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VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS - Women peacekeepers in the Middle East

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AS IT IS - Women peacekeepers in the Middle East

From VOA Learning English, welcome back to AS IT IS. I’m Mario Ritter.

Women are half the world’s population. But they can face barriers to economic independence and security. Today we hear about a program aimed at providing low cost loans to women in India. We hear about a shocking rape1 in South Africa. But first, we learn about women peacekeepers in the Middle East. 

Along the border of Israel and Lebanon, female peacekeeping troops are active in the United Nations force that guards the area. Avi Arditti tells us more. 

“I think there is a little sprain2 of the knee.” 

Captain Annie is examining Gomo, a working security dog that lives at a base of the United Nations Interim3 Force in Lebanon. 

The captain is a medical specialist and one of about 30 women who live on this French base of 700 peacekeepers. They help to keep the border secure and assist the Lebanese government. 

French soldiers do not use their last names. Captain Annie says she does not consider herself a ‘female’ peacekeeper, but a member of the UN force. But she says being a woman does sometimes help. 

“The secret is to keep the smile and never raise the voice and a little bit of softness and communication and patience is always good.” 

UNIFIL has a peacekeeping force of more than 11,000 troops in southern Lebanon. They come from 37 countries. In recent years, the United Nations has begun deploying4 women in greater numbers. 

Major Akriti Sharma is from Jammu and Kashmir. 

“As we all know, women are known for their compassion5 for their warmth, for their understanding. Being women in uniform it adds on to these factors obviously, and apart from this, we can have better access to the women and they feel more comfortable with us, we can act as a role model.” 

Women in UNIFIL serve on both the civilian6 and military forces, from helping7 with military planning to teaching French to Lebanese school children. Male and female peacekeepers live together, work together and play sports together. Force commander Eric of the French battalion8 says women help to bring security to an insecure area. 

“Here in South Lebanon they have a more important place than in other missions. Women have always been peacemakers, or have been able to bring some peace, some calm, some serenity9, and in this mission that’s an important quality.” 

In southern Lebanon, many people hold conservative ideas about the roles of the sexes. But, UNIFIL’s female peacekeepers say they get along well with the local community --men and women alike. I’m Avi Arditti. 

India has struggled with microfinance, small business loans aimed at fighting poverty. In 2010, a number of borrowers took their own life in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The suicides led to protests against microlenders and the government. Now, Faith Lapidus tells about a microfinance program that has had good results for Indian women. 

It all started eight years ago, with a 1,000 dollar loan to buy buffaloes10. Shahnaz Begum of Haryana state had never been employed. But with buffaloes, she suddenly had a source of earnings11. It gave her a way to educate her children and a sense of power. 

“I have confidence now that, being a woman, I can do something.” 

In India, only 26 percent of women are employed. Villages in the area where Shahnaz Begum lives most women do not start businesses. In fact, they rarely leave their homes. 

T.K. Matthew established Deepalaya in 1971. 

At first the aim was to help educated children in extremely poor neighborhoods of New Delhi. He says years of work made him realize that the community’s economic health is strongly tied to women. 

“We said, all right, if you empower the mother, the children will be safe. So from that point of view, we started interacting with the mothers and we realize they are a great strength. They have faculties12, but this is not being utilized13.” 

Deepalaya means “House of Light.” It only provides loans to groups of women who must first combine their savings14 to add to the loan. Mr. Matthew says Deepalaya’s borrowers are charged lower interest rates and given 20 months to repay the loan. He says, so far, there have been no payment failures among the nine-hundred borrowing groups in three states. 

In 10 years, 13,000 women have started 7,000 businesses. The payments add to a $2 million dollar fund that provides new loans. 

One woman was able to provide her husband with continuous employment after buying a horse-pulled vehicle with a microfinance loan. She now sees a difference in the way she is treated at home. 

“He used to fight with me, now he respects me. Now he talks nicely to me and keeps me happy.” 

The Indian women say they also see a different future for their daughters. It involves education and employment. 

A recent group rape and killing15 of a 17-year-old girl in South Africa has shocked that nation. Comparisons are being made to this deadly sexual attack and one of a girl in New Delhi, India.  A South African official says he hopes South Africa will take action against this kind of violence as India has. Steve Ember has more. 

Anene Booysen was discovered at a building project in the Western Cape16 Saturday. A doctor reported she had been raped17 and cut from the stomach down. He said it appeared the attackers had pulled out some organs with their hands. 

The girl’s injuries were so severe that hospital workers sought mental health counseling after treating her. 

Ms. Booysen died at the hospital a few days after the February attack. Before she died, the girl told police one of her attackers was her 22-year-old former-boyfriend. Three others have been arrested. 

A study released in 2010 found that more than 25% of South African men have admitted to rape. One in seven men admitted to taking part in a group rape. 

Geer rights activist18 Dumisani Rebombo is one of those men. Today, he leads the “One Man Can” project. The group educates people in rural areas about rape. Mr. Rebombo says the lack of equality between women and men is a big reason for the high number of rapes19

President Jacob Zuma has called for severe punishment for the attackers. Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said he hopes for effective changes. 

“Maybe, in a perverse20 way, this is something that will trigger a reaction where the entire community, with society as a whole, government, police, the courts and the communities working together, will act in concert to stamp out this scourge21 in our society. 

For “As It Is,” I’m Steve Ember. 


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1 rape PAQzh     
n.抢夺,掠夺,强奸;vt.掠夺,抢夺,强奸
参考例句:
  • The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
  • He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。
2 sprain CvGwN     
n.扭伤,扭筋
参考例句:
  • He got a foot sprain in his ankle. 他脚踝受了严重的扭伤。
  • The sprain made my ankle swell up. 我的脚踝扭伤肿了起来。
3 interim z5wxB     
adj.暂时的,临时的;n.间歇,过渡期间
参考例句:
  • The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
  • It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。
4 deploying 79c9e662a7f3c3d49ecc43f559de9424     
(尤指军事行动)使展开( deploy的现在分词 ); 施展; 部署; 有效地利用
参考例句:
  • Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
  • Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。
5 compassion 3q2zZ     
n.同情,怜悯
参考例句:
  • He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
  • Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。
6 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
7 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
8 battalion hu0zN     
n.营;部队;大队(的人)
参考例句:
  • The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
  • At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后,队伍解散了。
9 serenity fEzzz     
n.宁静,沉着,晴朗
参考例句:
  • Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤,但仍使人感觉安详。
  • She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。
10 buffaloes 8b8e10891f373d8a329c9bd0a66d9514     
n.水牛(分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种)( buffalo的名词复数 );(南非或北美的)野牛;威胁;恐吓
参考例句:
  • Some medieval towns raced donkeys or buffaloes. 有些中世纪的城市用驴子或水牛竞赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Water buffaloes supply Egypt with more meat than any other domestic animal. 水牛提供给埃及的肉比任何其它动物都要多。 来自辞典例句
11 earnings rrWxJ     
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
参考例句:
  • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
  • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。
12 faculties 066198190456ba4e2b0a2bda2034dfc5     
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院
参考例句:
  • Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬,但头脑仍然清晰。
  • All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中,你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 utilized a24badb66c4d7870fd211f2511461fff     
v.利用,使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 savings ZjbzGu     
n.存款,储蓄
参考例句:
  • I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假,那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
  • By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时,他的存款已全部用完。
15 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
16 cape ITEy6     
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风
参考例句:
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
17 raped 7a6e3e7dd30eb1e3b61716af0e54d4a2     
v.以暴力夺取,强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 );强奸
参考例句:
  • A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
  • We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致,不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句
18 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
19 rapes db4d8af84453b45d758b9eaf77e1eb82     
n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 );强奸罪;强奸案;肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取,强夺( rape的第三人称单数 );强奸
参考例句:
  • The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
  • The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网
20 perverse 53mzI     
adj.刚愎的;坚持错误的,行为反常的
参考例句:
  • It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
  • She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态,以使别人难堪来取乐。
21 scourge FD2zj     
n.灾难,祸害;v.蹂躏
参考例句:
  • Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
  • The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后,不称职的人就遭殃了。

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