AIDS And Retroviruses Essays - HIVAIDS, Molecular Biology

AIDS And Retroviruses Today, tens of millions of people around the world are going to die young because they are infected by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The primary AIDS virus is HIV-1, which can be spread via sexual intercourse or drug use (activities, which result in body fluid exchange like blood and semen). HIV can also be passed from mother to child and can also be acquired during blood transfusions. AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is a virus that causes a loss of protection against disease causing microorganisms. People who are infected by AIDS usually have a decline in the number of T-cells that are responsible for their immune system. Because the virus reproduces by a reversed transcriptase enzyme, it can quickly make a copy of its virus and so, it is difficult to treat with its infinite reproductions. However, scientists have now came up with a combination of drug called "cocktail drugs" to slow down the development of the virus in different life cycles. Introduction HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a disease that merits international concern, study, and research. The diseases that infect individuals over the world are causing theme to lose the functionality of their immune system and finally succumb to one or more opportunistic diseases. AIDS viruses are unbelievably small particles, invisible under an ordinary microscope, but observable with an electron microscope. All the viruses are tiny packets of genetic material, composed of either DNA or RNA and are surrounded by a protective envelope of protein. HIV belongs to a group of especially tricky viruses called retrovirus. It reverses the usual flow of genetic information within the host cell. Retroviral RNA is copied, using its reverse transcriptase enzyme, into a complementary single strand of DNA. This single-strand retroviral DNA is then copied into double-stranded retroviral DNA inside the cell's cytoplasm. This retroviral DNA migrates into the host cell's nucleus and becomes integrated into the host cell DNA. It is then a provirus. (Hyde & Forsyth, 1996) 1.0 Retroviruses 1.1 History There are two strains of HIV, HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is the more prevalent form and also the one that causes the greater pathology. HIV-2 is a lesser found strain that is endemic to countries in West Africa. Presently, the majority of those infected with HIV are infected with the HIV-1 strain. When the infection progresses, the patient is diagnosed with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The first well-documented case of AIDS was found in San Francisco and New York in 1981. A young gay man in San Francisco was found to be suffering from a severe fungal infection to which he had little immune reaction. In fact, his immune system did not appear to respond to any disease. Then he developed Pneunocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), a type of pneumonia that is caused by parasite. This disease is usually found only among severely malnourished individuals or people whose immune systems have been impaired by drugs such as those used in the treatment of cancer or in connection with organ transplants. The young man died by the end of the year. Retroviruses are classified into many different categories, but Lentivirus is responsible for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). (Armstrong, 1990) 1.2 T-Cells A characteristic feature of AIDS is the progressive decline in the number of circulating CD4 T lymphocytes . Various strains of HIV are cytopathic for cells from cultured CD4 cell lines suggesting that direct killing, among other mechanisms, may contribute to depletion of CD4 T-cells in HIV-infected persons. Cell killing may also be involved in other aspects of HIV pathogenesis, including the induction of neurological dysfunctions. The molecular events that mediate HIV-induced cytopathology have not yet been elucidated, although env gene products have been implicated by many lines of evidence. Studies funded in the previous years of this grant indicate that HIV, like several other cytolytic viruses, mediates changes in plasma membrane-associated ion transport systems. Scientists proposed studies focus on defining HIV proteins, which mediate the changes in ion flux. Their study found out that one of the HIV proteins may be involved is the transmembrane protein (TM). Among the regions of TM, there are carboxyl terminal sequences involved. These sequences have the potential to form a strongly amphipathic helix enriched in arginine, a motif shared with monovalent cation channels. HIV also have affects the potassium and sodium ion transport systems. (Armstrong,1990) 1.3 Structure of AIDS virus There is considerable diversity between various types of retrovirus; the following is a generalized description of the particle. There is a universal nomenclature for retrovirus proteins: Protein Function Matrix matrix protein (gag

From Little Acorns Grow Mighty Physical Education Essays Essays

From Little Acorns Grow Mighty Physical Education Essays Essays From Little Acorns Grow Mighty Physical Education Essays Paper From Little Acorns Grow Mighty Physical Education Essays Paper Subject: Child AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN IRELAND. The Mental Health Act 2001, became jurisprudence on 1 November 2002 and along with subsequent Acts of the Apostless 2006 and update in 2009 should hold guaranteed the betterment of attention for those sing and affected by mental wellness. The debut of this Act meant that any determinations made refering the attention and intervention of a individual affected by mental wellness, should be made in their best involvement and that respect should be given to other individuals that may be deemed at hazard if a determination was non to be made of serious injury ( HSE, 2010 ) . The undermentioned essay will concentrate on the mental Health Services presently available to kids and striplings and why these services despite the purposes and aspirations of the above Act, can frequently be referred to or seen as the Cinderella service, ( Women s Mental Health Council,2010 ) . A faery Tell, a fictional narrative non ever with a happy stoping for those who rely on it. Whilst turning up most kids will demo stray and ephemeral emotional perturbation and/or behavioral troubles, of these kids, some may endure from a degree of perturbation that may in bend interfere with the normal developmental procedure and some signifier of intercession may be deemed necessary. : Mental wellness is defined by the universe Health Organisation 2001, as a constituent of wellness through which an person realises their cognitive, affectional and rational abilities, with good mental wellness a individual is more effectual with get bying with life s stresses/work fruitfully and do a positive part to one s community. ( Share and Lalor, 2009 ) . Harmonizing to the Health Service Executive it is estimated that one in four/five people will see mental wellness jobs in their life-time. ( HSE,2010 ) . The universe Administration 2001, reports that 20 per cent of 15 twelvemonth olds or younger throughout the universe at some point will see mild to severe mental wellness troubles, , but besides states that many of these will stay untreated because/due to the deficiency of services ( Share and Lalor,2009 ) . Many working groups and studies have been improved or implemented since the 2001 Mental Health Act, including the kid and Mental Health Service Report 2009-1010, a Vision for alteration 2006, the specializer Child and Adolescent Mental Health Advisory Group 2009, mental Health Commission 2002, and the Mental Health Expert Advisory Group. A Vision for Change presently in its 5th twelvemonth was launched by Mary Harney the so T A ; aacute ; naiste and Minster for Health and Children in 2006, prior to the recession or recent authorities crisis. This vision was so adopted as the formal national policy for the proviso of mental wellness services and was endorsed by patients advocators for patients and the mental wellness professional community. This vision was to advance a individual centered recovery orientated and holistic attack to mental unwellness and that the programme was to be funded from the sale of preexistent mental wellness lands and belongingss ( HSE, 2010 ) , including the sale and closing of 15 Victorian infirmaries promised by John Moloney during his statement to the House of the Oireachtas on 23 March 2010. Although it would be far to besides add that he did non print a clip line or budget program. The Child and mental Health service ( CAMHS ) have duty for the development of mental wellness services for kids and adolescents up until a younger grownup reaches 18 old ages of age There purpose is the development of 90 nine multi-disciplinary CAMHS squads, of which 50 five are already in topographic point, fifty community squads, to twenty-four hours hospital squads and three pediatric infirmary affair squads in add-on to other recommendations. With so much support being available to organize and implement so may groups and studies betterment should be huge. Deputy John Moloney the so Minister of State during his statement to the House of the Oireachtas on 23 March 2010, is recorded as saying that 70 per cent of mental wellness troubles begin in the kid and adolescent old ages, and that despite the economic down bend that advancement is being maintained in relation to mental wellness services an illustration of these betterments was the doubling of available inpatient beds from the minimum figure of 15 to the tremendous figure of 30 inmate beds, to cover the full population of 20 six counties in a state where the population harmonizing to the 2006 figures from the cardinal statistics office was recorded as being 4,239,848 of which 864,449 were aged between nothing and 14 ( Central Statistics Office, 2010 ) . The failure of mental wellness services available to Children and striplings has been highlighted in recent old ages with newspaper headlines foregrounding the usage of grownup psychiatric wards being used to suit kids every bit immature as 14. Harmonizing to newspapers such as the Belfast Telegraph on 7 October 2010 over one 100 adolescents enduring mental unwellness were admitted to adult psychiatric units during 2010. The graduated table of the job emerged after four adolescents over a few twenty-four hours period were admitted to the same mental wellness service unit at Waterford regional infirmary. It was noted that of the 100 adolescents forty three were under 17 old ages of age and the staying 50 seven were under 18. It was fortunate that at the clip this entrees occurred the amendment to the mental wellness ordinances had non come into force, and was non considered a breach of mental wellness ordinances, from December 2010 the age bound for preventing admittances to adults un its was increased to seventeen and this is due to be raised once more from 1 December 2011 to eighteen. ( Belfast Telegraph,2010 ) . Despite these Numbers 2010 really showed a lessening in kids and striplings being admitted to adult units, harmonizing to Amnesty International, in 2009 two 100 people were admitted to adult units and in 2008 this figure was two 100 and 40 seven. The figure of Children and striplings being admitted to adult units may be diminishing but the existent figure really being admitted to inmates units continues to lift, during the first nine months of 2010, sixty three per cent of immature individual s being treated for mental wellness conditions were admitted to child and adolescent units an addition of 19 per cent on the 2009 figures. This harmonizing to the Department of Health and Children is expected to go on to increase with the gap of the two new 20 bed units in both Cork and Galway ( section of Health and Children.2010 ) . Prior to the execution of the Vision of Change the age cut off age between kids and grownup services was 16 old ages. These additions occurred despite the purposed move off from the infirmary based theoretical account and towards more attention in the community and within the clients ain place ( HSE, 2010 ) . Improvements despite nevertheless minimum are still betterments, from small acorns turn almighty oaks. The HSE published its 2nd one-year study on Child and Mental Health Services on 23 November 2010, This study highlights that within the twelvemonth 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010 7651 new instances were seen by the CAMHS squads and of these new instances 47 per cent were seen within one month and 69 per cent within three months of the initial referral ( HSE,2010 ) . This study states that waiting lists have decreased by 9.5 per cent stand foring a lessening of 247 individuals compared to the study besides acknowledges that despite this lessening 2370 kids and striplings still await assignments. These 2370 immature grownups all with households, parents, callings, siblings, equals, instructors all waiting an assignment all perchance affected by behaviour jobs of some sort, all indirectly expecting aid to some grade, and all trusting for a positive results. These immature grownup s await assignments despite the fact that the UN Convention on the Rights of the kid states that Governments and relevant subordinate organic structures of province have a duty to take all available steps to guarantee that kids s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled ( ACAMH,2008 ) .. The exact figure of these that could be considered at hazard despite the purposes of the 2001 Mental Health Act remain unknown. Despite apparently little betterments or what the HSE see as a broad scope of community based services such as outpatient clinics, medium support groups places, residential units and acute admittances wards etc. , ( HSE,2010 ) . Orla Barry manager of the Mental Health Commission states that cuts in staffing, edifices unfit for use/purpose, funding cutbacks, deficiency of conformity with basic criterions and with no meaningful programs to drive reform that the HSE is non presenting on its promises ( Amnesty International,2010 ) . Orla Barry besides states that mental wellness disbursement is at its lowest degree in modern history and that over half of the staff cuts in 2010 were from mental wellness which represented nine per cent of the Health service Executive work force ( Healthrisk,2010 ) . Dr Teresa Carey, Inspector of Mental Health Facilities besides paints a subdued position of the mental wellness system and provinces that cardinal to the bringing of effectual mental wellness s ervices is the ability to garner, analyse and manage information, but describes the information capablenesss of the Irish mental wellness service as primitive which has further deductions for the allotment of resources and make up ones minding of staffing degrees ( SIPTU NURSING, 2006 ) This essay will reason that despite recorded betterments to the mental wellness Servicess or the good purposes of all the studies and working groups. Purposes are lone purposes, more evidently needs to be done, for those who merely by age entirely irrespective of the mental wellness job they are sing, are one of the most vulnerable sectors of society and are unable to recommend for themselves. A waiting list regardless of size is still a waiting list. These immature grownups can be sing different grades of mental damage from depression to consider self-harm, and the demand for betterment can merely be enforced, with the Child and mental Health service ( CAMHS ) really saying that good results are most likely if the kid or stripling and their household or carer have entree to seasonably well-coordinated advice, appraisal and grounds based intervention ( HSE,2010 ) . Word Count excepting headers: 1648

Desition making Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Desition making - Case Study Example Operating several subsidiaries expanded production in the market. Steve Rendl, the assistant accountant manager for the Commercial Equipment Financing Division of GE Capital Canada, reviewed a loan request for $270,000. Rendl had to decide on the loan request then pass it for approval by the senior account manager (Silk and Grasby 135). The loan issued to the tune of $30,000 to $1 million to purchase transport trucks, trailers, paving equipment and heavy machinery. The company was under duress to make much profit applying the selling strategy of find, Win, and Keep new and existing clients. The company’s client Clark Carriers Ltd intended to purchase two new Freightliner transport trucks, and four new 53-foot trailers and mobile satellite by submitting the loan request. The company had a large customer base in North and Latin America, Europe as well as Asia-Pacific region. With the net earnings of over US$15 billion, Capital was the major competitor in every market field achieving record net earnings of US$3.6 Billion. The Company expects 20 percent after –Tax profit from its subsidiaries, and if the profit falls below 20 percent, there must be justification for that. The transportation industry in southern Ontario had been profitable from 1985 to 1988 until a massive recession in 1989.The Company faced numerous tribulations during the recession going bankrupt and lowering the prices to remain

Family Conditions And Child Treatment Research Paper

Family Conditions And Child Treatment - Research Paper Example Other than parental monitoring, there are also several other aspects of family functioning that influence the behaviour and thinking of the child and they are family relation characteristics like beliefs, cohesion and organisational structure. Studies have shown that low emotional warmth, lack of proper organisational structure, low beliefs and low cohesion levels are associated with delinquent behaviour (Gorman-Smith, p.170). More often than not, juvenile delinquents are individuals who come from broken home background (Siegel, p.74). These children either reside in single-parent households or in any other household in which their biological parents are not there. Intact family may be defined as a nuclear family arrangement in which both biological parents reside in the household with their biological children (Kierkus & Baer, 2002; cited in Murray, p.88). Two-parent arrangement in which a step parent is present, single-parent arrangements, extended family member arrangements and fo ster family arrangements do not fall under intact family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Association between broken homes and juvenile delinquency was studied as early as 1932 by Shaw and McKay (cited in Murray, p.88). These researchers reviewed literature pertaining to type of homes and delinquents and compared delinquents from intact homes and disrupted homes. In their review they opined that most of the studies pertaining to these had several limitations and that several other factors other than intactness of homes influenced development of juvenile behaviour.... Intact family may be defined as a nuclear family arrangement in which both biological parents reside in the household with their biological children (Kierkus & Baer, 2002; cited in Murray, p.88). Two-parent arrangement in which a step parent is present, single-parent arrangements, extended family member arrangements and foster family arrangements do not fall under intact family. Association between broken homes and juvenile delinquency was studied as early as 1932 by Shaw and McKay (cited in Murray, p.88). These researchers reviewed literature pertaining to type of homes and delinquents and compared delinquents from intact homes and disrupted homes. In their review they opined that most of the studies pertaining to these had several limitations and that several other factors other than intactness of homes influenced development of juvenile behaviour. Research from that period has questioned the influence of family intactness on development of juvenile delinquency. According to a rece nt study by Demuth and Brown (2000, cited in Murray, p.88), though broken homes are strongly associated with juvenile delinquency, the family arrangement are not just the broken home issue. This is because; there is enough evidence to suggest that the risk of juvenile delinquency is higher among teenagers residing with single fathers when compared to those residing in a 2-parent household. This probably is because of the decreased parental involvement in the former case. The researchers opined that the main factors which contributed to delinquency were lack of supervision from parent's side and absence of close relationship between the adolescent and his or her parents. Geismar and Wood (1986;

Organizational Culture and Leadership Change Essay

Organizational Culture and Leadership Change - Essay Example He is liked by each and every employee and all of them have great love and respect for him. He is a 'father' to them in the real sense. The performance of the company has been stable for the last decade, though in pure commercial terms it could have always done much better. Philip's approach was always based on elements of trust and collaboration where decision making appeared to be on basis of collective wisdom of the staff. The demands of the business have changed with the region being no more restricted by national boundaries. Coupled with these pressures was the failing health of Philip Mayor; which made him decide to hand over the management of the business to his only son Tony Mayor over a year back. Tony is a Commerce graduate with a Management degree from one of the prestigious universities of the U.S., but has very little experience. The transition from Philip Mayor to Tony Mayor has witnessed a sea change in the company. There has been more visible emphasis on discipline, systems, expectations of performance, change in workloads, change in style, change in structures, induction of modern technology and overall a change in approach to business with diminishing collective participation . A couple of loyal employees have been fired and some are under threat of losing their jobs. From the company performance side, Tony is determined to ensure that there is optimal return on investments made by the company and for which he is not prepared to compromise on any count. He is also considering seriously of inducting core professionals to provide a professional touch to the company which requires intense interaction with big clients both within and beyond the region. The whole employees of the company appear to be dissatisfied with the transition and one can feel the vibrations in everything that the employees do. Problem Statement Day in and day out and all around us, we see "organization" and "culture" dominating our discussions in our lives at home, at work and beyond. In the context of this case it is necessary to understand what is an organization Organization is about people, about other resources, the way people interact and the way they deal with other resources. It is a complex system built around human relationships, relationships between human and other resources and which are constantly under internal and external environmental influences. We can see that organizations are just not about resources and their combination; it is much more than that. It has life as it has people and it has a definite purpose, a definite code, a definite approach. Just coming together of people and other resources is not organization. In other words, organization essentially means and represents people. The next question that comes up is -What is culture It is fascinating so much as it is complex to understand! J. P. Lederach, in his famous book entitled 'Preparing for peace: Conflict transformation across cultures' defines culture as "the shared knowledge and schemes created by a set of people for perceiving, interpreting, expressing, and responding to the social realities around them" (Lederach 1995). The need for togetherness, interdependence, collaboration and sharing involves each one of us to have our own perception, beliefs and values in our quest for being understood, understanding others and mutually understanding. In this process,

GEs Talent Machine: The Making of a CEO | Analysis

GEs Talent Machine: The Making of a CEO | Analysis This assignment will critically evaluate BARLETT and MCLEAN GEs Talent Machine: The making of a CEO and Prokeschs How GE Teaches Teams to Lead. It will the lessons that can be learnt from General Electric (GE) and apply them to my organisation. GE is currently listed the 3rd largest business in the world (Adams, 2012), it is also ranked in the top 20 for other awards such as best company for leaders (Fig 1). GE operates globally in four areas: Technology Infrastructure, Energy, Capital Finance and Consumer Industrials. To understand GE a S.W.O.T analysis was undertaken (Fig 2), Stewart, Fletcher Barrett (SFB) is a small Nuneaton based business. Originally a firm of accountants, they now provide business services in Wealth Management, Human Resources and Marketing. With recent growth they now are opening a third office in Coventry. GEs Talent Machine: The making of a CEO Literature Review GE has always excelled over its competition, one is their ability to develop and uphold quality managers. Forbes showed that GE is the worlds best companies for leaders beating the likes of IBM and Microsoft. (Anonymous, 2012 ). What led GE to produce talented leaders was the emphasis they forced into developing quality leaders. GE has appointed twelve CEOs since Edison and many of them have contributed to management development which has helped GE to successfully maintain its growth in revenue and profit. Coffin, who succeeded Edison, devoted 20 years to creating a meritocracy within the organisation to reward employees promotions based on performance. In 2003, Coffin was named The Greatest CEO of all time by Fortune magazine (Collins, 2003). This went onto become the foundation of GE which went on to make GE a CEO factory. When Cordiner came into power, he thought it was best to decentralise GE, this increased the company management efficiency. Reg Jones increased the development of managers by strategic planning to a more formal structured approach, this served as an upgrade to Session C and the EMS reviews. When Welch took charge introduced the Work Out initiative which saw employees (over 200,000) meet for three days to discuss how their individual area of work could be made more efficient. Analysis The main reason for GEs constant business success is they use human capital as a competitive advantage, this combined with continues improvements in the training and development of staff created a culture for success. GE maintain being a revolutionary organisation; by hiring from within GE and always looking out for new management talent. The following points were analysed: Human Resource Management for Growth GE had devoted to a HRM Strategy by implementing new procedures and policies. This enabled them to uphold a healthy and vital pool of new managers. Butler (1988/89) identified this as a HR-driven model (Fig 4) which identifies HR as being the driving force to achieve business targets. Coffin who created a meritocracy-based culture used a well defined succession management process which became part of the GE culture. This process put performing employees in lower management positions, in a variety of industries. This was seen as a more Holistic model (Fig 4), which Torrington, D et al (2008) described this being where people of the organisation are recognised people as the key to competitive advantage rather than just the way of implementing organisational strategy. This process gave individual a defined career path, and clear goals, which in turn intrinsically motivated them as they could see their progression within the company. This particular performance oriented culture was extremely tough to uphold and apply in each business; however it shows the commitment GE has towards their human capital. Immelt concurred this by saying Unless you are really dedicated to a whole system, it doesnt work. (Barlett, C and McLean, N, 2006). Communication Even due to GEs size it could maintain uninterrupted communication with managers; this was helped by their clear structure that Cordiner had implemented. Immelt added additional channels of communication, such as conference calls and forums. This allowed employees from different industries around the world connect with ease. Recommendations The Vitality Curve The vitality curve is a rankings-based system and is now considered by GE employees to be apart of the companys meritocracy based culture. This is controversial to outsiders and complicated, relying on faultless incorporation of employee feedback, training and coaching. GE lost employees from the 70% range (Fig 3) to other companies such as the BankAmerica who had successfully recruited over 90 GE employees. Making the rankings more flexible would allow B Players to feel valued thus reducing de-motivation and increasing output. Immelt should consider expanding the top level or introducing an additional band of classification so that A Players are differentiated from B Players. GE should also consider a system of reward to all individuals achievement of the business; this will make majority of employees feel more rewarded for their efforts and also increase retention. Recruitment Immelt should focus on more international recruitment targeting the likes of Europe and Asia. Since 40% of GEs revenues are generated offshore this would also reduce the companys dependence in American for talent. GE can attract candidates by offering graduate programmes. GE previously had problems with MBA turnover in previous years, and similar issues offshore can be avoided if GE emphasising on its reputation as develop management talent. This would bring positive diversity to the business. Cameron K, 2011, states there are three types of positive outcomes; intergroup equality, positive intergroup relations and positive group outcomes. Executive Brands Having seven executive bands causes employees, particularly in international locations, to believe that promotional opportunities were limited. In business cultures such as India, status is highly valued. To them this would be a psychological reward, this is a process that reinforces behaviour something that, when offered, causes a behaviour to increase in intensity (Wilson, T. 2003). GEs should think consider adapting to provide employees with psychological reward and also acknowledgment in these areas of cultural variation. What has been learnt? GE has pioneered the business world and human resource methods. For GE to survive it must uphold its flexibility. GE recruiting and human resource approach needs updating as it has been the same for many years and hasnt evolved with the times. The change GE has gone through has been successful and unsuccessful in the following ways: Meritocracy GE staffs are still motivated intrinsically by results, goal setting and promotions, due to employees having common goals it caused a team working environment. Tuckman describes this stage as the performance stage, this is described as when the team share pride in what they are doing, they focus on the objectives and enormous energy occurs in completing the task. (Clayton, M, 2009) The vitality curve This is apart of the GE culture and Welch decided the best way to retain the staff that were leaving GE (the 70%) was to support people to strive to be in the top 20%; he did this by adding motivating factors which include aspects of the working environment such as rewards, training and also praise, supervisory practices. (Herzberg F, Mausner. B, 1993) Recruiting GE has always relied on internal talent to fill positions. Immelt recently hired externally when an internal candidate could not be found, hopefully this shift will open up GE to a much wider variety of talent which can have a positive effect on GE. Research by OReilly, Chatman Caldwell (1991) shows that new hires whose values fit well with the values of the organization and culture tend to adjust more quickly, feel more satisfied, and remain with the organization longer, this causes satisfaction increases, turnover is reduced and people are more productive. Communication Without effective communication on all levels GE would not be able to implement the changes it has go through such as reducing to seven executive bands and also implementing new business strategies. Immelt understood how vital effective communication was to the growth of the company in a global marketplace, and how it kept employees connected without geographic boundaries; this gave employees high levels of involvement with their jobs, made them more accessible and also made communication more effective. Executive Bands GE was going through a lean journey this is described as maximizing customer value while minimizing waste. Simply, lean means creating more value for customers with fewer resources (Beker, I. 2011). Reducing the 29 PLs was vital in saving money the cost saving opportunity was somewhere between $7 billion and $10 billion (www.pqa.net). The impact it had on the hierarchy resulted in their being less promotional opportunities which then effected the India as they were accustomed to promotions and the emphasis on job titles. This lean journey caused a lot of change which can distress employees; However Welch backed the Six Sigma program up with a strong rewards system to show his commitment to it which attracted GE employees attention. Conclusion For over a decade GE has led the industry, not only as a successful profitable organisation but also as an innovator. In this time, GE has shown its self to be flexible in identifying business opportunities (such as acquisitions) but also with a strong human resource dedication. By being the leader in innovation, GE isnt able to look at its competitors for guidance they must solve potential issues head on and alone. As the market is an ever changing environment they must continue to develop their staff and improve from within looking at gaps and development in its Human capital. How GE teaches teams to lead Literature Review In September 2006 GE launched Leadership, Innovation and Growth (LIG) program which ran for the next two years, the purpose of LIG was to make innovation and growth apart of GEs culture as Six Sigma had been under Jack Welch. Prokesch underpinned five principles that made the LIG at GE successful. (Fig 5) The following shows what the management team at GE Power went through at LIG training. Before attending the LIG, they were asked to assess three areas, they would updated their 3 year strategy, it would conduct a 360 review on its growth values and finally it they assessed creating innovative There scores were collated and given back to the managers at the intervals. The first step in training was to identify barriers, these included things such as identifying the levels of risk taking, idea support, involvement, conflict and debate. These barriers were discussed during intervals throughout the 4 days. In the first interval the team learnt their actual team scores for the 360 degree review of their growth values. This automatically made them reassess almost every part of their business. This also triggered the team to ask questions such as Were not as good at anticipating major trends as we ought to be and Is solar a good place to be? This time to reflect then generated insights in to their business Does GE not understand Government Policies This constant evaluation became an ongoing occurrence after each internal with the mangers constantly adapting and evolving their thought process. Analysis Transformational leadership is, according to Northouse, a process that changes and  transforms people. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals and includes assessing followers motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings. A transformational leader stimulates the followers by setting challenging goals and offering them support and motivates them to share the same vision and goals as the company (Bass and Riggio, 2006,). This was shown when the mangers were shown their scores and they had to reassess this motivated them as they asked themselves questions such as Were not as good at anticipating major trends as we ought to be. Northouse, 2007 suggests The Transformational Leadership Model only exists when these 4 factors are present: Factor 1: Idealised influence. This reveals the importance for high standards of morality and strong ethical conduct among leaders (Northouse, 2007). This concept is about leading by example. LIG did not present concepts related this, Instead, leaders and their departments were heavily monitored for demonstrating these behaviours prior to attending the training (Prokesch, 2009). The screening included variables that measured the leaders skill to grasp conflict, empower group members to try new approaches with their work, encouraging open communication and trust, and challenging group members in their work. Factor 2: Inspirational Motivation Here leaders inspire and motivating individuals through words and actions of encouragement (Northouse, 2007). The leaders learned the value for creating excitement and building loyalty and commitment among group members through individual attention. The training specifically included consideration for empowering and encouraging employees to experiment and develop new skills. Factor 3: Intellectual Stimulation Here leaders ability to motivate followers and the leader to challenge their values. LIG encouraged leaders to develop relationships and encourage honest conversations (Prokesch,2009). Trust and openness were valued traits presented to leaders in the training which were consistently measured over time. Factor 4: Individualized Consideration The LIG course encouraged leaders in specific departments to consider relationships among its followers; it also looked how leadership is provided to followers across a period of change. Fundamentally, transformational leadership focuses on the ever-changing relationships between leaders and followers (Northouse, 2007). The training also encouraged leaders to assist followers to become leaders in their own respective industry. Conclusion GEs alignment with the factors in the model suggested that many effective features existed in the LIG leadership-training course. The Transformational Leadership Model used in this study suggested that the combination of the four factors resulted in performance beyond expectations. The findings determine that the organization encouraged and trained leaders to demonstrate and use behaviours, tools, and techniques proven to be effective in leadership. Northouse (2007) presented substantial evidence in transformational leadership that had found the transformational leadership factors to be effective elements in leadership. This also meant that performance was seen by way of satisfaction and motivation among subordinates. The findings suggest that the LIG training course offered to leaders at GE effectively trains leaders I encouraging performance among group members.

The Fate of the True Woman in The Blithedale Romance Essay -- Blitheda

The Fate of the "True Woman" in The Blithedale Romance The female characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance, Zenobia and Priscilla, differ in their representations of womanhood. Zenobia begins as an independent character, whom later surrenders to Hollingsworth's control, whereas Priscilla is ever submissive to his desires. This determines how the male characters, Coverdale and Hollingsworth, view both women. Coverdale and Hollingsworth are first enamored by Zenobia's charm, but both fall for Priscilla's docility. Zenobia represents female independence and Priscilla embodies feminine subservience; the triumph of Priscilla casts the male vote in this novel unanimously for obedient women. Hollingsworth describes the True Woman: "She is the most admirable handiwork of God, in her true place and character. Her place is at man's side . . . All the separate action of woman is, and ever has been, and always shall be, false, foolish, vain, destructive of her own best and holiest qualities, void of every good effect, and productive of intolerable mischiefs [sic]! . . . The heart of true womanhood knows where its own sphere is, and never seeks to stray beyond it!" (Hawthorne 122-3). Zenobia falls short of Hollingsworth's definition of the True Woman. In the beginning of the novel, she is noted for being an intellectual, a writer. Such "separate action" as thinking and writing surely offends the True Womanhood. This betrayal reaches its pinnacle at Eliot's Pulpit, where she vows to speak "in behalf of woman's wider liberty" (Hawthorne 120). It is here that Hollingsworth describes the True Woman whom Zenobia is so very unlike. Priscilla, however, is the epito... ...sible ever to redeem them? (Hawthorne 124). However, by falling for Priscilla, a True Woman, he perpetuates the degradation of woman through the ideal of True Womanhood. Zenobia's failure to submit fully to the ideal of True Woman condemns her to unhappiness. "Everything had failed her-prosperity, in the world's sense, for her opulence was gone-the heart's prosperity, in love" (Hawthorne 239). According to Coverdale, herself, and much of society, there was nothing left for her to do but die. Priscilla, although a True Woman, is also doomed to such a fate. Zenobia laments Priscilla's fate, "...you have a melancholy lot before you, sitting all alone in that wide, cheerless heart, where . . . the fire which you have kindled may soon go out" (Hawthorne 220). Therefore, it appears that a woman of this time, True or otherwise, was condemned to a life of misery.

Muslim women do not receive equal treatment with men Essay

Some westerners think Muslim women do not receive equal treatment with men. In fact, the aim of Islam is quite the opposite.’ Examine and comment on this claim in the context of a multicultural society. Why is it that western consciousness perceives Islam in such deeply flawed terms? Why are negative images of Islam more prevalent than any others? Why is it still acceptable to say things about Muslims that would simply be deemed unacceptable of Jews, Christians, or Buddhists? That years of inter-faith dialogue have done little to advance a better understanding of the Islamic faith in the western world is an indication of how profoundly entrenched in the West misrepresentations and vulgar stereotypes of Islam are. The western society generally views itself as the source of women’s liberation, and feminists seem to have an obligation to broaden their rights to the eastern oppressed women. West sees the veil as a stumbling block and feels if they were to remove it would it would gain freedom for these women. These views have misunderstood the status of women in Islam and have been publicized in the media. Britain regards itself as giving equal rights to men and women Although in Britain latest studies have shown that men are paid more than women to carry out the same task. Surveys have shown that employers would rather employ men than women with the same qualifications. There are hardly any women politicians in comparison to men but Muslim women like Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh, have ruled over 300 hundred million Muslims in the 1990s and now is currently being ruled by another women. Benazir Bhutto had been the president of Pakistan. There has essentially never been a female president in the United States till this present time. The extent of a religion’s efficiency depends on what resolution to controversial issues like that of women is presented. Islam has provided the most practical outline of social organization, according to the natural and physical capabilities of both men and women. However other civilisations and faiths prior to Islam dealt with this matter as well, Aristotle and many other Greek philosophers argued that women were not fully human and this view was accepted in the catholic churches. St Thomas Aquinas another philosopher later put forward his view of the earlier Greek philosopher proposing that women were the traps of Satan. Every evil caused in humanity was likely from them. This idea was accepted throughout the middle ages. Men were the only ones who had rights before the law they could buy, sell and own a property. Up to this present time male Jews still recite,† Blessed art thou our lord, our God king of the universe that I was not born a female†(Alan Unterman, Jews: their Religious beliefs and practices,1981, page 140). Also in Judaism, the Talmud states â€Å"Woe to the man whose children are female† (Ibid, Page 133) In pre Islamic Arabia women were treated like commodities, object desire that were bought and sold like cattle. Some of them were even made to dance naked in the vicinity of the Kaaba during annual festivals. In those times a man could have as many wives as he desired and women were inherited if widowed from father to son. Arabs used to bury their female children alive at birth, and treat women as mere chattels and objects of sexual pleasure possessing no rights or position whatsoever, these teachings of the Noble Qur’an were revolutionary. Unlike other religions, which regarded women as being possessed of inherent sin and wickedness and men as being possessed of inherent virtue and nobility, Islam regards men and women as being of the same essence created from a single soul. The Qur’an declares: O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should you treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the dowry you have given them – except when they have become guilty of open lewdness. On the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If you take a dislike to them, it may be that you dislike something and Allah will bring about through it a great deal of good. (4:19) O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate, and from this pair scattered (like seeds) countless men and women. Reverence Allah, through whom you demand your mutual (rights), and reverence the wombs (that bore you); for Allah ever watches over you. (4:1) Spiritually men and women are equal. They are created out of identical spiritual material. (According to some old Christian’s thinkers) so therefore if women are sinful so are the men because they are identical. In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as their relationship to Allah is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur’an says: And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women. (2:226) The Qur’an, in addressing the believers, often uses the expression,’ believing men and women’ to emphasize the equality of men and women in regard to their respective duties, rights, virtues and merits. It says: For Muslim men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35) Enter into Paradise, you and your wives, with delight. (43:70) Who so does that which is right, and believes, whether male or female, him or her will We quicken to happy life. (16:97) The Qur’an admonishes those men who oppress or ill-treat women: The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) said, â€Å"Women are the twin halves of men.† The Qur’an emphasizes the essential unity of men and women in a most beautiful simile: They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them. (2:187) the ideal relationship between husband and wife is graphically described in the above verse. Just as a garment hides our nakedness, so do husband and wife, by entering into the relationship of marriage, secure each other’s chastity. The garment gives comfort to the body; so does the husband find comfort in his wife’s company and she in his. â€Å"The garment is the grace, the beauty, the embellishment of the body, so too are wives to their husbands as their husbands are to them.† Islam does not consider woman â€Å"an instrument of the Devil†, but rather the Qur’an calls her musanat – a fortress against Satan because a good woman, by marrying a man, helps him keep to the path of rectitude in his life. It is for this reason that marriage was considered by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a most virtuous act. He said: â€Å"When a man marries, he has completed one half of his religion.† He enjoined matrimony on Muslims by saying: â€Å"Marriage is part of my way and whoever keeps away from my way is not from me (i.e. is not my follower).† The Qur’an has given the raison d’à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tre of marriage in the following words: And among His signs is this that He has created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them; and He has put love and mercy between you. Verily in that are signs for those who reflect. (30:21) The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was full of praise for virtuous and chaste women. He said: â€Å"The world and all things in the world are precious but the most precious thing in the world is a virtuous woman. He once told the future khalif, ‘Umar: â€Å"Shall I not inform you about the best treasure a man can hoard? It is a virtuous wife who pleases him whenever he looks towards her, and who guards herself when he is absent from her.† On other occasions the Prophet said: â€Å"The best property a man can have is a remembering tongue (about Allah), a grateful heart and a believing wife who helps him in his faith.† And again: â€Å"The world, the whole of it, is a commodity and the best of the commodities of the world is a virtuous wife.† The Prophet (peace be upon him) was most emphatic in enjoining upon Muslims to be kind to their women when he delivered his famous khutba on the Mount of Mercy at Arafat in the presence of one hundred and twenty-four thousand of his Companions who had gathered there for the Hajj al-Wada (Farewell Pilgrimage). In it he ordered those present, and through them all those Muslims who were to come later, to be respectful and kind towards women. He said: â€Å"Fear Allah regarding women. Verily you have married them with the trust of Allah, and made their bodies lawful with the word of Allah. You have got (rights) over them, and they have got (rights) over you in respect of their food and clothing according to your means.† â€Å"One who makes efforts (to help) the widow or a poor person is like a mujahid (warrior) in the path of Allah, or like one who stands up for prayers in the night and fasts in the day.† These aspects were much emphasized by the Prophet (peace be upon him). He exhorted men to marry women of piety and women to be faithful to their husbands and kind to their children. He said: â€Å"Among my followers the best of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them dearly for everything, Islam, as a religion recognizes men’s and women’s role as different but, however it certainly does not regard them as superior or inferior than one or the other. Both roles are as important as each other. Islam has been designed to be flexible enough to be interpreted in a variety of ways to cover a variety of cultures, times, contexts, individual personalities. both men and women should dress (in public) in a manner that will de-accentuate their sexuality1. The Surah an-Nur says: Tell the believing men to lower their eyes and guard their private parts†¦ Tell the believing women to lower their eyes, guard their private parts and not display their charms except what is apparent outwardly†¦ (an-Nur 24:30-31). O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters, as well as all (other) believing women, that they should draw over themselves some of their outer garments (when in public): this will be more conducive to their being recognized (as decent women) and not annoyed. But (withal,) God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace! (al-Ahzab 33:59, Asad transl.) The spirit of this ayat is to dress in a manner that will signal ‘unavailability’. The reason why another ayat (an-Nur 24:60) is crucial in gaining a broad overview of the Qur’anic concept of appropriate dress is that it implies that women should wear in public more than what they would wear in private, in front of their ‘intimates’ – their families. So this leads to three basic ‘points’ in considering how to dress: a) the universal idea of de-sexualized dress b) the time and context specific concept of being identifiable as a Muslim c) that before she reaches old age (and preferably after) a Muslim woman should wear more in public than she would privately in front of family. As long as these three injunctions are met, there is a wide range of options open to the Muslim woman depending on the context of the society in which she lives and moves in public. Today, Muslim women’s dress has been politicized and carries with it many conflicting symbols and meanings; perhaps the most visible is the use of head covering as a confrontation against western colonialism. Muslim woman has to have the right and freedom to choose how she interprets her dress code. This fundamental acknowledgement of her instinctive ability to choose (or not) the path of Allah (swt) is more important than any type of specifics about what constitutes hijab (or appropriate covering of the body). Without this freedom to interpret Islam to the best of her ability (a part of which, of course, is seeking the informed opinions of knowledgeable Muslims in order to educate herself) she is not living up to her potential as a human being, and that is more fundamental than what clothes are being worn. As the Qur’an says: There is no compulsion in matter of faith. Distinct is the way of guidance now from error†¦ (Al-Baqarah 2:256, A.Ali translation) The queen of her house’, is the position a true believer is expected to give his wife. In contrast to these enlightened teachings of Islam in respect of women, Western talk of women’s liberation or emancipation is actually a disguised form of exploitation of her body, deprivation of her honor, and degradation of her soul! Islam has given the highest position to women on earth, while Europe and the west were wallowing in the dregs of degradation and savagery. Islam had accorded women a position of honour, respect, safety and love, which has not yet been matched to this day, let alone being superseded and excelled. When questioned about status one must consider Muslim women’s rights in the field of finance. A Muslim woman has the right to full ownership and disposal of wealth at will. This right was granted to her about 1423 years ago whilst Britain, women didn’t have this right untill1860s. Her father if she was unmarried must provide for a Muslim woman or by her husband if married; however rich she may be, she is not responsible for domestic expenses. This is one of many privileges given to women. The Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, ‘The searching of knowledge is incumbent for every Muslim (male and female).Women should pursue their education as far as it is possible. One of the main aims of acquiring knowledge in Islam is to become Allah-conscious. In the history of Islam there were women who were narrators of Hadith, mystics, scholars, writers, poets and teachers, in their own right. They utilized their knowledge within certain precepts of Islam. The west has fabricated many myths that Muslim women are not allowed to work. These myths have no basis in Islamic law. It is natural in Islamic societies for there to be a female doctors and teachers. However, she is not required to participate in trade, vocation or professions unless necessary. A woman must receive her husband’s approval in order to work, because he may feel that her work will cause her to neglect her matrimonial duties and care of the children Muslim women just like the men are prohibited from taking on jobs that sell her femininity to make money (dancing, prostitution, modeling etc) even if her husband doesn’t mind. Apart from those jobs that are prohibited in Islam all others are lawful. A women is entitled to equal pay of equal work of equal value, this concept was established by Islam centuries ago. Although a woman can inherit from her father, children and husbands when before Islam she could not inherit at all, the rate of her inheritance is half that of a man. In order to requisite this apparent unfairness, Islam gives women many privileges e.g. dowry which is obligatory and is her own. Quran says: â€Å"And give women their dowries as a free gift† (4:4) A woman has the right to choose who she marries and shouldn’t be forced to marry anyone with out her wish. She can even have her marriage annulled in a court of law if she can prove that her parents/guardians went ahead with it against her will. Yet there is a resounding silence when the issue being raised is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), honor killings, forced marriages, the unequal application of hadd punishments on women, or the denial of education to girls and women. All of these wrongs are perpetrated on women in the name of Islam. Genital mutilation for females is not allowed in Islam? Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him clearly prohibited mutilation or maiming of the body. While it is true that many of these violations occur across cultural and religious boundaries, the only action often taken by conservative Muslims is a condemnation of the action because it is â€Å"cultural† and not Islamic. Meanwhile, women continue to be murdered and little girls continue to be mutilated. Polygamy is a misunderstood phenomenon that is more a remedial law in Islam than anything else, used only if necessary. Monotheism is a norm in Muslim societies past and present, and one must remember that prior to Islam, men could have as many wives as they desired. so much that many women were deserted for long periods of time. The verse in the quran that legitimates polygamy was revealed after the battle of uhud, when many widows and orphans were left without care. Hence at the time polygamy was the answer. Although in some extreme circumstances e.g.when the wife is a barren, seriously ill, and mentally unstable or has a bad character. In these cases a man can marry again if he feels the presence of the second wife will benefit the wife, the children or him. However Islam insist that the man treat both wives equally in every aspect possible.The quran says: If you fear that you will not be able to deal justly with orphans, marry women of your choice , two or three or four; but if you fear that you will not be able to deal justly with them, then only one† (4:3) Islam recognizes that marriages are sacred and are a civil contract between husband and wife which should work or be dismantled if it ceases to do so. Although Islam permits divorce the prophet (pbuh) says: â€Å"Of all the things that Islam has permitted, divorce is the most hated by Allah†. This shows divorce shouldn’t be taken lightly. Divorce is a right mainly available to men (although a woman can demand to have it in a marriage contract). As well When Islam discusses the deficiencies of women; it is neither insulting them nor belittling them. Some men, unfortunately, do precisely that when they quote the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that women â€Å"have a deficiency in their intellect and their religion†. They take these words out of context as a means of oppressing women and putting them down. The Prophet (peace be upon him) meant something quite different. He said: â€Å"I have never seen among those who have a deficiency in their intellect and their religion anyone more capable than women of swaying the intellect of the most determined of men.† He is actually asserting here the power of women to influence men and sway their opinion. This is one of the distinctions that women, in their natures, have. He then went on to define precisely what he meant by these deficiencies. In the remainder of the hadà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½th, some women asked him: â€Å"O Messenger of Allah, what is this deficiency in our intelligence and religion?† He replied: â€Å"Isn’t it that a woman’s testimony as a witness is half of the testimony of man?† They said: â€Å"Yes.† He said: â€Å"This, then, is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn’t it true that when she is in her menses, she leaves off prayers and fasting?† They said: â€Å"Yes.† He said: â€Å"This is the deficiency in her religion.† Therefore to every male witness there need to be two female witnesses also because of their lack of knowledge and experience women are not preferred to be positioned as judges in Islam. There is no specific directive of the Shari`ah that prohibits a woman from leading prayers. Therefore, we cannot say that Islam prohibits a woman from leading prayers. The matter actually relates to the general practice of the Prophet (pbuh), which was subsequently followed by the Muslim leaders that followed the Prophet (pbuh). This practice of the Prophet (pbuh) as well as the Muslim leaders, who followed him, subsequently became a part of the social traditions of the Muslims. Thus, it is not a directive of the Shari`ah, but a part of the Muslim cultural tradition that men, rather than women should lead prayers. This gender-based distinction, it seems, has its basis on a few important facts. For instance, although the Prophet (pbuh) encouraged Muslim women to come to the mosques to offer their obligatory prayers with the congregation, yet it was not as strong a directive for them, as it was for the Muslim men. The nature and the variance of the Prophet (pbuh)’s directive has generally resulted in a lower number of Muslim women being present in mosques, as compared to men. In many places, women are not even seen (even in lower numbers) in mosques. Thus, especially when the over whelming majority of people present in mosques consists of men, it was natural that a man was appointed as the Imam to lead the prayers. Moreover, because the Imam holds a central position in the mosque and naturally becomes the center of attention for all those who are present, it seemed a better decision that a man, rather than a woman, be appointed for this position. We obviously do not have any control over the thoughts and emotions of all those present in the mosque. Thus, to keep the minds clear of any sexual thoughts, especially in the mosques, it was felt more appropriate to appoint a man as the Imam. These are a few of the points that have played a role in the general acceptance of this socio-cultural tradition among the Muslims. The matter, as I have stated earlier does not pertain to any prohibition of the Shari`ah. â€Å"Women are very capable of taking on any job previously monopolized by men,† said Ms Hindi, a former English literature student at a college in Mecca, her home town. Women not allowed to drive cars in Saudi Arabia because of the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia was made official only in 1990 after 47 women demonstrated against what was then a customary law by driving a convoy of cars in Riyadh. They were arrested and detained until male relatives signed undertakings that they would not violate the ban again. The ban was made official by a fatwa issued by the Council of Senior Ulama (religious scholars). â€Å"Women driving leads too many evils . . . included among these is her mixing with men without her being on her guard,† the fatwa said. â€Å"O Messenger of Allah, who is the person who has the greatest right on me with regards to kindness and attention?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your father.† In another tradition, the Prophet advised a believer not to join the war against the Quraish in defense of Islam, but to look after his mother, saying that his service to his mother would be a cause of his salvation. Mu’awiyah, the son of Jahimah, reported that Jahimah came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, † Messenger of Allah! I want to join the fighting (in the path of Allah) and I have come to seek your advice.† He said, â€Å"Then remains in your mother’s service, because Paradise is under her feet.† The Prophet’s followers accepted his teachings and brought about a revolution in their social attitude towards women. They no longer considered women as mere chattels, but as an integral part of society. For the first time women were given the right to have a share in inheritance. In the new social climate, women rediscovered themselves and became highly active members of society rendering useful service during the wars which the pagan Arabs forced on the emerging Muslim umma. They carried provisions for the soldiers, nursed them, and even fought alongside them if it was necessary. It became a common sight to see women helping their husbands in the fields, carrying on trade and business independently, and going out of their homes to satisfy their needs. â€Å"Among my followers the best of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them dearly for everything, save what is a transgression of Allah’s laws.† The Shari’ah regards women as the spiritual and intellectual equals of men. The Shari’ah requires a man, as head of the family, to consult with his family and then to have the final say in decisions concerning it. In doing so he must not abuse his prerogative to cause any injury to his wife. The word of the Prophet (peace be upon him), ‘the queen of her house’, and this is the position a true believer is expected to give his wife. In contrast to these enlightened teachings of Islam in respect of women, Western talk of women’s liberation or emancipation is actually a disguised form of exploitation of her body, deprivation of her honour, and degradation of her soul! Manji is lesbian and has adamantly argued that the condemnation of homosexuality by most strains of traditional Islam is at odds with Qur’anic doctrine that â€Å"Allah makes excellent everything which He creates.† Her partner is Michelle Douglas, a Canadian activist. Manji has been a vocal critic of orthodox Islam, especially that treatment of women by some Muslims. She does not wear a headscarf or chador whereas most traditional Muslim women do observe the hijab. She has criticized the Palestinian leadership and the opinions of some Muslims about Israel. WOMEN IN THE QUR’AN AND THE SUNNAH Prof. Abdur Rahman I. Doi Professor and Director, Center for Islamic Legal Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaira, Nigeria. In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as their relationship to Allah is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur’an says: And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women. (2:226) The Qur’an, in addressing the believers, often uses the expression,’ believing men and women’ to emphasize the equality of men and women in regard to their respective duties, rights, virtues and merits. It says: For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35) Enter into Paradise, you and your wives, with delight. (43:70) Who so does that which is right, and believes, whether male or female, him or her will We quicken to happy life. (16:97) The Qur’an admonishes those men who oppress or ill-treat women: The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) said, â€Å"Women are the twin halves of men.† The Qur’an emphasizes the essential unity of men and women in a most beautiful simile: They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them. (2:187) Just as a garment hides our nakedness, so do husband and wife, by entering into the relationship of marriage, secure each other’s chastity. The garment gives comfort to the body; so does the husband find comfort in his wife’s company and she in his. â€Å"The garment is the grace, the beauty, the embellishment of the body, so too are wives to their husbands as their husbands are to them.† Islam does not consider woman â€Å"an instrument of the Devil†, but rather the Qur’an calls her muhsana – a fortress against Satan because a good woman, by marrying a man, helps him keep to the path of rectitude in his life. It is for this reason that marriage was considered by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a most virtuous act. He said: â€Å"When a man marries, he has completed one half of his religion.† He enjoined matrimony on Muslims by saying: â€Å"Marriage is part of my way and whoever keeps away from my way is not from me (i.e. is not my follower).† The Qur’an has given the raison d’à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tre of marriage in the following words: And among His signs is this that He has created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility with them; and He has put love and mercy between you. Verily in that are signs for those who reflect. (30:21) The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was full of praise for virtuous and chaste women. He said: â€Å"The world and all things in the world are precious but the most precious thing in the world is a virtuous woman. He once told the future khalif, ‘Umar: â€Å"Shall I not inform you about the best treasure a man can hoard? It is a virtuous wife who pleases him whenever he looks towards her, and who guards herself when he is absent from her.† On other occasions the Prophet said: â€Å"The best property a man can have is a remembering tongue (about Allah), a grateful heart and a believing wife who helps him in his faith.† And again: â€Å"The world, the whole of it, is a commodity and the best of the commodities of the world is a virtuous wife.† The Prophet (peace be upon him) was most emphatic in enjoining upon Muslims to be kind to their women when he delivered his famous khutba on the Mount of Mercy at Arafat in the presence of one hundred and twenty-four thousand of his Companions who had gathered there for the Hajj al-Wada (Farewell Pilgrimage). In it he ordered those present, and through them all those Muslims who were to come later, to be respectful and kind towards women. He said: â€Å"Fear Allah regarding women. Verily you have married them with the trust of Allah, and made their bodies lawful with the word of Allah. You have got (rights) over them, and they have got (rights) over you in respect of their food and clothing according to your means.† â€Å"One who makes efforts (to help) the widow or a poor person is like a mujahid (warrior) in the path of Allah, or like one who stands up for prayers in the night and fasts in the day.† â€Å"O Messenger of Allah, who is the person who has the greatest right on me with regards to kindness and attention?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your mother.† â€Å"Then who?† He replied, â€Å"Your father.† In another tradition, the Prophet advised a believer not to join the war against the Quraish in defense of Islam, but to look after his mother, saying that his service to his mother would be a cause of his salvation. Mu’awiyah, the son of Jahimah, reported that Jahimah came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, † Messenger of Allah! I want to join the fighting (in the path of Allah) and I have come to seek your advice.† He said, â€Å"Then remain in your mother’s service, because Paradise is under her feet.† The Prophet’s followers accepted his teachings and brought about a revolution in their social attitude towards women. They no longer considered women as a mere chattels, but as an integral part of society. For the first time women were given the right to have a share in inheritance. In the new social climate, women rediscovered themselves and became highly active members of society rendering useful service during the wars which the pagan Arabs forced on the emerging Muslim umma. They carried provisions for the soldiers, nursed them, and even fought alongside them if it was necessary. It became a common sight to see women helping their husbands in the fields, carrying on trade and business independently, and going out of their homes to satisfy their needs. â€Å"Among my followers the best of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them dearly for everything, save what is a transgression of Allah’s laws.† The Shari’ah regards women as the spiritual and intellectual equals of men. The Shari’ah requires a man, as head of the family, to consult with his family and then to have the final say in decisions concerning it. In doing so he must not abuse his prerogative to cause any injury to his wife. The words of the Prophet (peace be upon him), ‘the queen of her house’, and this is the position a true believer is expected to give his wife. In contrast to these enlightened teachings of Islam in respect of women, Western talk of women’s liberation or emancipation is actually a disguised form of exploitation of her body, deprivation of her honour, and degradation of her soul! http://www.allaahuakbar.net/womens/rights_of_women_guaranteed_by_islam.htm A COLLECTION OF REFERENCES FROM THE QURAN AND HADEETH ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN GUARANTEED BY ISLAM Spiritual Equality of Women and Men Allah has got ready forgiveness and tremendous rewards for the Muslim men and women; the believing men and women; the devout men and women; the truthful men and women; the patiently suffering men and women; the humble men and women; the almsgiving men and women; the fasting men and women, the men and women who guard their chastity; and the men and women who are exceedingly mindful of Allah. (Al-Ahzab 33:35) Attitudes towards women O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may take away part of the dower ye have given them,-except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good. (An-Nisa 4:19) Collaboration and consultation The believing men and women, are associates and helpers of each other. They (collaborate) to promote all that is beneficial and discourage all that is evil; to establish prayers and give alms, and to obey Allah and his Messenger. Those are the people whom Allah would grant mercy. Indeed Allah is Mighty and Wise. (Al-Taubah 9:71) Women’s Right to Attend Mosques Narrated Ibn Umar: The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, â€Å"Allow women to go to the Mosques at night.† (Bukhari Volume 2, Book 13, Number 22) Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Do not deprive women of their share of the mosques, when they seek permission from you. Bilal said: By Allah, we would certainly prevent them. ‘Abdullah said: I say that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said it and you say: We would certainly prevent them! (Sahih Muslim Book 004, Number 0891) The Common Performance of Ablutions Narrated Ibn Umar: â€Å"It used to be that men and women would perform ablutions together in the time of the Messenger of Allah’s assembly.† (Bukhari: 1: Ch. 45, Book of Ablution) Women’s Right of Proposal Narrated Sahl: A woman came to the Prophet, and presented herself to him (for marriage). He said, â€Å"I am not in need of women these days.† Then a man said, â€Å"O Allah’s Apostle! Marry her to me.† The Prophet asked him, â€Å"What have you got?† He said, â€Å"I have got nothing.† The Prophet said, â€Å"Give her something, even an iron ring.† He said, â€Å"I have got nothing.† The Prophet asked (him), â€Å"How much of the Quran do you know (by heart)?† He said, â€Å"So much and so much.† The Prophet said, â€Å"I have married her to you for what you know of the Quran.† (Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 72) Women’s Right of Permission Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, â€Å"A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her; and a virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission.† The people asked, â€Å"O Allah’s Apostle! How can we know her permission?† He said, â€Å"Her silence (indicates her permission).† (Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 67) The Right of Women not to be Forced Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: Barira’s husband was a slave called Mughith, as if I am seeing him now, going behind Barira and weeping with his tears flowing down his beard. The Prophet said to ‘Abbas, â€Å"O ‘Abbas ! are you not astonished at the love of Mughith for Barira and the hatred of Barira for Mughith?† The Prophet then said to Barira, â€Å"Why don’t you return to him?† She said, â€Å"O Allah’s Apostle! Do you order me to do so?† He said, â€Å"No, I only intercede for him.† She said, â€Å"I am not in need of him.† (Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 63, Number 206) The Characteristics of a Believing Man Narrated AbuHurayrah: Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said: a believing man should not hate a believing woman; if he dislikes one of her characteristics, he will be pleased with another. (Muslim Book 8, Number 3469) The Education of Women Narrated Abu Said: A woman came to Allah’s Apostle and said, â€Å"O Allah’s Apostle! Men (only) benefit by your teachings, so please devote to us from (some of) your time, a day on which we may come to you so that you may teach us of what Allah has taught you.† Allah’s Apostle said, â€Å"Gather on such-and-such a day at such-and-such a place.† They gathered and Allah’s Apostle came to them and taught them of what Allah had taught him. (Bukhari Volume 9, Book 92, Number 413) On the Treatment of Women Narrated Mu’awiyah al-Qushayri: I went to the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) and asked him: â€Å"What do you say (command) about our wives?† He replied: â€Å"Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them.† (Sunan Abu Dawud: Book 11, Number 2139) â€Å"The best of you is one who is best towards his family and I am best towards the family†. (At-Tirmithy). â€Å"None but a noble man treats women in an honourable manner. And none but an ignoble treats women disgracefully†. (At-Tirmithy). A Husband’s Attitude ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) said that a man came to his house to complain about his wife. On reaching the door of his house, he hears ‘Umar’s wife shouting at him and reviling him. Seeing this, he was about to go back, thinking that ‘Umar himself was in the same position and, therefore, could hardly suggest any solution for his problem. ‘Umar (RA) saw the man turn back, so he called him and enquired about the purpose of his visit. He said that he had come with a complaint against his wife, but turned back on seeing the Caliph in the same position. ‘Umar (RA) told him that he tolerated the excesses of his wife for she had certain rights against him. He said, â€Å"Is it not true that she prepares food for me, washes clothes for me and suckles my children, thus saving me the expense of employing a cook, a washerman and a nurse, though she is not legally obliged in any way to do any of these things? Besides, I enjoy peace of mind because of her and am kept away from indecent acts on account of her. I therefore tolerate all her excesses on account of these benefits. It is right that you should also adopt the same attitude.† quoted in Rahman, Role of Muslim Women page 149 The Prophet’s Disapproval of Women Beaters Patient behavior was the practice of the Prophet, even when his wife dared to address him harshly. Once his mother-in-law- saw her daughter strike him with her fist on his noble chest. When the enraged mother -in-law began to reproach her daughter, the Prophet smilingly said, â€Å"Leave her alone; they do worse than that.† And once Abu Bakr, his father-in-law, was invited to settle some misunderstanding between him and Aishah. The Prophet said to her, â€Å"Will you speak, or shall I speak?† Aisha said, â€Å"You speak, but do not say except the truth.† Abu Bakr was so outraged that he immediately struck her severely, forcing her to run and seek protection behind the back of the Prophet. Abu Bakr said, â€Å"O you the enemy of herself! Does the Messenger of Allah say but the truth?† The Prophet said, â€Å"O Abu Bakr, we did not invite you for this [harsh dealing with Aishah], nor did we anticipate it.† quoted in: Mutual Rights and Obligations http://www.allaahuakbar.net/womens/women_sharia_and_oppression.htm A lot of attention has been focused on the issue of Muslim women and human rights since September 11, almost all of it by non Muslims. Once again, images of women swathed in black veils or blue burqas are de rigeur, as the media soberly reminds us that Muslim women are not considered equals to men in Islam, and that they are oppressed even by the moderate regimes in the Muslim world. From the Muslims, we have one of two reactions. The first is the reaction of the â€Å"liberal, reformist, secular† Muslims. They believe that Shari’a oppresses women, and that we need to completely overhaul it, or toss out sections of the Qur’an that are â€Å"uncomfortable,† or institute secular forms of government that separate the sacred from the legal all together. These are the same Muslims who equate Hijab with oppression, and who support the denial of free speech rights to â€Å"Islamists† (all the while, crying for their rights to free speech in countries where it is denied). They take their political thought not from Islamic sources, but from feminism, socialism, and capitalism. Naturally, it is to these Muslims that the Western media turns when it wants a â€Å"Muslim† perspective on â€Å"Muslim issues.† On the other side, we have the organizers of the mainstream conservative Muslims, the leaders of our civic societies, advocacy groups, and associations. When presented with instances of women’s oppression in the Islamic world, these Muslims, almost always men, respond defensively. They cart out examples of women’s oppression in the Western world, or worse, they address the issue by lecturing the questioner about the virtues of the Ideal Place of Women in Ideal Islam. In other words, they treat the ideal that we are all aspire to as the reality on the ground. Pressed into taking a stand on real life issues, they retreat in anger. â€Å"That’s culture, not Islam, it has nothing to do with me as a Muslim,† they sniff. Who speaks for them? Most often, it is the United Nations, human rights groups, and feminist organizations, led by people who have no foundations of knowledge in Islam, and who often have a real antipathy for Islam. While the Feminist Majority Fund was selling swatches of â€Å"burqa† and petitioning the government for action on behalf of Afghan women, the leaders of our Islamic societies stayed silent. Publicly, many Islamic leaders and organizations disassociated themselves from the Taliban, but other than denying them entry into the Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC), they took no action to petition the Taliban for change from an Islamic view, or form any sort of Islamic opposition. Perhaps this is because when any Islamic organization or individual Muslim attempts to change or speak out about injustices towards Muslim women, the rest of the community circles the wagons. These lone souls are labeled â€Å"radical feminists,† and accused of attempting to undermine Islam. Strangely, when a Muslim woman’s Islamic rights are violated, many organizations are eager to speak out and petition. For example, when Merve Kavacki was denied her seat in the Turkish Parliament because of her headscarf (and later stripped of her citizenship), Muslim groups were quick to condemn the Turkish government, as they should have. In many Western Muslim circles, Merve has been elevated to a symbol of the struggle muhajabat women face in secular societies. Yet there is a resounding silence when the issue being raised is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), honor killings, forced marriages, the unequal application of hadd punishments on women, or the denial of education to girls and women. All of these wrongs are perpetrated on women in the name of Islam. While it is true that many of these violations occur across cultural and religious boundaries, the only action often taken by conservative Muslims is a condemnation of the action because it is â€Å"cultural† and not Islamic. Meanwhile, women continue to be murdered and little girls continue to be mutilated. In Africa, conservative sheikhs teamed up with women’s rights advocates to educate people about the harms of Female Genital Mutilation. These people get very little mention in the Western media, which, of course, paints the â€Å"Islamists† as the opponents of an enlightened, secular minority of liberal Muslims. About a year ago, a small band of conservative Muslim women, almost all of us from the West, came up with the idea of starting a Muslim women’s human rights group, to petition and advocate for the rights of Muslim women as they are given in the Shari’a of Islam. Although slow to start, we have managed to form a basis from which to work, and have taken up our first case. Right now, a Muslim woman in Nigeria is under a death sentence from the Shari’a court for the crime of adultery. The situation came to the attention of the authorities when the man who impregnated her decided to confess his crime to the police, rather than pay the child support that her father asked of him. There are many glaring errors in the case, from a classical, â€Å"Orthodox† fiqh point of view. These errors (which would aid the woman) are not coming from a â€Å"reformist reinterpretation† of Shari’a, these errors are so great that any of the qadis of the past would have thrown the case against her out. Prophet Mohammed, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, was mocked and assaulted because of his strong and courageous stance on the status of women. He came with a message that lifted women up and gave them dignity. Fourteen hundred years later, we have descended back into the dark pit of Jahiliya, and Muslim women around the world find themselves cast into the same slavery that the Prophet, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam, was sent to liberate them from. It does not make you a â€Å"radical feminist† to decry honor killings and volunteer for peaceful campaigns to educate and change laws. Raising your voice against Female Genital Mutilation does not mean you want to â€Å"undermine Islam.† To the contrary, working against these injustices in the way of Allah is a manifestation of the desire to uplift Islam and the Muslim people. When the Taliban decided to deny education to any girl over a certain age, it is the conservative Muslims, the ones who profess adherence to â€Å"Qur’an and Sunnah† that should have spoken the loudest against this. The longer we stay silent, the more people, both Muslim and non Muslim, will begin to equate â€Å"Shar’ia† with the oppression of women.

Free Essays on Prejudice In “The Merchant Of Venice”

In the play â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† by William Shakespeare many forms of prejudice are expressed through various characters in the duration of the play. There are several prejudice comments made by various characters, however, Shakespeare also includes statements that support his tolerance. This is what has aroused the controversial question of whether or not he shares the common prejudice of the Elizabethan era. After examining the play, we see that Shakespeare is somewhat prejudice, however, he has more of an enlightened opinion. In this play the audience is exposed to various forms of prejudice such as Portia’s casual discrimination towards several ethnicities and Shylock being a character that runs into an abundance of hardships and obstacles; we are able to realize that this supports the theory that Shakespeare did in fact share a portion of the prejudice. Through Portia’s discrimination towards the prince of Morocco, the prince of Spain, Arragon; and against people of Jewish origin, the audience is able to recognize Shakespeare’s prejudice. It seems as though Shakespeare tries to build sympathy for her character beforehand, by revealing her to the audience as a kind and loving woman, who is looking for love, yet her frame of mind is very unjust. We are first witness to her prejudice when she is made aware of Morrocco’s arrival: â€Å"If he have the condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil I would rather he shrive me than wive me.† (I, iii, 129-130) Poriaâ€⠄¢s comment reveals her intolerance for dark complexions, she is admitting to her superficiality. We are able to determine that Portia is not concerned with the actual person, only with race. She does not accept differences and turns her back to even a man with a saint-like disposition, simply because of the colour of his skin. The second encounter with Portia’s prejudice is with Arragon. She did not even serve him supper. Portia is very quick to judge,... Free Essays on Prejudice In â€Å"The Merchant Of Venice† Free Essays on Prejudice In â€Å"The Merchant Of Venice† In the play â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† by William Shakespeare many forms of prejudice are expressed through various characters in the duration of the play. There are several prejudice comments made by various characters, however, Shakespeare also includes statements that support his tolerance. This is what has aroused the controversial question of whether or not he shares the common prejudice of the Elizabethan era. After examining the play, we see that Shakespeare is somewhat prejudice, however, he has more of an enlightened opinion. In this play the audience is exposed to various forms of prejudice such as Portia’s casual discrimination towards several ethnicities and Shylock being a character that runs into an abundance of hardships and obstacles; we are able to realize that this supports the theory that Shakespeare did in fact share a portion of the prejudice. Through Portia’s discrimination towards the prince of Morocco, the prince of Spain, Arragon; and against people of Jewish origin, the audience is able to recognize Shakespeare’s prejudice. It seems as though Shakespeare tries to build sympathy for her character beforehand, by revealing her to the audience as a kind and loving woman, who is looking for love, yet her frame of mind is very unjust. We are first witness to her prejudice when she is made aware of Morrocco’s arrival: â€Å"If he have the condition of a saint and the complexion of a devil I would rather he shrive me than wive me.† (I, iii, 129-130) Poriaâ€⠄¢s comment reveals her intolerance for dark complexions, she is admitting to her superficiality. We are able to determine that Portia is not concerned with the actual person, only with race. She does not accept differences and turns her back to even a man with a saint-like disposition, simply because of the colour of his skin. The second encounter with Portia’s prejudice is with Arragon. She did not even serve him supper. Portia is very quick to judge,...

Feminism and Criminology Research Paper Example

Feminism and Criminology Research Paper Example Feminism and Criminology Paper Feminism and Criminology Paper Feminism is a collection of different theoretical perspectives such as liberal, Marxist, social and radical feminism which all explain the oppression of women in different ways. Feminism re-emerged in the late 1960s and feminist criminology was a result of old, established chauvinism in the academic discipline where women were viewed as degraded minor figures. Gender should be treated as an essential part of criminology but instead its a specialist topic of study. In this essay I will attempt to discuss different branches of criminology such as, biological, social, psychological, liberal and radical feminism. Analyse them from a critics point of view and answer the fundamental question if feminism is important to the study of criminology and what kind of impact it has had over the past few decades. My essay will carefully examine and evaluate the way in which female offenders were presented and understood in criminological theory and the rise of feminist criminology. Lombroso and Ferrero were two of the first criminologists to look at female criminals and crime. Their research was mainly biological based on assessment of skulls and facial appearances. Lombroso argued that females commit less crime because they are less highly developed than males, and the female criminal was unnatural, masculine and not a normal woman. Lombroso and Ferrero, (1885) said, natural passivity of women deprived them of the initiative to break the law. Although he was discredited, the lack of crimes committed by females meant that his work continued to exert influence long afterwards. Thomas (1907) held similar views to those of Lombroso, he also argued that women are emotional and require the need to give and receive hence prostitution. : This study also marked the beginning of criminologists looking at what impact feminism can have in the study of criminology. After looking at some early views of female criminology one can argue that it assumes female crime is a direct result of their biology, not free will. Biological theories and advanced medical science can only help us improve our knowledge in understanding criminal behaviour but they do not provide enough sufficient or adequate evidence that can explain the causation of crime entirely. Early feminist critics disregard such biological theories arguing that the work of Lombroso lacks methodological sufficiency. Female offenders remain invisible in classical criminology as well as in subcultural or control theories in contrast with early biological theories. Labelling theory or British subcultural theory which looks at white working class males did not have much to say about female crime. Late 1960s saw the second wave of feminism and the work of Messerschmitt who had a big impact on social feminism. He proposed two key ideas, the first one was to understand criminality, and secondly capitalism and to grasp criminality by patriarchy which is a social system in which the father is the head of the family and men have authority over women and children. A sex based theory by Otto Pollak was developed and he argued that women were more deceitful then men, and as a result they were experts at hiding crime. He proved his theory by talking about their ability to fake orgasms. Otto also argued that statistics on womens crime from the 1950s were not accurate because of the fact that the criminal justice system was dominated by men and the fact that courts are more lenient on women. While more women work with the criminal justice system at present, yet the system is still dominated by men and law is still more lenient towards women. Critics argue on the other hand that the statistics tell us that women mostly commit low level, non violent offences such as shop lifting and are usually not a risk to public safety which could be a factor in lenient sentences. Women are considered to be more law abiding and very little research has been conducted into female crime. It can be argued that more researching into female crime can provide us with more insight into the nature of criminal behaviour. Edwards also argues that most criminologist spend a lot of time studying men. Feminism has been neglected from mainstream criminology which skewed criminologists from looking at gender, and crime has become something that is committed by men not women. Of the population born in 1954, 34% of men but only 8% of women had a conviction for a serious offence by the age of 40. This shows more men committed serious crime but also shows that crime is also committed by women and that all criminologists should consider gender. Carol Smart, a feminist critique was one of the very first criminologists of modern criminology to study women and crime. She wrote a book Women Crime and Criminology that perhaps had the greatest influence and impact on the debate of feminism. In her book she raised some fundamental issues and argued that official crime statistics data and other such datas are based on conceptual problematic bases. If criminology and the sociology of deviance are truly to play a significant role in the development of our understanding of crime, smart concludes, then they must become more than the study of men and crime . She went on to say that early criminologist such as lombroso and ferrero had harmful effect on understanding female crime. In her book smart talks about the character and nature of female offending and analyses classical and modern braches of criminology. She also implied that women remain invisible in criminology to a large scale. Tim Newburn elaborates further suggesting that its not only the invisibility but victimization of women is also ignored. Feminist Victimisation is strand of criminology in its own right as well. Smarts study was later followed by many criminologists such as Leonard, heidenson, naffine, and morrison. All of these criminologists criticised traditional criminologist for failing to recognise women in criminal terms. These are also amongst the first few feminist who looked at the neglect of women in the studies of crime and sexual stereotype of women. Criminology is nothing more than specialised theories of male delinquency and crime (White, R. D. 2000). Psychological theories of women criminality are linked to the works of Freud (1927). He was known as the father of psychoanalysis and his work was highly influential. He also argued that women are inferior to men and he believed that defecting qualities in females were a result of masculinity complex. Freud uses the Greek mythological character Oedipal to uncover his theory that females fail to overcome the Oedipal complex where a sex is attracted to opposite the sex parent thus making them morally inferior, week and unable to control there impulses. This kind of theory is open to criticism and is not considered valid in the study of female criminality because inferiority in females is not due to Oedipal conflict, but simply because of the unnatural relationship of male dominance that exists between the sexes. (White, R. D. 2000) Socio economic theorists reject the masculinisation as cause of crime. Socio economic theorists have also looked at criminology and believe that illegitimate expression of the role of expectation is the cause of crime. Females with this theory are seen to engage in criminal activity, when the legitimate roads to achieve social goals are closed and illegitimate left open. Studies within this theory suggest women are likely to engage in crime when economically disadvantaged, concluding that female criminal behaviour is linked to their socialisation or opportunity Post modern feminism has little or even no impact on feminism nevertheless feminism and post modernism had criticised criminology in many ways. This approach argues that women are viewed as inferior, emotive and biologically determined. They believe that women are rational offenders and that women commit crime for rational reasons whereas it is men who can be irrational and are involved in criminal behaviour. This branch of feminism looks at women and crime from outside mainstream criminology thinking. This shows that mainstream criminology is dominated by men and is about men studying men. During late 1960s the womens liberation movement also played a vital role in introducing greater social, economical and political equality. Liberal Feminism is fundamental to the study of criminology because it demands equality. Liberal Feminism focuses its attention on liberation of women and stresses on change towards the expected role of the women in society. Liberal Feminists argue that women are discriminated in the field of research and crime and that all research must take into account women in the model. Liberal critiques such as Walklate scrutinise work of otto pollak arguing his study of women and crime was discriminating and was biased towards chivalry which made the study under documented of female criminality. Liberal feminists in conclusion argue that it is essential that criminologists not only look at biology and psychology of female but also carefully consider fundamental factors such as family and personal issues that could play a role in female offending. Radical Feminism came into being around 1970s. This kind of approach focuses on patriarchy and hierarchy. (Hartman 1981) Where Liberal Feminism is about female oppression over men, Radical Feminism is about male supremacy that oppresses women. Radical feminism is about victim studies however this study places great emphasis on the term survivor rather then victim. Since 1990s there has been quite a lot of focus on violent towards women by men. This focus of attention started a major debate in the field of feminist politics including many countries where female liberation appeared with strong points. Radical feminism also looks at other areas such as pornography and child abuse. However, Radical feminism is also open to criticism and is often criticised by the criminologists such as Burke (2001) arguing that its biological determinism. Liberal feminism and radical feminism contrast sharply in certain of their fundamental views. Liberal feminist thinking is a more reasoned, intellectual perspective than the radical feminist position, which has both emotional and political centering in its logical expressions. Black feminism grew after black and liberal womens movement. It was formed in an attempt to meet the needs of black women who felt they were being racially oppressed in black womens movement and sexually oppressed in black liberation movement black feminism and post modern feminism provide both critiques of feminist accounts and also their own perspectives that recognise the different experiences of women and of their subordination (Burke, R. H. 001:161). Another leading criminologist Gelsthorpe (1990) argued that sentencing and punishment is influenced by sexism and that women are discriminated against in areas such as crime. Gelsthorpe concluded that traditional explanations of crime and criminal behaviour are disfigured because of the focus on criminality of males and the invisibility and marginalisation of women and girls (Gelsthorpe and Morris). Women have been left out of scientific and criminological research and this resulted in distorted science. Some criminologists believe that feminism is the greatest and most decisive resolution of modernity (heller and feher 1988). Feminism is sometimes seen either as multiple or singular as though we have to make a choice along ideological as well as philosophical lines. Feminism, I shall argue, is both multiple and singular, since liberal, socialist and radical feminisms are distinctive feminisms that can and should be assessed according to the extent to which they contribute positively to the development of a post-patriarchal society. It is important to distinguish here between the way in which particular theorists regard their endeavours, and the practical implications of the positions taken. Feminism not only has a large impact but also plays a vital role in criminology as it examines how the traditional crime and criminal behaviour is not appropriate in understanding female crime and there is need for new perspectives. Although feminist criminology is not mainstream criminology, it has been quite successful in establishing its critique. This essay shows that study of women and crime is a small branch in criminology. It shows how women are not included in mainstream criminology or so called male-stream criminology. Not only is it vital that more research is conducted with women but it is also essential that such research should be situated in broader moral, political, economic and sexual spheres which influences womens position in society. The essay also attempts to show the sexism in early criminology as well as present day, fails to give explanations of female offending. Women and men go through different levels of experience throughout the life span as well as within criminal justice system and this should be a major factor when approaching the study of criminology. There is no one relationship, but a myriad of relationships between feminism and criminology. (lorrain gelsthorpe). Essay also points out how traditional criminology does very little justice and fails to explain the different ways women can be treated in criminal justice system. It is hard to deny that feminist scholarship had anything other then important impact in recent years. This impact resulted in women no longer being ignored in any major research and criminology is no longer gender blind. Some critics may still argue that all theories are still based around men. Carlen and Worrall (1987) pointed out some crucial points that feminism has had on criminology. Firstly it has called into question previous theories of law breaking, it has suggested new lines of research and finally provoked new uses for old concepts. Feminism therefore has had an impact on our understanding of women offending, their victimization, and their treatment by the criminal justice system. Although feminism has had a large impact and many studies and research method have changed but criminology is still male dominated and male oriented. I will also suggest that There is a need for something called futurist criminology, which is similar, but not quite the same as newsmaking criminology. It is a fact that old myths are frequently replaced by new myths. But it is also a fact that sophisticated criminals will use criminological theory as excuses for misbehavior. Rather than being behind them as a think tank for development of their motivational systems, it is preferable to be one step ahead, and incorporate criminological vision into our theories.