Gender Inequality (compiled for printing)

‘Women will never enjoy the same rights as men’ do you agree? Requirements of question: Students need to expressly deal with the word ‘never’ in the question and pay attention to the finality of the word. The best scripts should examine the changing situation of women in various societies, in various contexts, such as the home, work and politics. Possible points to raise for discussion: •

The changing nature of societies has conferred women more rights than before, arguably placing them in the same league as men Universal suffrage and emancipation of women have allowed women to vote, work, run for politics – which they have been denied in the past. In the most liberal societies, women already have significant political power e.g. New Zealand with most Members of Parliament being female. Powerful female politicians e.g. Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice have pushed traditional boundaries and inspired many other women with their tenacity and competence. One could argue that in such liberal societies most women do have same rights as men, as their male counterparts would so respond (testily) to the cries of feminists.

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Women are protected by the courts and this protection entitles women more rights In fact, some argue that women already have more rights than men. Women’s Charter expressly champions the welfare of women – there isn’t a Charter for men. Under the Penal Code, men would be prosecuted for raping a woman but never the other way round. A woman is also entitled maintenance to be paid by her ex-husband upon divorce (not the other way round) – she most likely would have the custody of their child too. Legally, women have been conferred more rights due to societal perception that they are weaker and hence need greater legal protection.

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In the workplace, most women are not granted equal rights to promotion. This may or may not change, depending on the response of society Upon closer examination however, one would realise that most women do not actually have equal rights in workplace. While legally women are protected from discrimination in the workplace, some sociologists argue that underrepresentation of women in the higher ranks of work is indicative of selective promotion biased against women. For every Carly Fiorina, there are more women out there denied chances of promotion. Some political analysts speculate that Hillary Clinton was a victim of sexism in her recent campaign. Rights are conferred not just by the legal system but also by society (since the validation of rights hinges on the approval or support of society). Hence, if society sees women as weaker counterparts, they might be denied rights to lead. Students need to take a stand as to whether this meant that women will never enjoy the same rights – perhaps with media attention against such practices, these instances where women are denied equal opportunity will be minimised.

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Attitudes and laws or cultures of certain societies prevent women from enjoying the same rights as men In some conservative societies, women are certainly denied equal rights that men have. In Arabic nations, women are discouraged from seeking employment but are expected to stay at home. Shariah law expressly states that a woman’s duty is to give birth to children, service the needs of her husband and never question the authority of him. In Saudi Arabia, a 19-yearold victim of gang rape was sentenced by the judge to receive 200 lashes because she was in the company of a man who was not a relative prior to the rape. Due to the entrenched religiosity of such societies, it can be argued that, here, women would never enjoy the same rights as men. Discuss the plight of women in the world today

Sadly, sexual discrimination against females still exists in the world today; this is evident especially in the economically less developed countries. In spite of active championing of human rights and equality by female activities, women in some countries still do not have all the rights men do. In Kuwait, women are specially still denied the right to vote for a national leader. In Saudi Arabia, Muslim women are still required to wear a veil over their faces as their religious practice is that their faces should not be revealed to men; it is deemed to be morally inappropriate if they do so. Though many women are becoming educated- 50% of Saudi Arabia’s university graduates are female, only 5% of the workforce are females. This is due to the fact that society still feels that a woman’s place should be at home and many women dare not work for fear of being criticized. Hence, women’s status has not improved much; women are still chained by the fetters of societal conventions.

Gender inequality Gender prejudice is so deep across Asia Pacific region that development levels do not necessarily correlate with high political participation for the women in elective office. Japan and South Korea have only about 10% of MPs who are women. Gender disparity in the corporate world – Percentage in female employees is highest in USA (52%) and lowest in India (23%) Other disparities: Women nominal wages are 17% lower than men’s. Women perform 66% of the world’s work, produce 50% of the food, earn 10% of the income and own 1% of the property. Female infanticide and sex selective abortion (made easier with modern medical technology) have caused a severe gender imbalance in Asia. UNDP report found that East Asia had the world’s highest malefemale sex ratio at birth, with 119 boys born for every 100 girls. This far exceeds the world average of 107 boys for every 100 girls.

Asia is ‘missing’ about 96 million women.