I was thinking about doing a series of posts as to how certain facets of our lives affect women. It would be something like the following:
1. Culture
2. Religion
3. Race
4. Reproductive Rights
5. Body Image
... and possibly some more.
For people who are reading this, I want you to know that I am no expert on this subject; it is just something that I am extremely passionate about. I hope that some of you can share my feelings on these topics, and that through this, I can create a forum for healthy discussion.
In high school, I did a lot of Model UN. I used to love the humanitarian committees the most, especially those dealing with the welfare of children and women. Along with other people at international and national conferences, I attempted to devise solutions to time-old problems: female genital mutilation, sex selective abortion, women in government and business, aid to women, sex trafficking, etc. Every time a resolution passed or an agreement reached, I would beam, proud that a bunch of high schoolers were able to think it through and find an answer. If we could come up with a solution in three days, surely the rest of the world, in all its vast intelligence and resources, come up with a workable solution that could be applied everywhere?
Wrong.
What I realized then was that the biggest thing standing in the way of changing the treatment of women and children is culture. Well, I don't know if it is the biggest thing, but it seems quite significant. Culture can be enriching, especially when we learn of those that are different from ours. But it is certainly not surprise that each culture has some level of misogyny--maybe that's not the right word-- but some level of looking at women as submissive, second-class citizens. It is a terrifyingly tragic unifying factor.
And with that, I'll leave you to your thoughts. Expect an exciting discussion on the role of culture in the treatment of women and girls! :)
1. Culture
2. Religion
3. Race
4. Reproductive Rights
5. Body Image
... and possibly some more.
For people who are reading this, I want you to know that I am no expert on this subject; it is just something that I am extremely passionate about. I hope that some of you can share my feelings on these topics, and that through this, I can create a forum for healthy discussion.
In high school, I did a lot of Model UN. I used to love the humanitarian committees the most, especially those dealing with the welfare of children and women. Along with other people at international and national conferences, I attempted to devise solutions to time-old problems: female genital mutilation, sex selective abortion, women in government and business, aid to women, sex trafficking, etc. Every time a resolution passed or an agreement reached, I would beam, proud that a bunch of high schoolers were able to think it through and find an answer. If we could come up with a solution in three days, surely the rest of the world, in all its vast intelligence and resources, come up with a workable solution that could be applied everywhere?
Wrong.
What I realized then was that the biggest thing standing in the way of changing the treatment of women and children is culture. Well, I don't know if it is the biggest thing, but it seems quite significant. Culture can be enriching, especially when we learn of those that are different from ours. But it is certainly not surprise that each culture has some level of misogyny--maybe that's not the right word-- but some level of looking at women as submissive, second-class citizens. It is a terrifyingly tragic unifying factor.
And with that, I'll leave you to your thoughts. Expect an exciting discussion on the role of culture in the treatment of women and girls! :)
Well cultures in some parts of the world treat woman as second class citizens, but as you can see in the past couple decades that has been changing. It may just not be culture, its the resistance to change that is at the front of the problem. All you can do for them is give woman a second chance.
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