When you hear the phrase “women rights,” what do you think about? Well, if you are like most Americans, you think of women’s rights outside of Economically Developed Countries (EDCs) as economically and educationally deprived women. But this image pales when compared to violence against women. Women are often subjected to abuses during armed conflicts, and are often subjected to spousal and other domestic abuses at their homes.
Females make about half of the global population, yet there is a wide gulf in socio-economic welfare of women when compared to men. For instance, approximately 5% of countries have women leadership, only 17% of women make up national legislatures, and a meager 9% of women make world’s judges. Furthermore, women’s disfranchisement in a few countries is astonishing. Thus, not only are women barred from holding office in various divisions of their governments, they have no say in governance whatsoever. About 70% of women globally live well below the poverty line. Women are less literate than men since there is an attitude in some countries that educating women in not a priority - an attitude that is often reinforced by cultural and religious fanaticism.
“The image of men fighting and dying in wars while women wait safely at home is substantially a myth. In many armed conflicts, women noncombatants suffer much more than male soldiers and civilians…women’s bodies become battleground over which opposing forces struggle” (Rourke, 2008). Abuses in the battlefield include rapes, forced impregnation, sex slavery, sodomy, mutilation, and other horrific crimes. In fact, 80% of all refugees from armed conflicts are women and their children.
Yet in society, women also endure noncombatant abuse. According to United Nations (UN) data, at least one third of all women have been beaten, forced into having sex, or abused at least once in their life. And depending on country, 40% to 70% of all female murders occur during domestic violence.
But all is not grim, there has been some progress internationally beginning in 1975 when the UN declared “International Women’s Year” as a kickoff of a decade for women. Later the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) began projects for women related welfare. And the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW treaty of 1979, was instrumental in defining women’s rights on the international stage. Later, the fourth World Conference on Women (WCW) convened in Beijing, China. The convention had about 3,000 delegates from 180 countries. Moreover, there was parallel NGO convention with about 30,000 delegation representing about 2,000 NGOs that deal with women’s issues, at the same time.
So next time you hear of women rights, think again and do something.
NOTE:
Except where noted, the ideas in this article are adopted from a course text book (below) for general discussion purposes.
Rourke, T. John. International Politics on the World Stage. 12 ed. New York: McGraw-Hill., 2008.
These statistics are astonishing! I can't believe so many women have been abused in some way... crazy. I think it's time I open my eyes to the real world because I just got my bangs blown back. I do have to say thought I am glad to see so many women activist groups out there... I'm going to look into these groups and see how I can help raise awareness.
ReplyDeleteYou always post great articles, Moses! Indeed, women still suffer all sorts of discrimination in the world, mostly due to religious fanaticism and cultural backwardness. Women in western countries have made long strides though in the last few decades towards eliminating barriers at the work place. A lot of progress has been made in places like Latin America, for example, where women have even been elected to the presidency. In 2010 in Brazil, a career government employee was elected as the first female president in the country's history. A lot still needs to be done, like equal pay, for example. In the U.S., women still make less on average than men do for performing the same tasks, even though Obama signed a bill into law preventing just that upon taking office. Laws need to be enforced.
ReplyDeletewith regards to men fighting and dieing in wars,i think it is inaccurate to say that it is a myth that women stay home while men go of to war, this point of view does not reflect a war of aggressors where the aggressing state or nation sends its forces and while a majority may be men, there wives,sisters, and other women stay home as men are deployed overseas. These crimes would be committed against the women they would find wherever they are being sent to fight, i am not agreeing with these atrocities but i strongly protest the notion that suggests that somehow women in America under go the same war like conditions as those in Afghanistan. It is the nature of the beast, but if it was up to women entirely , i dont think we would ever go to war, but reality is different; The article should recognize that the women in the battlefield undergp these brutalities but it seems to suggest that all women under go the same. I think some issues are over simplified and put in a overly feminist view with regards to that point of war.I have heard of many fallen and they have left there wives behind, fighting for the things that we believe in; and the overwhelming majority have been men, who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We should honor both the men and women that have done this.
ReplyDelete1.Civil War: MEN:750,000; WOMEN:Some one has stated the number of women soldiers known to the service as little less than four hundred (http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1993/spring/women-in-the-civil-war-1.html)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/civil-war-toll-up-by-20-percent-in-new-estimate.html?pagewanted=all
i dont think their is a greater sacrifice than giving up one's life, i am really taken back by the notion that somehow war events trump giving up one's life for the freedoms we all share.