Who Is Interested in the Rights of Nigerien Homosexuals?

According to a recent news report, Niger, located in West Africa, has criminalized same-sex relationships. As a result, people who engage in homosexual activity can be sentenced to up to ten years in prison and fined.

In addition, the law states that attempting to engage in "LGBTQ acts" may be punished in the same way. And that is not all: participating in the activities of organizations representing sexual and gender minorities can also result in an equally severe punishment.

* * *

The reason given for the new law is that same-sex relationships are not in line with the country's social and cultural values. It remains to be seen, therefore, how various European organizations and civil society activists will react to Niger's values and culture.

Will we see rainbow activists demonstrating in the streets of Helsinki, Stockholm, Berlin, or Paris in support of homosexual people in Niger? Will European politicians condemn the actions of Niger's government? Or will Nigeriens themselves rise up against the country's military regime as a result of the decision?

* * *

Personally, I believe that the plight of homosexual people in Niger is of little real interest to Europeans. Neither politicians nor rainbow activists are likely to be motivated to protest over the issue.

For my part, I maintain that a person's sexuality is a private matter and should concern no one other than the individuals involved, provided that it does not involve violence, coercion, or exploitation. This principle applies equally in the European Union and in Niger, and for that reason I wish to express my disapproval of the actions of the country's military government.

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Gender Reassignment May Not Help—and Could Even Worsen Mental Health

According to a recent Finnish study, adolescents referred for care due to gender identity exhibited significantly higher psychiatric morbidity than controls both before referral (45.7% vs. 15.0%) and at least two years after referral (61.7% vs. 14.6%). In addition, those referred after 2010 had greater psychiatric care needs than earlier cohorts both before referral (47.9% vs. 15.3%) and at least two years after referral (61.3% vs. 14.2%).

Among adolescents who underwent medical gender reassignment, psychiatric morbidity increased markedly during follow-up—rising from 9.8% to 60.7% in feminizing gender reassignment and from 21.6% to 54.5% in masculinizing gender reassignment. After adjusting for prior psychiatric treatment, all adolescents referred for gender identity-related care had similarly elevated risks of psychiatric morbidity, with hazard ratios approximately three times higher than female controls and five times higher than male controls.

* * *

Based on the study, the authors—Sami-Matti Ruuska and his colleagues—concluded that adolescents referred for gender identity-related care exhibit a high level of psychiatric morbidity. In addition, gender differences and mental health trajectories after medical gender reassignment remain poorly understood.

A particularly notable observation was that adolescents referred for gender identity-related care had clearly higher psychiatric morbidity than controls, and this did not change as a result of treatment. On the contrary, the need persisted and often even intensified after medical interventions, some of which appeared to have even negative effects.

The researchers therefore emphasized the need for thorough psychiatric assessment and continuous treatment throughout the process of medical gender reassignment. However, they did not go so far as to state that the entire process is—at least generally—unnecessary or, at worst, even harmful.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
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A Fair Game or Unfair Judgment?

Sex and Gender Identity in Skiing

The International Ski Federation (FIS) has decided to test the gender of women participating in competitions. According to its president, Johan Eliasch, “this policy is the cornerstone of our commitment to protect women’s sport, and we are convinced that there is only one fair and transparent way to do that: by relying on science and biological facts.”

I’m eagerly waiting to see whether this statement sparks protests among so-called woke people, who are often heard claiming that humans have a vast number of different genders. Eliasch’s comment, however, seems to rest on the assumption that there are only two: male and female, determined by genes.

On the other hand—in my understanding—the overwhelming majority of people do recognize that while there may be numerous gender identities experienced by individuals, sex is ultimately a fact tied to reproduction. Those who are capable of fathering children are men, and those who are capable of giving birth are women. Everyone else represents exceptions to this rule, not distinct sexes.

As for the issue itself, it should simply be said that the FIS decision is exactly right for women’s sports, since hardly any reasonable spectator would want to see the same kind of farce on the ski tracks as was witnessed in the boxing rings at the Paris Olympics, where male violence against women was legalized and broadcast live on TV.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
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Javier Milei and the Great Western Opportunity

The President of Argentina, Javier Milei, criticized phenomena related to feminism, DEI principles, environmental radicalism, and gender ideology at the World Economic Forum meeting. He described mass immigration and the cultural shame of Western nations as self-destructive and called for a historical shift in the West.

By this, he primarily referred to traditional Western values, such as individual freedom and equality of opportunity. In contrast, he viewed their recent challengers—woke ideology and state interventionism—as questionable and as the root causes of the West’s current problems, arguing that they rely on collectivist ideology and work against individual liberty.

Instead of contemporary value liberalism, Milei identified the pillars of Western civilization as respect for freedom and private property, a free market economy, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. He stated that these values inherently include personal responsibility for one’s livelihood, equality before the law, and equality of opportunity.

According to the Argentine president, each fundamental pillar of our civilization has been replaced with a distorted version of itself, leading to a situation where luxuries acquired at the expense of others have become human rights, and institutions have taken on the role of punishing dissenting opinions.

Thus, in Milei’s view, the DEI movement, immigration, environmental radicalism, and gender ideology serve only the expansion of the state and distort Western ideals. Feminism and gender ideology, he argued, have become detached from equality and now promote a struggle between the sexes instead of advocating for the equal treatment of men and women.

He also questioned why Westerners today see themselves as responsible for all the world’s evils and believe they must atone by opening their borders to everyone—even if this leads to reverse colonialism and the collective suicide of Western nations.

In the short term, the primary beneficiaries of this development are political movements that push a distorted worldview, but ultimately, they too will collapse as societies crumble.

* * *

According to Milei, we are now at a turning point, where a historic opportunity for great change is emerging. It remains to be seen whether the West will seize this opportunity.

Winds of change have already swept through Milei’s Argentina, my home country of Finland, Italy, and the USA. Next, it will be up to the German people, who will elect a new parliament on February 23.

At the moment, it appears that the election in Germany will be won by AfD and CDU/CSU, with the former in particular aligning closely with Milei’s stance on immigration. Meanwhile, the green-left coalition advocating progressive liberal values seems poised for a crushing defeat.

It remains to be seen whether change will take place in Germany and across the West. And even if it does, will the people push this transformation far into the future, or will the 2020s be remembered as just another fleeting anomaly on the path of Western decline—much like the era of Constantine the Great in Roman history?

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A Fair Game or Unfair Judgment?

In a primary school located in a medium-sized coastal town in western Finland, seven-year-old girls and boys were tasked with competing to see which group behaved better in class and kept their surroundings tidier. In other words, they were judged on adherence to behavioral norms that were taken for granted in the schools of my childhood.

The girls won the competition and were rewarded with a toy day. This, however, upset the boys’ mothers, whose little darlings couldn’t manage to be tidy or behave properly.

As a result, one mother contacted a national broadcasting company Yle, claiming that “the competitive setup and the criteria seemed unfair, and the group division went against the National Agency for Education's policies on segregation.” She also lamented, “Nobody does things like this anymore these days. Are boys wild and disobedient just because they’re energetic?”

Instead of having boys and girls compete in behavior and tidiness, she suggested rewarding the boys for, say, running a certain distance in the schoolyard as defined by a teacher. This, she argued, would allow them to please the teacher in a different way. Personally, I couldn’t see how this would promote children’s education or learning — unlike the competition at hand.

According to the principal of the criticized school, “The teachers certainly did not intend to act against the curriculum. This was a human error from which we will learn. We are all human and make mistakes.”

Undoubtedly, this was an effort to save face — and perhaps it succeeded. Time will tell.

* * *

To me, however, there was nothing odd or unfair about the competition. Calm and orderly behavior is something that promotes learning in schools. As such, it is an excellent — and learning-relevant — basis for competition, regardless of gender. Moreover, it is an event that especially helps wild boys improve their self-control.

Admittedly, the groups could have been divided without regard to gender, which would have prevented the boys’ mothers from blaming their children’s loss on their gender. But I believe that a competition between genders is the most motivating setup for seven-year-olds — especially for boys.

For this reason, I suspect that the mother who took her complaint to the national media should take a good look in the mirror. After all, the school competition reflected the general perception that mothers have long demanded better behavior and tidiness from their daughters than from their sons. The girls’ victory, therefore, was no great surprise — but hopefully, it offered a valuable lesson not only to the boys in the class but also to their mothers.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
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Everyone has the right

Yesterday's sports news was about an Algerian boxer’s victory over an Italian female boxer. This became news because the Algerian was found to be a man during the 2023 Women's World Championships.

For any reasonable person, it's obviously unethical to allow a man to box against a woman—it's more akin to permitting assault rather than competitive sport. Such a thing should not be allowed under any circumstances.

Yesterday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had allowed the Algerian to compete against women, also commented on the matter. According to the IOC, "all athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit."

Up to this point, this sounds good, but then comes the bombshell: the IOC's message continues, "as with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport." Yes—dear readers—you read that correctly, the Algerian's presumed gender is based on passport information.

On the other hand, the text later mentions that according to protocols available on the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) website, "this decision"—that is, the Algerian’s suspension—"was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO. The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations. The minutes also say that the IBA should 'establish a clear procedure on gender testing.'"

In other words, the IOC emphasized that its own decision to allow the Algerian to compete in the women's category was not based on proper gender testing. Instead, it was based solely on the suspicion that the Algerian's suspension from the World Championships was without substantial grounds.

Therefore, it is at least ironic to read—still from the same statement—that the IOC "the IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights. The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving."

Based on this statement, the IOC seems—quite seriously—to consider it appropriate to allow the beating of women by an individual—possibly a man—whose gender is under serious suspicion. And to defer the investigation to some future time, by which point this individual—possibly a man—may have already assaulted up to five women with the support and consent of the IOC.

Finally, it must be said that as a result of the analysis I’ve written above, the woke-sounding opening sentence of the international statement seems downright grotesque and sexist. It states that "every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination."

I wonder what the Italian woman beaten by the Algerian thinks about this—and especially about her own rights?

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
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Mistreatment of Women at the Olympics?

The world seems to have gone completely crazy. I mean, in women's boxing at the Paris Olympics, there are two men: Imane Khelif and Lin Tu-Ting.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) held the World Championships of the sport in New Delhi, India, in March 2023. During the competition, Algerian Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting were disqualified based on gender tests, but they are once again participating in the mistreatment of women.

Behind this, of course, is the international DEI movement, which has sought to blur the differences between biological sexes and mistakenly believed that hormone treatments for men would make them equal to women in sports like boxing. This is not the case, as boys' bodies develop in adolescence in ways that do not disappear even with hormone treatments.

Hopefully, Khelif and Yu-Ting will be sidelined from the Olympics or moved to the proper category, the men's division. This would by no means be chauvinism or against equality, but rather the protection of women and the defense of equality among people.

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Games and Midsummer games

Young mammals are often playful, as anyone who has interacted with a kitten or puppy knows. This is no coincidence, as play teaches them skills needed later in life, such as hunting or intra-species confrontations for defending territories or during mating season.

A recent study analyzed the behavior of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Western Australia. Observations were available from as early as 1982, making it possible to compare the events of their adult lives with their childhood.

Researchers found that young male dolphins engaged in play resembling adult reproductive behavior, such as forming alliances with other males to herd females and producing specific vocalizations in the presence of the opposite sex.

Paternity data from eleven male dolphins, on the other hand, showed that their later reproductive success was quite well predicted by the time they spent as young dolphins participating in social play that resembled adult male sexual behavior. In other words, they demonstrated the benefits of play in the development of sexual behavior in wild animal populations.

I decided to publish this text on the morning of Midsummer Day, as I assumed some of my esteemed readers might have participated in Midsummer's traditional rituals, which are believed to have magical effects on one's romantic life. Not because I think they somehow correspond to the adult-mimicking play of young dolphins, but because both are related to the most important task in an individual's life for the survival of the species: reproduction.

And perhaps something has happened on this Midsummer night that will be reflected in national statistics nine months from now?

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A woman's logic, Putin's test, and the Netherlands' change

A Finnish media company, MTV3, has conducted an interesting survey. According to it, all Finns, regardless of gender, consider foreign and security policy, as well as internal security, to be very important issues in the European elections.

However, while supporting Ukraine is very important to men, women do not seem to care much about whether or not Ukrainians are supported in their fight against Putin's invaders. Instead, women consider it very important to prevent the rise of the far right and to combat climate change, whereas men are not as interested in these issues.

Based on this, it can be concluded that there will be significant differences in the voting behavior of men and women. Specifically, women are likely to support red-green candidates much more, while men are more likely to vote for candidates from the right side of the political center.

This is, of course, not surprising, as previous studies have shown that women tend to lean left more often than men. Nevertheless, their indifference to the fate of Ukrainians surprised at least the undersigned.

After all, Russian invaders have committed brutal sexual and other violence against Ukrainian women and even children wherever they could. Unfortunately, it seems that the old saying "a woman is a wolf to another woman" applies in this context as well.

It also seems that Finnish women have not fully internalized that a Russian victory in Ukraine would also jeopardize Finland's security situation, as it would show that the Western countries are ultimately not ready to defend their allies. Therefore, a few years after a possible victory in Ukraine, Putin might very well test whether the same logic applies to NATO countries as well.

In this context, it is likely that Finland would not be the first test target, but Putin's army would more likely test NATO's reactions in a militarily weaker country such as the Baltic or Balkan states. Nonetheless, it would be best to stop the Kremlin's megalomaniac dictator in Ukraine rather than let him even dream of challenging the Western allies.

* * *

I don't know what Dutch women think about their country's security policy or Ukraine, but there is, in any case, a political revolution happening in the Netherlands regarding immigration policy, as four parties, led by Geert Wilders' Freedom Party, have agreed to form a government. If they manage to agree on a common program, it will have significant consequences for the security of Dutch women.

According to an afternoon newspaper - Ilta-Sanomat - "the parties promise, among other things, to declare an 'asylum emergency' in the country, under which the government intends to take exceptional measures to temporarily restrict asylum rights and family reunification, as well as cut social benefits for asylum seekers". In other words, the appeal of the Netherlands among social-based asylum seekers will significantly decrease from the previous level.

Interestingly enough, according to the same article, the Freedom Party is also set to perform exceptionally well in the European elections. This contrasts with the situation of its counterpart - the Finns Party - in Finland, which, according to polls, is expected to achieve at best mediocre success. In this respect, it is interesting to note that the Dutch party is clearly more national-conservative than Purra's group – in leftist rhetoric, "more far-right".

Previous thoughts on the same topic: The procrastination of Western countries is paid for with the blood of soldiers Attitudes towards immigrants are not becoming more positive in Western countries History of Finland XI: Finnish democracy and gender equality for women

Finnish women have enjoyed a privileged position since medieval times

Finland was one of the first countries to grant women the right to vote and stand for election, so we have an exceptionally long and still ongoing tradition of political gender equality. And, of course, this is closely tied to the generally good societal position of women.

However, it is unclear how long gender attitudes persist in places undergoing significant societal changes. This question was studied by Swedish researchers Taylor Damann, Jeremy Siow, and Margit Tavits by analyzing the teeth of about ten thousand medieval individuals from 139 archaeological sites.

The researchers used differences in the dental health of women and men as a measure of disparities in nutrition and healthcare. Additionally, they compared these archaeological measurements to data on gender norms from surveys conducted in the same geographical areas.

The result was quite clear, as historical indicators of gendered health disparities were significantly linked to modern gender equality norms in the same locations. However, this connection weakened in places where significant population turnovers had occurred over history, meaning that new populations brought their own attitudes with them.

In other words, the gender attitudes of population groups can persist across generations, even for extended periods, spanning hundreds or thousands of years, despite major societal, economic, and political changes. This seems to be the case in Finland as well, as the study included one Finnish site, Luistari in Eura.

Based on the analysis of dental remains, women from Luistari's medieval population had even been "more equal" than men, meaning they received better nutrition and healthcare. Among all 139 sites, Luistari women ranked as the 16th best-treated.

Thus, Finnish women have enjoyed a privileged position since medieval times. This strongly equal position of women in society applies more or less to the entire Northern European population, including Scandinavians and Balts.

The original thought in Finnish:
Suomalaisnaiset olivat jo keskiajalla tasa-arvoisempia kuin miehet

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
"Woke" pushes American science academies to favor women in their membership selections
History of Finland XI: Finnish democracy and gender equality for women
Discrimination against women?

"Woke" pushes American science academies to favor women in their membership selections

Recently in Finland, there has been a lot of discussion about racism, but the media has not forgotten about feminism either. The latter also concerns education, where attention has been given to, among other things, the low percentage of women in the highest level of education in the field of technology. This is despite the fact that their proportion among all university students is clearly greater than that of men.

One ongoing topic in this discussion has been the gender distribution of university professors, which still leans towards men. However, it is likely just a matter of time before the gender distribution of students also becomes evident in the composition among our country's professors.

In this sense, it was interesting to note that the membership of the American science academies, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), has undergone significant changes. Over the past two decades, many women have joined this group of top researchers, which was previously almost exclusively composed of men. In recent years, women have made up about 40% of the new members in both academies.

In a recently published study, the merits of researchers in psychology, mathematics, and economics were compared to each other, and the change in the likelihood of women being elected to NAS and AAAS membership from the 1960s to the present day was analyzed.

According to the collected data, in the early years of the study period, women had fewer opportunities to be selected as members compared to men with similar qualifications. However, by the 1990s, the selection process in both academies had become roughly gender-neutral based on publications and citations.

Nevertheless, the development didn't stop at a gender-neutral situation, as might have been assumed. Over the past two decades, a trend of favoring women has emerged and strengthened in all three fields. Currently, women are three to fifteen times more likely than men with equivalent publication and citation records to be elected as members of AAAS and NAS.

In other words, the recognition and status of female researchers have fundamentally changed, at least in the USA, leading to men becoming a discriminated gender in science, with their merits receiving less recognition compared to women, at least within the scientific community's own structures.

The authors of the study in question speculated that this might be due to the fear that women would receive less recognition for their work and thus find it more difficult to get their publications into top-tier scientific journals. To compensate for this, science academies would engage in positive discrimination towards them.

In other words, this would reflect the influence of the prevailing "woke" culture in the USA, with the fear of increasingly strong societal pressures manifesting in the selection of academy members. Consequently, this would have led to significant discrimination against men.

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The program of the new Finland´s Government is ready, and ministers are being selected

The new Finnish Government has a program in place, although the appointment of ministers is still pending. Nonetheless, it was genuinely intriguing to read about the selection criteria employed by the leaders of Government's two largest parties: Petteri Orpo of the National Coalition Party and Riikka Purra of the Finns Party.

Petteri Orpo selects ministers based on general and substantive expertise, as well as considering general political experience, gender equality, and regional distribution. He explicitly mentioned that he does not have any specific favorites (team members) within his own party.

On the other hand, Riikka Purra emphasizes the overall and substantive expertise of her ministers. She explicitly stated that gender equality is not a central criterion for her, although a balanced composition is desired also in the Finns Party's ministerial team.

It remains to be seen how these principles will be reflected in the final ministerial appointments. However, it is already clear that Orpo will become the Prime Minister and Purra will serve as the Minister of Finance. The success of the government largely depends on the success of their collaboration.

The goal of this collaboration is to respond to the message conveyed by the voters in the recent parliamentary elections to the country's leadership. That is: Finland's economy must be revived, with a focus on promoting growth and reducing debt. Additionally, the internal security, which has been disrupted due to the immigration policies of previous governments, needs to be restored. 

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Discrimination against women?

As my esteemed reader is aware, gender-related issues are currently a prominent subject of discussion. In light of this, it was delightful to come across a recent study that provided fresh and surprising insights on the matter.

Traditionally, gender discrimination has been widely regarded as a significant contributor to women's disadvantages in the labor market. However, previous studies have produced mixed results due to variations in research designs, making it challenging to compare discrimination estimates across countries.

To address this challenge, the researchers conducted a comparative field experiment on gender discrimination in hiring across six countries. By directly comparing employers' responses to fictional male and female applicants, they were able to draw intriguing conclusions.

Despite variations in crucial institutional, economic, and cultural aspects among the participating countries, the researchers found no evidence of discrimination against women. However, they did observe discrimination against men in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK, while no discrimination against men was found in Norway and the United States.

Even within diverse institutional contexts, employers tended to perceive female applicants as more suitable for roles in female-dominated occupations, all other factors being equal. However, the researchers found no evidence to support the claim that employers prefer male applicants in any location.

Hence, the researchers concluded that the well-known differences in salary between genders likely stem from women and men choosing different types of jobs rather than employers discriminating against women, as sometimes alleged.

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Afghanistan now and in the future

Taliban regime is leading its "Islamic empire" by pushing women out of the visible society. That means no school to girls after the sixth grade and coverage of women´s face in public space - and ultimately pushing the more beautiful gender out of the decision making. 

However, according to a Finnish official in the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that is not the full picture. Although conservatives are now in leading positions in Afghanistan, there are people even in the government, who would like to see also elder girls in the school. 

And we should not forget that after the revolution the country has calmed down so much, that international help can be provided to those who need it. Also the share of people suffering from direct hunger has halved. 

I am not aware what has happened to the corruption, that was enormous in the country during the regime supported by western countries before the Taliban revolution. That, however, is one of the key issues to be solved in attempts to make Afghanistan a decent country for living. 

In regard to the humanitarian development, the most important development will take place among the Taliban leaders. When the current ultraconservative leaders will step out, will they be replaced by similar but younger people? Or will the power be moved to more liberal politicians. 

The latter option might even draw some Afghan expatriates from other countries back to Afghanistan. If so, they could bring skills and attitudes learned in western countries that could accelerate the development of the democracy and economy of the society. 

Although the latter option would change government policy towards more civilized and equal society, the Afghan´s attitudes ares a big question mark. Would they - and especially their most powerful tribal leaders - accept more liberal steps, or would another version of Islamic extremity, namely ISIS, raise its head as a counter reaction? And would that drive the country again into a chaos?

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
The arrival of caliphate citizens must be prevented