Southeast Asia geography and regional overview

Purdah: Purdah is practice of keeping women out of the view of men, through both segregation and clothing. A common practice in many Islamic nations and among many Hindus in India, Purdah is seen as repressive by Western standards.

Kikuyu: The Kikuyu are the most populous ethnic group in Kenya, indigenous since the modern period with ancestry that likely came from the north. The g Kikuyu have been and are hugely important in Kenya's political progression both before and after independence.

Ba'ath Party: The Ba'ath Party was first founded in Syria, but is established in many Arab countries. The party pushes for the unification of all Arab countries and is strongly nationalist and quasi-socialist in its views, policies, and actions.

Salman Rushdie: Rushdie is an Indian-British author, now knighted and long well respected in the literary and scholarly communities. Rushdie is most famous for the controversy caused by his novel The Satanic Verses, which angered many Muslims.

Dalits: Dalits are members of the lowest caste or outcastes in many South East Asian societies, especially India, known as the "untouchables." Their designation and segregation was outlawed by the Indian Constitution, but prejudice persists.

Shamba: A Swahili word originally used to designate an external garden area, generally ornamental. The term is now used to refer to any growing area, but especially a small area or strip of land used for the growing of food crops, belonging to an individual or organization.

Camp David Agreement: Signed at the Presidential retreat Camp David, the Camp David Accord (or Agreement) created peace between Israel and Egypt. It was signed by Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin, and witnessed by President Jimmy Carter.

Intifada: Intifada is an Arabic word that means "shaking off," but has been used to refer to many Arabic uprisings throughout the modern era. Most prominent in recent decades have been the intifadas by the Palestinians against perceived Israeli occupation.

al-Qaeda: al-Qaeda is a multinational Islamist group, considered a terrorist organization by much of the world. The group advocates a fundamentalist Sunni interpretation of Islam and violent military/guerilla action to bring this about in governmental practice.

Gamal Abdul Nasser: Nasser was Egypt's second president and one of it's strongest and most charismatic leader. He helped to bring Egypt into the modern age and out of the Third World, and was also a major advocate for Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism.

The wabenzi: The term "wabenzi" is a Swahili creation referring to those who drive a Mercedes-Benz or other expensive foreign car. The term is a derogatory way of referring to a false "tribe" of Kenya's economic elite.

Muslim Brotherhood: Another Sunni multinational organization/political party, the Muslim Brotherhood is especially active in Egypt. They promote a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and the need for state advocacy of Islamic governance.

Tutsi and Hutu: The Tutsis and the Hutus are two tribal and/or caste divisions (this is in dispute) in Rwanda and the surrounding countries. Colonial rule created greater strife between these groups, with the result of mass genocide in the 1990s.

India's Green Revolution: Beginning in the 1960s, the introduction of high-yield seeds and better fertilizers and irrigation systems led to India's self-sufficiency. This improved agricultural system is termed the Green Revolution in India.

Suez Canal Crisis: When President Nasser of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, wresting control and profits from British and French stakeholders, these two countries and Israel attacked Egypt. Egypt emerged triumphant, but the canal is internationally used.

Tamil Tigers: The Tamil Tigers are (or were) a militant separatist group operating in Sri Lanka and fighting for the creation of an independent Tamil state in the north of that country. A well-ordered militia, their tactics were decried by human rights groups.

African National Congress: The African National Congress has been the ruling party of South Africa since non-apartheid democracy was established in the country in 1994. The party has been in existence since the 1920s, fighting for independence and black rights.

Benazir Bhutto: The first and only female leader of Pakistan, Bhutto was a strong political figure and fighter for freedom and women's rights in Pakistan and other Muslim countries. Exiled and brought back by popular demand, she was assassinated in 2007.

Mo Yan: Mo Yan is an incredibly prolific and respected author in modern China, whose works are largely concerned with social commentary. He was formerly a soldier in the People's Army and is a member of the ruling Communist Party.

Khmer Rouge: The followers of Pol Pot and the Communist Party in Kampuchea (now Cambodia) were known as the Khmer Rouge. The regime is noted for the massive human rights violations and state-sponsored murders in the guise of social engineering.

Nigeria and Biafra: Biafra was a secessionist state in Nigeria populated largely by the Ibo people. The secession of te state, which was recognized by several neighboring African countries, sparked a civil war in Nigeria that resulted in many deaths.

Six Day War: A conglomeration of Arab and Islamic states, especially Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, attacked Israel in what became known as the Six Day War. The result was Israeli control over large portions of formerly Arab land, with political repercussions to this day.

Negritude: A movement among French-African writers that saw a common black identity as a rejection of French colonial culture. They saw common black identity rather than national/ethnic differences as a primary method for combating imperialism/colonialism.

The Rights of Women in the Developing World

Most cultures in the world have developed and remained patriarchies throughout much of world history. This has had very different effects in traditional societies than it does in modern societies, however, and is difficult to truly understand from a modern patriarchal perspective. Women in Islamic and/or Arabic countries, as well as in China and Southeast Asia, have had very limited access to political and economic power, often being barred outright form such institutions. At the same time, they have also been better respected in many traditional cultures (as well as able to wield power in both official and unofficial ways) in traditional culture than they have been in Western cultures, and in these countries following the beginning of the modern era. The complex history of the roles and rights of women in these countries and in the world as whole has led to complex changes in the ways women are treated and viewed in these societies, and in their possible future developments.