Opinion analysis by Ricardo Bitar, Featured Writer

The War in the Ukraine has affected the food supply chain worldwide, especially in the Middle East. While this area has often faced food shortages, the situation might be different this time around, and we might have to blame ourselves. Being one of the regions that is most vulnerable to climate change, MENA countries were already facing threats to food security before Russia's war on Ukraine. And despite this, the Middle East keeps on disregarding climate change, and no real actions are being taken and unfortunately, nothing is being done to turn the situation around.

Opinion analysis by Pau Luoning, Contributor

The context of increased Russian military adventurism (Georgia 2008, Crimea 2014, Ukraine 2022) and interference with the West (2016 US Elections, 2016 Brexit, cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns), might have been pushing Sweden and Finland closer to NATO. However, the two Scandinavian countries had been historically reluctant towards the idea of abandoning neutrality and joining the alliance.

Although a full membership was hardly going to be the answer before the invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s aggressive behaviour may set the stones for a new road to come as Finns and Swedes see in Putin’s Russia a powerful, violent and unpredictable neighbour.

Opinion analysis by Nour AlMortada, Featured Writer

The media plays a major role in what we pay attention to, and the perfect example is the current Russian-Ukrainian war. Without minimizing the severity of the war, it is imperative that people escape the current media induced tunnel vision, as the world continues to ignore multiple crises plaguing this world and that aren’t being talked about. One issue no one seems to be speaking of is the possible famine and civil war that might emerge in Algeria. For years, the North African nation has been suffering economically from an improper economic system which has led the country into its current state. With food scarcity and inflation pushing more people below the poverty line, can government policies save the country from total collapse?

Opinion analysis by Ricardo Bitar, Featured Writer

Amid talks of renewed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the globe is preoccupied by the military and security repercussions of such an event. However, the country was concerned with another crisis long before the current tensions: a dire humanitarian situation that could take a major turn for the worse in the case of renewed conflict. The situation isn’t made any better by the demographics of the Ukrainian population, which is relatively old. What are the implications of this renewed conflict and who will be suffering?

Opinion piece by Sati Dib, Visiting Contributor

Living in a patriarchal society, most if not every woman grew up being oppressed in a certain way; being treated as objects, silenced, having their feelings undermined… women do not really have a way to express themselves or act freely. They should abide by societal rules and act upon them or else they will be punished and rejected. These rules have been so anchored in our society that many people find it “normal” to say things like “why are you sad? You must be on your period!” when it is really not. Through this opinion piece I expose, by sharing a personal experience, how society objectifies and condemns women for acting or not in a specific way.

Opinion analysis by Nour AlMortada, Featured Writer

As the United States takes a backseat in the Middle East, other players are stepping up. The feud between the world powers reflects itself in regional conflicts, from the “war” in Ukraine with Russia to the Middle East. The United States in the past few years has been slowly withdrawing from the region but as it slips out, someone is moving to take its place. Recent years have seen the interference of China in the region at a much larger scale, along with its allies. China has slowly slipped through the cracks in the Middle East and has been funneling money into the region until they ultimately replace the United States. So, what has China been doing in the region lately and why haven’t we heard more about its endeavors?

Opinion piece by Rahaf Fouani, Visiting Contributor

The paper delves into the topic of women’s sexual rights in the MENA region and how they’re shamed for exploring their sexualities. It will discuss two barbaric topics which are Hymen Reconstruction Surgery and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Women are forced to be subjected to these surgeries and put under the knife which affects their sexual function and objectifies them. These surgeries are a byproduct of the patriarchy that rules in the MENA region. Women aren’t seen as human beings with sexual urges, they’re seen as objects and their worth is connected with their sexualities.

Opinion piece by Sarah Barakat, Visiting Contributor

Philosophy of feminism is a widely diverse field covering various topics, yet united by a crucial and main concern which is gender. It is an approach to philosophy from a feminist perspective and an adoption of philosophical methods regarding feminist matters and inquiries. It is targeted towards understanding, challenging, and criticizing the oppression and subordination of women. Philosophy of feminism is thus unified by shedding light on issues of concern to feminists. In addition to its commitment to justice for women, philosophy of feminism examines issues that are socially constructed traditionally in political philosophy, epistemology, practical ethics, and metaphysics. In fact, one of its primary functions is
investigating sexism and whether it’s socially constructed or not. In the below, I will explore how sexism is the result of socially constructed gender roles leading to sexism itself being socially constructed.

Opinion piece by Karim Al Kharsa, Visiting Contributor

This paper examines the effects of gender discriminatory laws in the MENA region and how these laws hinder the chances of any change from happening when it comes to progress in society and social development. It discusses the inequality found in the MENA region when it comes to the political aspect of society. It includes laws such as the domestic laws implemented in the Arab world as well as the laws that prevent women from becoming judges. It also goes over how Arab politicians use women’s rights to get votes in elections but never fulfill their promises to implement change. It does acknowledge that some Arab countries have implemented some change when it comes to the laws implemented, but emphasizes on the need of the collective to come together and try and solve this prominent issue in the MENA region.

Opinion Analysis by Salman Omer Masood, Visiting Contributor

The partition of the Indian Subcontinent in August 1947 and how it transpired created many fault lines of conflict between the new neighboring states. A complete lack of
caution and wisdom in drawing the boundaries coupled with a lack of interest in the execution of the partition plans – both on the part of the British – ensured that conflict
and hostility would prevail amongst the new neighbor states in and around many vulnerable territories. Fast-forward to 2022 and many of these territories have still not
found lasting peace. Of course, after partition, the freedom movements that occurred in many of these regions also owe their existence to the discriminatory, anti-secular and
usually tyrannical nature of the Indian government. This would especially be true for the current BJP government, which is perhaps the most radical Hindu-nationalist and
Hindu-supremacist government in India’s history.

Opinion Analysis by Rethabile Tsephe, Visiting Contributor and Nathalie Prange, Visiting Contributor

Women have been subjected to sexual violations for far too long, shifting the minds of men from a fixed to a growth mindset is the right step in the right direction, and it needs
to be initiated by leaders these me look up to. Men of India need to create spaces for themselves to go to in times of chaos in their lives, speak up regarding challenges they
have and offer advice on how to deal or manage anger, the addiction to control and power. No amount of apologies can dismiss the impact being violated sexually has on
the victims. It is a scar they have to carry for the rest of their lives. It destroys their self- esteem, confidence, and enthusiasm for life. It’s time!

Opinion analysis by Nour AlMortada, Featured Writer

We’ve all heard the saying “this is history in the making”, but it seems not many of us understand the reality of what this statement means. Having been born and raised in the current era, we lack the perception of how significant the occurrences taking place today are. Every year more and more gets added to history books; from Russia and Ukraine to United States and Iran, history is being shaped as we speak. But most people, due to living the events, sometimes forget the significance of them. This year has been a major one for the history of the Middle East, alliances lost and forged, rulers exposed, regimes and states showed their cracks, and others showed their muscles. Some might go as far and describe it as an end to neo-colonial rule in the region, but what did the Middle East look like in early 2021 and what does it look like now?

Analysis by Zeina El Kojok, Visiting Contributor
Over the last decade, a lot of effort has been made to promote gender equality. Many theories were introduced and studied in order to evaluate and eventually implement gender equality. One of the major ideologies introduced was gender blindness. Gender blindness, as defined by the Global Gender Statistics Program by the United Nations Statistics Division, is “the failure to recognize that the roles and responsibilities of women/girls and men/boys are ascribed to, or imposed upon, them in specific social, cultural, economic and political contexts” (UN ESCWA, 2020). In a simpler definition, gender blindness is when a person chooses not to see differences between genders.

Opinion piece by Karim Kalout, Visiting Contributor

In September 2015, the General Assembly in the United Nations adopted a new perspective known as the “2030 perspective” which ensures sustainable development by protecting the planet, ending poverty, and ensuring prosperity for all. This process was done by setting new goals to achieve in the next 15 years which were known as the “Sustainable Development Goals” or the SDGs. (Sustainable Development Goals, 2021). For each one of these goals, a set of specific targets must be achieved to be able to fulfill the main point behind each goal, and it is important for everyone on this planet to do their part starting with the governments and reaching every citizen. (United Nations, 2021). Most of these goals deal with their major issues and might indirectly impact health and gender positively. One of these 17 SDGs (SDG 8) is concerned with ensuring inclusive decent work as well as sustainable economic growth. (United Nations, 2021). The process of fulfilling the SDG number 8 can impose improvements in both health and gender issues, on which it can enhance physical, mental/psychological as well as environmental health alongside reducing the gap that exist between men and women on all sides including civil rights as well as health.

News analysis by Maria Wehbe, Staff Writer

Between Friday, December 10th and Saturday, December 11th, 2021, several tornadoes hit different parts of the central and southern United States, claiming many lives, destroying buildings and turning them to debris, and ripping families apart. The tornadoes led to the collapse of an Amazon Warehouse in Western Illinois, a nursing home in Arkansas and a candle factory in Kentucky, which were among the buildings that were most destroyed. So far, at least 92 people have been confirmed deceased across the multiple states that have been affected, and in Kentucky alone, state emergency management officials and the state health department estimate the toll at 75 so far. It is said that more than 250 miles from Arkansas all the way to Kentucky might have been hit by one violent, long-track twister, according to CNN meteorologists: it reached speeds as high as 150 miles per hour. This was one of the largest tornado outbreaks in the United States’ history, and a lot of the damage is beyond repair.

Opinion analysis by Maria Wehbe, Staff Writer

On Saturday, December 4th, 2021, the Mount Semeru Volcano located in Indonesia’s East Java Province erupted. It was sudden and unexpected, as this eruption left 48 people dead, and more than 5200 houses and buildings were damaged as a result. As well, more than 5000 people have been affected, where more than 2000 people took refuge at 19 different evacuation points. It is worth mentioning that the deadly emission was triggered by heavy rains: in fact, according to the Head of the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Eko Budi Lelono, the thunderstorm and persistent rain that took place that day eroded part of the volcano’s lava dome, which is a “plug” of solidified lava at the summit. This caused the dome to collapse, thus triggering the eruption. On Thursday, December 16th, 2021, the volcano erupted twice following the eruption that had happened earlier that month again.

Opinion analysis by Alaa El Ghawi, Visiting Contributor

The UN 2030 agenda consists of seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) that were agreed upon by the 193 UN member states in 2015. SDGs are much more interconnected to one another where the achievement of a certain goal is correlated to the attainment of another. First, let us see what the common definition of the SDG is: SDG addresses the needs of the present generation and try to fulfill those needs at a condition that it will not hold future generations to achieve and sustain their own needs. It is important to ensure when achieving any of the 17 SDGs that it is not on the expense of next generation. Fundamentally, achieving any of SDGs will certainly perpetuate among generation if done correctly so that it can be sustained and wouldn’t be temporarily targeted. Roseboom, T. J. (2020). According to the United Nations, the 2030 UN agenda focuses on what is called the 5Ps that constitute the basis of the 17 SDGs: 1) The welfare of people, 2) Prosperity that means sustained developments and growth, 3) Acquiring peace, 4) Acquiring international collaboration throughout the partnership, 5) Protection of the environment ecosystem, keeping the planet safe. My article will focus on the first aspect encompassing SDG5 which is gender equality. I will argue that achieving gender equality will lead to improved health at various levels by exposing the negative health outcomes of gender inequality. My thesis would be validated by exposing how gender inequality is manifested through violence, food and education and their direct impact on health.

Opinion analysis by Nour AlMortada, Featured Writer

So many people seem to be shocked when they realize just how connected world leaders are. The individualistic, general consensus is that governments act uniquely for themselves, even if it shares values with other countries, but the saying “bird of a feather” is not to be taken lightly, especially not in this context. It has become more and more evident that countries with similar goals and aspirations tend to flock together, yet it is crucial to look further into this and to consider the ideological views. The relationship between the different right-wing governments is far deeper and more elaborate than any other established international relation that exists today: from Brazil to Colombia and Bolivia to israel and India and so on.

Opinion analysis by Myriam Whaibe, Visiting Contributor

Adding stories, creating content, sharing everyday life moments, collaborating with international brands, receiving PR packages, modeling, and earning money. This is a brief job description that thousands of children around the world find themselves using nowadays. When children work, we simply categorize that as “Child Labour” without even giving it a second thought. When we usually talk about child labour, we tend to imagine lower-class uneducated families sending their children to work, unaware of the damage that is being done to them. However, the concept is evolving, just like everything else in the world. Today, influencers, who are usually part of the higher-class, educated and sophisticated families are now “sending their kids to work”, from the comfort of their own homes, and turning them into “Kidfluencers”. This new term is a colloquial one used to refer to a child who is an influencer on social media.