reservation protests, with many complaining of reverse discrimination against the forward castes (the castes that do not qualify for the reservation). Many view negative treatment of forward castes as socially divisive and equally wrong.

Independent India has witnessed a considerable amount of violence and hate crimes motivated by caste. Various incidents of violence against Dalits have been reported from many parts of India. Dalit is a self-designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as of lower class and unsuitable for making personal relationships. Dalits are a mixed population of numerous caste groups all over South Asia, and speak various languages.According to a report by Human Rights Watch, "Dalits and indigenous peoples (known as Scheduled Tribes or adivasis) continue to face discrimination, exclusion, and acts of communal violence. Laws and policies adopted by the Indian government provide a strong basis for protection, but are not being faithfully implemented by local authorities."

What disturbed me most when I was researching the violence against Dalits in India was the number of massacres, the latest one being the Kherlanji massacre in 2006. On September 29, 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family belonging to the Dalit underclass were slaughtered in Kherlanji, a small village in Bhandara district of Maharashtra. The women of the family, Surekha and Priyanka, were paraded naked in public then allegedly gang-raped before being murdered. Although initially ascribed by the media and by the Human Rights Watch to upper castes, the criminal act was actually carried out by Kunbi caste (classified as Other Backward Classes by Government of India) farmers for having opposed the requisition of the Dalit land to have a road built over it.

The Nepalese caste system, like the Indian caste system, is highly complex and continues the traditional system of social stratification of Nepal. The castes of Nepal have been placed into 5 hierarchies with the following order of precedence:

• Thagadhari, (Wearer of holy cord)
• Matwali
• Namasyane Matwali (Non-enslavable alcohol-drinkers)
• Masyane Matwali (Enslavable alcohol drinkers)
• Pani nachalne choichoto halnu naparne, (Impure but touchable castes)
• Pani nachalne chiochoti halnu parne, (Impure and Untouchable castes)

The supreme caste communities make ornaments, weapons pottery and others. The castes have different names: Kamis (Iron-smiths), Sunars (Gold-smiths), Lohars (Iron smiths), Vishwakarmas (V.K.), Sobh, Snehi Nepali, etc. They have been named after the professions they are found to be engaged in. For instance, one who is engaged in works related to gold is a Sonar; one who constructs a house or makes pots is an Od; the person who makes things out of copper is a Tamta.

However, Nepalese society is clearly split into touchables and untouchables as touchables have no marital relation with them, and do not allow them to enter their houses. The situation of caste-based untouchability existing in the country depends heavily on what region of the country you are in. Untouchability exists in its extreme form especially in the hills and mountains of the remote western region. Untouchable castes have been prohibited from their entrance into temples and other public places. For instance, the untouchables are not allowed to enter the fair held annually at Dehimandau in Baitadi district and open stalls. They have to sit outside restaurants and wash eating utensils. At many places there also exists the practice of sprinkling water for purification. Milk and milk products are not given to the untouchables to drink and eat.Untouchable boys and girls are discriminated even at public schools. They have to use separate pots for drinking water. They have also to sit separately in the class as ink is defiled with their touch.

With the advent of democracy in 1950, social discriminations started breaking down not because of any legal provisions but because of the high caste people's own initiatives. However, even this change could not abolish untouchability. Though public places were opened to low caste people in some places, the situation remained unchanged to a large extent. There has been made a legal sanction in the civil code against untouchability; however, it has turned out to be meaningless since its violation is not liable to any specific penalty.

In West Africa, the Osu caste system in Nigeria and southern Cameroon, can be traced back to an indigenous religious belief system, practiced within the Igbo nation. It is the belief of many Igbo traditionalists that the Osus are people historically owned by deities, and are therefore considered to be a 'living sacrifice', an outcaste, untouchable and sub-human. People regarded as modern-day Osu in Igboland are descendants of individuals who volunteered and were sacrificed to the various gods. These fore-fathers pledged themselves and their descendants to these gods. They enjoyed protection and privileges but were segregated from ordinary people. Osu people married, fraternized and socialized among themselves. This practice continues to this day. An ordinary Igbo person would not marry or permit any of his relations to marry an Osu person. In the few instances where this has happened, the non-Osu who married the Osu became infested and was from then on regarded as Osu.

The East African caste system in Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Congo it is known as ubuhake. The Tutsi, who comprise about 15% of the population of these areas were the ruling, Cattle-owning caste. Below them were the Hutu, the farmers who made up about 80% of the population. Fewer than 3% of the population are Twa or Pygmies. During the German authorative control over Rwanda and Burundi, the authorities reinforced the system by employing Tutsis in hegemonic (dominating, leaders) roles. The Belgian colonialists who succeeded them after World War I continued this policy, instituting 'ethnic' identity cards. After independence, tensions intensified. In 1972, Tutsis were responsible for a wholesale massacre of Hutus. In the 1990s, Hutus responded with counter-massacres. See our posts on the Rwandan Genocide to find out more (in the posts for Rwanda under 'around the world...').

While many of the discrimination towards 'untouchables' and other 'low' castes is similar to the discrimination of ethnic minorities under white people in the west, the disturbing difference is that the discrimination against so-called 'untouchables' IS STILL HAPPENING. Imagine it. Martin Luther King's dream never happened. Equality never happened. There are still signs outside shops saying "No Dogs, No Negroes". For that to still exist in the 21st century would be unacceptable and unthinkable so why is it any different for castes? I personally think a lot of it is ignorance. We simply don't know what's going on. Even I am guilty. I had heard the term 'untouchable' many times but, never knowing what it was, assumed it was an insulting name for people with leprosy or something like that. I knew a lot about the Rwandan genocide but never realised that it wasn't just a one-off situation. This post only contains a raindrop of the ocean of countries across the globe with castes and caste systems.

It can be easy to shrug and say 'what can we do?' but something CAN be done. There have been many countries like Korea, Hawai, Japan, Spanish America and England that used to have castes systems and don't any longer. There are also countries like Bali that have castes systems but there are no 'untouchables' and there is mobility within the castes so one family can contain many castes and they can marry one another. This discrimination is wrong and the first step to beating it is telling everyone its out there, its wrong and we aren't going to accept it. Tell some friends, work with the charities and touch an untouchable.

Information from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_India#Modern_status_of_the_caste_system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste-related_violence_in_India

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepalese_caste_system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_Africa

Osama Bin Everywhere: The Many Faces of Everywhere

(Image from Osamaloves.com: Osama the schoolboy,5, from Morroco who loves his chick)

There are 1.4 billion Muslims in the world, but many people are only able to name one: Osama Bin laden. Creator of this documentary, British born Pakistani Muslim Farrah, set out to prove that not all muslims are terrorists with the help of her fellow muslim friend Masood. They travelled around the world for 50 days meeting people of different cultures with different problems and different passions but they all have one thing in common: they are all called Osama.

While the day that changed the USA was 9/11, the UK changed after the 7/7 bombings in 2005, where bombs exploded on 3 underground trains and a double decker bus. It was a day that rocked the UK and, in particular, London. Before we had been watching terror attacks on the news, now we were having attacks on us. It was one of the moments where you can remember where you were. Robyn, 18, was in the waiting room of the orthodontist and on the radio they were saying something has happened on the trains although it isn't clear yet they thought there had been some kind of major power cut and later found out the double decker bus had exploded outside her fathers office in Tavistock Square, London. Farrah took the bombings as a personal attack on her home and when she heard that the people who did it were the same ethnicity, religion and linguistic background as her, it was "a bitter pill to swallow". The suicide bombers were British Muslim men, three of Pakistani descent and one of Jamaican. Now she feels angry that extremists have stolen the limelight and has had enough of being pidgeon-holed into being extremist terrorists.

Her idea was to go around the world, meeting Osamas, finding out what they love and proving to the world that not all Muslims are terrorists. She began in the UK with Osama 37 from Worchester, UK who loves hip hop and Osama, 17, an A Level student from Warwick that loves innovative web design. She then posted these onto www.osamaloves.com where other people with the name Osama can post what they love.

The first country the pair travelled to was Nigeria, West Africa where 50% of the population are Muslim. They first try to meet an Imam called Osama but on the way, he becomes suspicious of their motives and decides to pull out. Slightly frustrated, they hit a local market and try to find someone and they meet a tailor called Osama who says that he thinks they are doing this programme to “enlighten America and perhaps the whole world the name Osama is just a name and doesn’t belong to a terrorist”. This Osama is 23 and loves footballer Ronaldo. They find another working right next door that loves tea. Word spreads and the osamas just keep coming. They find one that loves his chickens, a blacksmith that loves football team Man United, a goat herder that loves football team Arsenal, a tanner that loves football player Wayne Rooney and one that loves Nigeria. It soon becomes clear that the country is football mad, particularly for British football teams. She also meets a musician called Osama "bin Music", who made it his stage name after the famous bin laden. His favourite music is dancehall and he loves Beenieman. In the UK, Farrah says that many believe music and Islam don’t mix, but in Nigeria Osama says that there is no problem: "Islam allows singing, songs were sung in front of the prophet but he laid down rules that a woman is not supposed to reveal her body, a man is not to touch a woman while he is singing and the song should convey a message that will benefit the listener not something that would corrupt their minds or lead them astray". Going on from this, Farrah then goes to meet an Osama who was a judge responsible for shutting down the Nigerian film industry under Sharia law. He said that “the ban was correct because these kinds of films don’t teach anything. Drama should teach people something. Teach them what to do and what not to do. These thinsg are just a copy of what goes on in Europe. Theyre just dancing and singing and romance... These kinds of pleasures teach bad things... Those from the west taught us how to commit burglary and to break into a womans room and rape her. Thats how we learnt those things. ” Farrah says his judgements about western culture seem “a little farfetched” but back home in the UK many people share his views, with parents thinking their children are becoming “too westernised” and losing their traditional values. From Nigeria, they met 19 total Osamas.

They next went to Cairo, capital of Egypt. The country has a 75 million population and 90% of them are muslim. Osama is an Arabic name which, loosely translated, means young lion, and in these parts the name is as common as John or James is in the west. It is so common that to find an Osama, all they have to do is walk in the street and yell the name. Doing so, the first Osama they meet is 23, works downtown and loves his fiancée. Next they meet an Osama who is an air traffic controller that loves peace. He went to America before 9/11 and then after he changed his name to Sam. When people in the west hear his name is Osama and that he is an air traffic controller, they do not trust him because of his name. They meet more Osama’s that love the internet, their mum, Egypt, foreigners, laughing, their neighbours, investing, a girl (its a secret), Kebab, black Sabbath and a seven year old that loves bananas. Talking about her time in Egypt, Farrah says “I’ve not meant any extremists... not a single person who said it was right to blow up the twin twoers or bomb London". While there on a Saturday night, the whole of Cairo came to a halt, as a football match is on and the country is also football mad. The star player of one of the football teams is called Osama. Farrah meets him and asks him about being a role model and he says “its definitely a responsibility. Not only when im playing but everything outside football as well. The way I am wuith my friends when im on tv and when im playing. Im not doing this for myself its between me and God. God will reward me for that – this is what Islam is about.” He recorded a tape of the Qu’uran which was very successful and they gave the income to poor people. He loves scoring goals. One of Farrah's observations is was that in the west, it would be rare to find a football player that you could go to for religious guidance. The next Osama they met was Osama Mounir, who famously tackles the taboo subjects of sex and love on the radio. He loves love. When he first began his radio show, he couldn’t believe how many people were listening and became an overnight celebrity. He even has listeners calling from America and Europe. His voice is now the most recognisable in the Arab world, with deep gravly tones similar to Barry White. This Osama is actually a Christian. When asked what he would do if a girl called saying she was Muslim and wanted to have a relationship with a Christian, he said he would tell her not to do it because it would cause so many problems. In their community they have to have the blessing of the family and no one would bless the marriage. Farrah admitted she was disappointed by this advice after all the pressure she feels to marry a nice Muslim boy but would prefer to just let love choose. In Egypt they met 57 Osamas including ones that love the sahara, their girlfriend and horses.

The next country that Farrah and Masood were meant to go to was Pakistan, but they haven't yet given them filming permission so they cannot go there. Farrah said she is "actually embarrassed of the obstacles we've met... we're trying to do a good thing".

Instead, they next go to Indonesia in the far east. It is home to more muslims than anywhere else in the world: 200 million. The first Osama they meet is a little boy who was originally born in Leeds, England on the 11th September 2001: the day of the terrorist attacks. He loves riding his bicycle. Talking to his father, they are told that he was named Osama before any of this happened. He told the midwife he would name him Osama and she said “oh very good, that’s nice” but when he was going home, "she never smiled again". He was born hours before the first plane struck the towers. Osama's father says that he doesn't think Osama will have problems in the future: “it depends on Allah”. They next meet an Osama that owns over 400 goats and sells the milk all over the city. He loves martial arts. She also meets Osamas that love manga, an engineer that loves his days off and one that loves intelligent women. They meet 75 Osamas in total.

Next they go to Toronto, Canada. It has the highest number of Muslims of any north American city. They have had a lot of press interest for the documentary, with them getting onto national news almost as soon as they arrive. Very soon after being on the news, the Osamas get in touch. They first meet one that moved from Sudan to Canada. Osama says that Canada is very accepting and he thought that "there were would be more problems than there were". He loves acceptance. They also meet an Osama originally from Pakistan and he too feels very welcome in the country but for his parents it was difficult as every step he took towards the Canadian culture, they saw as a negative step: his hair style, his music, his clothes. His parents have a fear of him drifting from their culture to the western. He loves sandy beaches. Looking back at the website Osama loves, Farrah and Masood see there was an Osama, a writer from USA that loves global dialogue and say that he is the perfect example.

Farrah talks about the importance of getting permission to go to Pakistan because it is being associated with the training and recruiting of terrorists and “its name is becoming mud, and that hurts me”. They do manage to get the filming to go to Pakistan. They arrive on the eve of independance day, the biggest night of the year. They meet an Osama who was a newsreader from London at the time of the bombings and was on the way to work at the time and was evacuated from the station. When he found out British Pakistanis were responsible he didn’t want to believe it but also thought “oh crap, now its us who are going to suffer” because everybody is naturally going to think that everyone coming from Pakistan is coming with the notion of blowing London up. He says that “terrorism and Islam are 2 things completely apart”. They go to meet Masoods family in the town of Lahore and his cousin called Osama who was born 2 months after 9/11. Masood is worried his uncle named his cousin after Osama bin laden. When they ask him why he chose that name he says that “there was a guy at his school called Osama who was very intelligent” and says that he didn’t name his son after Osama bin Laden. He says “nowadays everywhere in Pakistan there are bombings. Everyone is frightened even in Lahore we are frightened. I work in the areas that bombs are going off. When my family hear of a bombing they are so worried... no one can stand their family being harmed”. Back at the hotel they are met with devasting news that a suicide bomb has rocked Lahore. Farrah says “it sickens me... the timing of it... the eve of independence day, the one day of the year the ordinary Pakistani can celebrate and be joyful and they do this at midnight”. In the first three months of 2008 over 600 civilians died in blasts around Pakistan. Masoods friend Jerad talks about how they are becoming an everyday occurrence “we are the ones who are paying in this world... it hurts us a lot when people are saying that we are terrorists. This is so painful, you have to fight tears when you hear it. We are victims not terrorists.” After talking to Jerad, Farrah says “there is no mistake who is taking the brunt of this war on terror”. Despite the earlier bombing, later that night everyone is out in the street celebrating independence day and Farrah says she is “so proud to be Punjabi and have a heritage in this region. The resilience is astonishing”. It reminds her of how Londoners picked themselves up after 7/7 and refused to let the bombers have their way.

When Farrah and Masood went back home, they invited Osamas from all over the UK to help them celebrate. They had ones that love reading, love, playing chess, football, a 57 year old entrepreneur that loves meatballs and a 13 year old that loves his name. Farrah says that she set out to prove that not all Muslims are the same but she wasn’t expecting just how different they all are: Nigerian Muslims are different from Egyptian Muslims and both are different from British Muslims. Nevertheless there was one thing that this journey had made Farrah sure of: “How can anyone look at those faces and think that those people are associated with terrorists and violence?”

If you live in the UK you can watch this documentary at:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/osama-bin-everywhere/4od

People all over the world can visit:

www.osamaloves.com

What do you think of peoples prejudice towards Muslims? Are you Muslim? Leave a comment and let us know!

Today's Celebrations February 26!

Today is...

Liberation Day in Kuwait

Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet) in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, Yemen