It has been nearly a generation since Edward Said, Michel Foucault and Homi Bhabha pointed out the invariable effects of the dominant discourse on the ‘other’, such as the stereotyped depiction of the Arab world in the global media. This essay argues that one of the reasons for the entrenched stereotypes relate to a historical colonial and imperial power matrix. It excavates a few of these critical ideas and queries whether the limitations of social media on the dominant discourse can be understood through this theoretical lens. It aims to provide a better understanding of how a more Arab-centric understanding of Middle East affairs can be fostered through social media.

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This paper will argue that while the basic principles enshrined in international human rights conventions appear fairly straightforward, implementing human rights for women within different cultures requires a deeper analysis of cultural norms in order to address violations. Indeed, a more thoughtful and culturally sensitive analysis is required to ensure that one is identifying human rights violations in a way that recognizes the right of women to live their lives across a range of cultural choices. It will be argued that an analysis of agency is an important tool for understanding how to recognize and implement human rights regimes across the globe. Further, it will be argued that to develop a culture of human rights a positive step in the recognition of women's right to decide, to be protected against persecution for making decisions that lie within a reasonable range of human cultural activity, and to have appropriate government programs to redress violations in a manner that rebuilds human dignity.

This chapter examines how one particular group of people within Canada, indigenous women, experiences both a higher rate of victimization and a lower rate of case clearance. Indigenous women in Canada are three times more likely to be killed by a stranger than non-Aboriginal women, and as of 2010, clearance rates for cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women are consistently lower across Canada. Despite these statistics, other measures show that Indigenous women show similar satisfaction with their personal safety from crime as non-Aboriginal women as well as other measures indicating a similar confidence in the criminal justice system as non-Indigenous women. In this chapter, it is argued that the dissonance between certain measures is indicative of the settler-colonial heritage that informs both the perception of violence against indigenous women in Canada, as well as the phenomenon of violence against indigenous women themselves.