Saturday, February 13, 2010
Who is to really be blamed for inequality of genders?
4 comments
By: Anonymous - from the series of guest posts written by Dr. Baldwin's students at Michigan State University.
As a woman in the United States of America, I take for granted some of the rights that other women are not given. For instance, I did not even second guess if I would be accepted into college primarily based on my gender. There are many other rights that I do not have to think about as I go through each day, like the freedom of wearing whatever I choose and without covering my face, or being able to apply to any job I want without being disregarded because of my sex. These rights were granted by the law, but it took the fight from society to actually establish them throughout the country. Today, we still must fight for equality among gender regardless what the law may state. The Declaration of Sentiments formed in 1848 says that” all men and women are created equal”. Women still earn less than men in the workforce. We have yet to see a woman as the president of the United States.
There are other countries around the world that have not accepted the fact that women are created equal, too. A recent article by Dr. Khalid Alnowaiser in the Khaleej Times, talks about how women in Saudi Arabia must fight for themselves. Dr. Alnowaiser quotes the Quran that clearly states that men are not superior or inferior to women. It is the citizens that have divided the sexes and made the rules for women to live by. These include only being offered a few jobs and are controlled by men. The author continues to state that if women want to change this, they must do themselves. From an outsider’s perspective, it seems that government is the one to blame for the lack of women rights in Middle Eastern countries; however, it is the boundaries that culture has implements that must be broken.
The law can only protect the rights of women, and it takes more than the signing of a bill or amendment for it to take action. Women must stand up all across the globe for accomplishment to take place. It does not matter if it’s Saudi Arabia or the United States, women must take the power into their own hands and defend their civil rights.
As a woman in the United States of America, I take for granted some of the rights that other women are not given. For instance, I did not even second guess if I would be accepted into college primarily based on my gender. There are many other rights that I do not have to think about as I go through each day, like the freedom of wearing whatever I choose and without covering my face, or being able to apply to any job I want without being disregarded because of my sex. These rights were granted by the law, but it took the fight from society to actually establish them throughout the country. Today, we still must fight for equality among gender regardless what the law may state. The Declaration of Sentiments formed in 1848 says that” all men and women are created equal”. Women still earn less than men in the workforce. We have yet to see a woman as the president of the United States.
There are other countries around the world that have not accepted the fact that women are created equal, too. A recent article by Dr. Khalid Alnowaiser in the Khaleej Times, talks about how women in Saudi Arabia must fight for themselves. Dr. Alnowaiser quotes the Quran that clearly states that men are not superior or inferior to women. It is the citizens that have divided the sexes and made the rules for women to live by. These include only being offered a few jobs and are controlled by men. The author continues to state that if women want to change this, they must do themselves. From an outsider’s perspective, it seems that government is the one to blame for the lack of women rights in Middle Eastern countries; however, it is the boundaries that culture has implements that must be broken.
The law can only protect the rights of women, and it takes more than the signing of a bill or amendment for it to take action. Women must stand up all across the globe for accomplishment to take place. It does not matter if it’s Saudi Arabia or the United States, women must take the power into their own hands and defend their civil rights.
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February 14, 2010 at 7:30 PM
This is really interesting. I particularly like the section pertaining to Saudi Arabia. The government publicly declares that men are not superior to women, so why should they have to fight for equality? And why is it the duty of women, and not society to level the playing field? It sounds to me like the government is almost mocking women by saying "Go ahead and try to fix your situation... we'll see how far you get." Granted, there isn't much context to go off of, but I still find this particularly unsettling.
But even more heartbreaking than the stories from the Middle East are those from Africa. Many women face genital mutilation everyday in African countries. They are also considered "unclean" and are disowned by their families if they are raped, which happens often in the midst of all the civil wars on the continent. Around the world women are facing conditions far worse than we can imagine in America.
February 16, 2010 at 12:13 AM
I liked how the author focused on how it is not the law that can make society change and allow for women to have their rights. Especially in countries like Saudi Arabia, where the culture and ideology runs so deep within people. It is the women that need to stand up and make the changes for themselves, and by doing so change the way the rest of society views them and teh power they posses.
February 17, 2010 at 9:06 AM
This was a great article to read. i do agree with you on the fact that the government is also to blame for the lack of women's rights. If they truly want to follow the Quran and have every citizen equal then they should protect the women and the rights they deserve to have.
Ultimately though, the women of Saudi Arabia need to stand up for themselves and strive for what they wish to achieve. This push from the women may just be what is needed to force the government to help obtain women's equal rights. I honestly hope the women of Saudi Arabia stand up and fight for their rights, so they too can be free.
February 18, 2010 at 7:45 PM
I found this article interesting too. I think you are right in saying that women should stand up for themselves if there is to be gender equality in our society. Sadly, we see many examples everyday of women not standing up for themselves. A good example is women facing domestic violence, it is common to see women who are abused stay in the abusive relationship. If women just stand by and let this happen to them, I don't think the cycle is going to end. So, I encourage all women to protect their rights.