Even though we are in 21st century I’d have to say that a part of us still in the dark ages. Actually I’m a bit incorrect as even in the Dark Age men and women used to share equal rights. But as we gradually started to become more and more “civilized” we started to neglect the rights of a woman and in some cases we totally denied their rights. Though the condition of women is far better than their condition at the beginniWng of the industrial age in some places of the earth they are still the worse sufferers.
Men and women should share equal rights as equal human beings. But except some countries men are still the dominant half of the society. In this post I’ll not wonder far to explain this issue but stick to this subcontinent, which consists of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. In these countries, in most cases men are the only decision makers of a family. Not just in rural areas but also in many urban areas women are being neglected most of the time. As for example, though men and women do almost same amount of work as day laborers, women receive almost 50% less money than a man. Here many women have to quit there jobs after their marriage just because “they are ‘supposed’ to look after their families”. In India the highest number of girl child is being killed every year before or after their birth. It’s like being born as a girl is a crime!
In rural areas the condition of women is even worse. Her chance of getting proper education in an institute is less than a boy. As she grows up she’ll have no chance of choosing the person she’s going to marry. Her parents will just be happy and relieved to finally get rid of her via marriage as she was seen as a burden in most cases. She’ll not have a say about how many children she’d like to have. In some cases she’ll not even have the right to say something about her husband’s second marriage.
In some places of Pakistan (even in Bangladesh and India) rape victims are seen as criminals and they are segregated from the society and the rapists are allowed to wonder freely. In some cases women who are accused with theft are punished by being raped!
Yes, the condition of women is changing gradually. But this change is so slow that the results are yet to be seen in this part of the world. In my opinion, the things which might help to improve the condition of women are written below…
1. First of all we all must learn to respect all human being- men/women/green/purple- as equal human beings. Racist or sexist behavior is harmful to us, our families and our society.
2. Neglected women should try to gain some self confidence first. They should understand that they are not inferior to men. They should understand that this kind of sexist behavior is wrong and they deserve a much better treatment.
3. Women should try to gain financial freedom- maybe by continuing their jobs or becoming self employed. By this they will not be considered as a liability. Eventually the society will start to give her the respect she deserves. Eventually she’ll gain the right to make decisions for herself and if necessary, for her family.
4. Education is a must.
5. Government should take proper steps to stop this killing of girl child.
I know that it’s easier said than done. But nothing can be done if we don’t try.
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You can also read Child Rights-as i see it
Men and women should share equal rights as equal human beings. But except some countries men are still the dominant half of the society. In this post I’ll not wonder far to explain this issue but stick to this subcontinent, which consists of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. In these countries, in most cases men are the only decision makers of a family. Not just in rural areas but also in many urban areas women are being neglected most of the time. As for example, though men and women do almost same amount of work as day laborers, women receive almost 50% less money than a man. Here many women have to quit there jobs after their marriage just because “they are ‘supposed’ to look after their families”. In India the highest number of girl child is being killed every year before or after their birth. It’s like being born as a girl is a crime!
In rural areas the condition of women is even worse. Her chance of getting proper education in an institute is less than a boy. As she grows up she’ll have no chance of choosing the person she’s going to marry. Her parents will just be happy and relieved to finally get rid of her via marriage as she was seen as a burden in most cases. She’ll not have a say about how many children she’d like to have. In some cases she’ll not even have the right to say something about her husband’s second marriage.
In some places of Pakistan (even in Bangladesh and India) rape victims are seen as criminals and they are segregated from the society and the rapists are allowed to wonder freely. In some cases women who are accused with theft are punished by being raped!
Yes, the condition of women is changing gradually. But this change is so slow that the results are yet to be seen in this part of the world. In my opinion, the things which might help to improve the condition of women are written below…
1. First of all we all must learn to respect all human being- men/women/green/purple- as equal human beings. Racist or sexist behavior is harmful to us, our families and our society.
2. Neglected women should try to gain some self confidence first. They should understand that they are not inferior to men. They should understand that this kind of sexist behavior is wrong and they deserve a much better treatment.
3. Women should try to gain financial freedom- maybe by continuing their jobs or becoming self employed. By this they will not be considered as a liability. Eventually the society will start to give her the respect she deserves. Eventually she’ll gain the right to make decisions for herself and if necessary, for her family.
4. Education is a must.
5. Government should take proper steps to stop this killing of girl child.
I know that it’s easier said than done. But nothing can be done if we don’t try.
(you can consider subscribing if you like this post)
You can also read Child Rights-as i see it
What a thoughtful and well written post. I cannot understand why men in this day and age can be so cold-hearted as to still deny women equality. Most importantly we observe that even woman in so-called "leading nations" have not achieved wage parity with men.
ReplyDeleteFor example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005, women in America still earn on average 78 cents for every dollar paid to men, and 31% of Americans living in poverty are women, who head single parent families.
thank you TimeThief for your comment and the addition...
ReplyDeletethanks
Hi Irtiza, don't forget to add Middle East countries about this women's right thing.
ReplyDeleteFrom my point of view, it really is depend on their culture. Here in Indonesia, we have some tribe with their women rule almost about everything. And they still do until now. But we have to admit that these culture is a minority.
I agree whole-heartedly.
ReplyDeleteAldhis, yes i also could have talked about middle east countries...
ReplyDeletein our country also there are some tribes where women control everything, they are so small in proportion to the total population that it's not worth mentioning.
peace
I think because of societal and cultural values, it would be very difficult for women to achieve equality with men. I don't know of other countries, but in my home country, even women know there's a limit to what they should expect. Maybe that's just the way things are meant to be.
ReplyDelete