to think we should more than thank our lucky stars we live in the UK

[seakelp]

we were not born in Afghanistan, Somalia, Congo, India or Pakistan - the world's worst places to be a woman. Imagine having absolutely no rights whatsoever, no healthcare and being abused daily because culturally that's how it is.

One of the good things about mass communication such as the Net is that it is relieving loneliness. People who don't, for whatever reason, fit into their geographical communities can find people they do fit with much more easily than they could in the past.

but prob most people have a possibly very strong tie to their country of birth not everyone on mumsnet is from uk not everyone wants to be either..

oybk - mentioned about loneliness - yep its not healthcare, rights but I can see yr point - sometimes community is good too

lots of things and many countries can be good - as long as you earn lots of money and are more at the top of the tree then the bottom. Also easier to flea if you have money as well.

yep but its really not all about money = u can be v poor and still regad ur own country as the best irrespective of rights etc - purely because of ties , experience growing up etc etc.. money is no everything

no - it's not all about money but if talking about extreme poverty - it helps. I know people who live in countries where it can be really dire - they have money and the option to get out so it is ok.

I couldn't agree more OP. For all the moaning over the little things, I thank my stars everyday that I am lucky enough to not live in a country as mysogynistic as there can be out there.

Yes cherish the NHS i have to pay oodles for healthcare in Switzerland. 300chf a visit for fecking antibiotics. The doctors are no better than NHS GPs i can tell you.

It is still fairer than the US i have to keep telling myself - no one here can be turned down for health insurance at least.

Swiss women have only had the vote in the last 22 or so years! Even though it's a great country with the best quality of life i still get sick of my mail coming in my husbands name (i pay all the bills) and the judgy stay at home mums (school hours are very restricting to a female career) who see me arrive home at 7pm each evening.

3 months mat leave! Poor colleague last week pumping milk in the toilets in tears, it's bloody awful! I don't think my stitches had healed and my bits gotten back in order by then!

I think France would also be also be a good place to live socialliy, and their healthcare and social support are always voted the best in Europe.

I have an American hairdresser who said that he always thought it was the land of the free until he came to Europe and saw what real freedom is. Especially as he was able to marry his gay partner last year.

What on earth is wrong with a world that can see a woman worried about getting her nails done on one side and on another wondering if she's going to be able to fetch water for her family without getting raped.

There is a division that should not exist with mass communication, travel, education. If there is politically nothing we can do what can we do that can make a difference ourselves?

If there was only one currency (hypothetical I know but just to make a point), we would quickly understand that paying some woman to pick tea for 12 hours with no healthcare, creche, break etc for less than 1p a day is clearly wrong no matter how cheap it was to live in that country.

The whole thing about a work ethic, that if you work hard you'll do well in life is completely untrue when you only get a few pence for all your hard work per day. But this is the basis of our world economy.

If we had to pay the true cost for a chocolate bar, ie by paying everyone fairly for their work in relation to the cost of living of that country it would more than likely be around £30 instead of 60p.

We are facing unchartered waters. We are living in a bubble which will burst. I think the DM's switch from having an option to click on World News (can you believe it! It's no longer available) to celeb news is part of the dumbing down culture which means we need never worry our pretty heads about real world issues . Thank goodness for the Guardian online.

I have often made that comment to DH. People from the UK have no idea what the rest of the world is like though. Not all, but a lot.
Me and DD are moving back to the UK in August. She was initially worried about how we would afford school fees and health insurance. She honestly could not believe that they were 'free'. She has never lived in England.

I think the same - I am a moaning old bastard but generally feel very, very lucky that we live in the UK. And for people who moan and say 'this is a third world country now' - don't be so stupid and offensive.

I totally agree with SGB though (as per) because we do still have a lot to fight for re equality. But look how lucky we are in general. And how unfortunate and damned so many poor, innocnet people in this world are.

That Nat Geo child bride article was fucking awful. 14 year old girl washing her baby whilst her 2 year old child was looking on.

I agree with SGB and GetOrf, Recognising how lucky we are and how far we've come shouldn't at all detract from how far there still is to go.

(Off-topic - how many men a week are murdered by their partners or ex-partners? Ideally I'd like no-one to be murdered by anyone)

But yet we still have a higher infant mortality rate than other Euro countries and also chilcare/parental rights lag behind Scandanavia and other Euro countries

One thing I would say is that in the South East at least this is a generally unhappy-seeming and unfriendly country.

I remember spending time in Indonesia and Malaysia and the people just seemed so much HAPPIER. Friendlier, more positive, living life not going through it like zombies. Although I entirely take the point that if poverty kills you, a 'happy' culture isn't going to help you much. And I was a tourist so didn't see everything, I get that.

DP is Italian and remarks frequently on the sheer misery and chippiness of the British. Italians generally have a lot less, including less state support, and are friendly, supportive to eachother and just seem to enjoy life openly in a way I don't see many British people doing.

however, there's a level of conservatism and gender inequality in Italy I don't like either- swings and roundabouts. However if I could go to live in Italy I might well do it and not just because of the sun.

There seems to be a political will to turn this country into a miniature united states and take away what's good about it. Turn us all into a nation of totally selfish individuals. Then it really won't be a place I'll want to live in.

It's a very naive O/P.

What about the role our country (and France, Italy, Belgium and the US) has played in creating the opressive regimes you describe? Come on, use Wikipedia if you really haven't got a clue what i'm talking about.

How can you feel 'lucky' to live in a country that exports misery on a global scale? NIMBY is too kind a word, frankly.

Of course we are to blame Intergalactic, the world economy favours us (tiny minority)and I don't think people are even aware of it! My point is people who do live in such privilege do not appreciate it.

I think it cannot go on, this gross inequality. Something will have to give. But if you look at the content of most women's mags etc you'll find pages devoted to finding a suitable shade of lipstick or the shenanigans of some celeb. I suppose most women just do not really want to know what's really going on in the world, or that is what these editors must think.

It would be nice if all of the people that descended from those places were fucking ecstatic living here actually and enjoyed our freedoms as opposed to shunning the West.

I think it's more than that though. I have lived in Africa, Saudi and now Qatar and it's the purple passport that cuts it. If I was no tEuropean I would not be treated the way I am. Unfortunately we are treated as superior beings. I do not need to be waved to the front of queues, have a seperate VIP entrance to Government buildings as EU/UK passport holder (although in Qatar this is not the case, we are treated more equally). I think there are lots of Pakistani women UK born and bred who have a different experience than their peers at school. I am also glad that I don't live in the UK but completely appreciate the fact that they try to treat people equally.

and further, expat bashers of the Uk are the first to run back when their rights are violated or they get cancer. Good thread, made me think.