Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSupporting Women Includes Opposing TPP
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/35625-supporting-women-includes-opposing-tpp
But something that has gone overlooked and under-discussed is the fact that the TPP will tie the United States to countries that do not value the rights of women.
One of those countries is Brunei Darussalam. Even while Brunei was participating in the TPP negotiations, that country was passing laws that harm women. Bruneis new penal laws proscribe imprisonment for women who have an abortion or who have a child out of wedlock. The penalty for being found guilty of adultery or extramarital sex is flogging or death by stoning. Rather than condemn these repressive acts, the TPP would bring the United States in partnership with Brunei, a country that adopted Sharia law in 2014, causing condemnation from human rights groups.
The case of Malaysia is just as distressing. That country has a troubling and well-documented history of slave labor and serious human trafficking abuses. Every year, millions of people are forced into unpaid labor, with teenage girls forced to become domestic workers in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Sadly, many also suffer sexual abuse or are driven into Malaysias sex trade, and mass graves were also recently discovered.
For years, Malaysia was on the list of worst countries for human trafficking but has shown no real progress in changing its ways. According to our own State Departments 2014 trafficking report, Malaysia made limited and inadequate efforts to improve its flawed victim protection regime, and authorities there detained victims for over a year in some cases, all while decreasing trafficking enforcement.
In May 2015, authorities near the border with Thailand discovered 139 bodies in shallow graves, most likely the remains of trafficked migrants trying to escape persecution in Burma and Bangladesh. Yet, just a few short weeks later, the State Department actually upgraded Malaysias status. Questions have since been raised about whether this was done because the fast-track bill passed by Congress said the administration couldnt rubber stamp any trade agreement with countries in the worst trafficking category.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
1 replies, 781 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (8)
ReplyReply to this post
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Supporting Women Includes Opposing TPP (Original Post)
eridani
Mar 2016
OP
StandingInLeftField
(972 posts)1. Any way you slice it, TPP is just plain bad news
but, as the readersupportednews.com article points out, especially for the under-served, exploited and vulnerable women in developing and patriarchal societies. Yet some (ahem, Hillary, ahem) choose to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the most egregious transgressions of our soon-to-be trading "partners", many of which are being codified into law. According to the apologists, strong wording has been written into the pending agreements that would limit such behavior. Neither NAFTA, nor the TPP bear this out; women's and children's predicaments continue to deteriorate, and at an alarming rate.