Over the years, societies have transformed, and the rights and power of women are starting to be taken as importantly as the rights of men, due to the overarching movements of equality. But in some countries of the world, women are still going through unfair treatment and experiencing much more risk that is solely caused by their biological gender. In this blog, I will explore this problem, and talk about the current situation regarding how women are treated in these countries.
According to Georgetown University’s Institute for Women (GIWPS) and the PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace, and Security, Disparities in the treatment of women have widened across countries in the wake of the COVID-19, based on the third annual Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index.
This index is based on data that measures women’s inclusion, justice access, and security in 170 countries. Norway, Finland, and Iceland topped the list on women’s well-being, while Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen were at the bottom.
According to Dr. Jeni Klugman, GIWPS’s managing director and WPS Index lead author, COVID-19 pandemic, which has widened gender gaps in paid employment and care burdens, and heightened risks of intimate partner violence.
The index shows that in Afghanistan, the return of Taliban has undone progress achieved toward gender equality, and conditions are far worse for women in regions of the country where there are long lasting conflicts.
In an online blog written by Joe McCarthy published on globalcitizen.com, he mentioned too that even though women are far better off than they were a hundred years ago, inequality still exists and remains in many parts of the world. As he puts it, “Some women have a lot more access to rights and opportunities such as education, work options, reproductive health and more, but that is not consistent everywhere.”
Just to list out some of the examples of unfair treatment experienced by women that he has talked about, domestic violence, rape in the war zones, lack of access or denied access to education, etc. are all showing that this world still needs time and progress to improve the treatment of women, and while the situation is better in the more developed regions of this world, the situation is far worse in the less developed regions, or regions of conflict (could be short-term or sustained conflicts).
Here I want to quote the author’s last paragraph in the blog, because I think it is so inspiring to hear --. “It's also important to remember that women (and men) everywhere are fighting, struggling, and advocating for equal rights. Someday they will prevail. The more people who join their side, the sooner they will prevail. It's up to global citizens to join the efforts for gender equality and fairness today.”
In a blog on UN Women, published in 2021, women’s health services, poorly funded even before the pandemic, faced major disruptions, undermining women’s sexual and reproductive health. And report shows that even though women played a central role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, many did not get the leadership they deserve.
Men, on the other hand, in the recent years of feminism protests, have also expressed their concerns and genuine wish to be treated equally, not just for women.
According to Pew Research Center, many problems centred around gender equality, including gender pay gap, lack of female political leadership, one shocking fact is that fewer than a third of UN member states have ever had a woman leader. On this page, it also talks about the #metoo movement, and the fact that more than twice as many Americans support rather than oppose the movement. Most say that, compared with five years ago, those who commit sexual harassment or assault at work are more likely to be held responsible and those who report it are more likely to be believed.
Personally, I once experienced sexual harassment at a university, and when reported to the administration, one of the male administrators chose to think that I might have misreported it or made it up. Only after several rounds of confirmation and arguing, did they choose to believe me and agreed to help me find evidence.
These small things that happen in life show often the amount of ignorance and disrespect women will face, when they accuse a male of sexual harassment or assault, and it only means that people are still largely in the mindset that people(males) we are familiar with do not have the ability to commit such crimes, and therefore they were often times naturally assumed to be innocent.
There are still many phenomenon and issues to be discussed around this topic, but most importantly, it is up to ourselves to raise our own awareness and contribute towards the common goal of eliminating gender discrimination and inequality.
References
Rodriguez, L. (2021). The 10 Best and Worst Countries to Be a Woman in 2021. [online] Global Citizen. Available at: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/best-worst-countries-for-women-gender-equality/.
Global Citizen. (n.d.). 13 Stories That Show How Women Are Treated Around the World. [online] Available at: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/x-stories-explore-women-girls-equality/.
UN Women (2021). What does gender equality look like today? UN Women. [online] 6 Oct. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2021/10/feature-what-does-gender-equality-look-like-today.
Belingheri, P., Chiarello, F., Fronzetti Colladon, A. and Rovelli, P. (2021). Twenty years of gender equality research: A scoping review based on a new semantic indicatorr. PLoS ONE, [online] 16(9), pp.1–27. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474.
NW, 1615 L.S., Suite 800Washington and Inquiries, D. 20036USA202-419-4300 | M.-8.-8. | F.-4.-4. | M. (n.d.). Gender Equality & Discrimination Archives. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/gender-lgbtq/gender-equality-discrimination/.
Brown, A. (2022). More Than Twice as Many Americans Support Than Oppose the #MeToo Movement. [online] Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/09/29/more-than-twice-as-many-americans-support-than-oppose-the-metoo-movement/.
Rosa, R. and Clavero, S. (2021). Gender equality in higher education and research. Journal of Gender Studies, 31(1), pp.1–7. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2022.2007446.
Schaeffer, K. (n.d.). For Women’s History Month, a look at gender gains – and gaps – in the U.S. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/27/for-womens-history-month-a-look-at-gender-gains-and-gaps-in-the-us/ [Accessed 28 Feb. 2024].
Greenwood, S. (2023). Women and Political Leadership Ahead of the 2024 Election. [online] Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/09/27/women-and-political-leadership-ahead-of-the-2024-election/.
Kochhar, R. (2023). The Enduring Grip of the Gender Pay Gap. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/03/01/the-enduring-grip-of-the-gender-pay-gap/.
Quick links:
Twenty years of gender equality research: A scoping review based on a new semantic indicator - PMC (nih.gov)
Podcast Reflection (on Race)
The podcast by NPR was published three years ago, and talked about the phenomenon of American police killing African Americans based on a lack of evidence, and therefore lead to national concern and attention.
It first started by mentioning some of the recent killings that happened around the period in which the podcast was created. The family of a Kentucky woman was shot and killed by police; a policeman killed an unarmed black man while sitting on his head, pinning him to the ground, not letting him breathe; and endless stories, all repetitive themes, and situations.
The female podcaster then talked about a lecturing experience at a primary school, when an African American 8th grader asked her, why have the killings of African Americans by white people continued since the time of slavery? This question has made her speechless.
The repetitive happenings of the same/similar unstoppable tragedies have turned collective attention to this perpetual problem, why this generation? Why in a time when slavery has long been abolished?
Though it is difficult to analyse the personal psychology of those policeman who committed these acts of cruelty, it is necessary for us average citizens to keep aware of this problem, and educate future generations to improve this problem, even if there are challenges.
The podcast mentioned a specific racial profiling case, that is the killing of Oscar
Oscar Grant – was killed on new year’s day. That is when the wave of police abuse started.
A black person was shot 8 times in the back before the police placed to false evidence to support the crime.
It is very uncomfortable to think about, why such a phenomenon could be allowed to happen nationwide, and no one in the government has had the incentive or power to fix it. As a non-American citizen, I feel very lucky to live in a world where there are no police conflicts like this, but it is also my genuine wish to the American people that their country’s scars be healed, and that their people could live happily in an environment where they feel protected and watched out for.
From my personal point of view, the point of police’s existence is to protect its citizens, not to become a source of threat, making the citizens feel suffocated and hard to live under their “regime”. I think that American police might have overthought the extent of their power, and there it led to such problems as these.
Podcast Reflection 2 (on Class, Inequality and the Pandemic)
Link to Podcast:
Class, Inequality, and the Pandemic with John Ralston Saul | Institute for New Economic Thinking (ineteconomics.org)
In this podcast, John Ralston Saul, writer and political philosopher, talks to Rob about citizenry and society in light of COVID-19. They discuss models for civic engagement that could better tackle the pandemic, as well as other social problems, such as poverty and inequality, and how these problems manifested especially in the time of the pandemic.
In the beginning of the podcast, they summarised the overall sentiment towards this time of uncertainty, the sheer amount of challenges going forward, and expressed the wish that “what’s happening now doesn’t entrap us for what’s happening next.”
Going through the pandemic and coming out of it, the speaker said he could see people trying to ask -- who to blame? Who’s going to be at fault for all of this? He said that the mainstream argument will almost always be: the other is to blame.
During the pandemic: the speaker said that those who don’t have healthcare, and those who don’t have shelter, were blamed for transmitting those viruses, but perhaps society was built in such a way that certain groups of people are extremely vulnerable. And these people have suffered the most loss during this pandemic.
The podcast speaker has also said that in his view, America is a highly class-defined country. He also found that most people are willing to talk about money but not willing to talk or think about the concept of class.
My personal view is that those who are not part of a certain class would live under different circumstances, which would cause them to have certain vulnerabilities that might not be necessarily shared by people who come from a higher class. And this kind of vulnerability is magnified during this pandemic. Such as people living in urban centres (small and packed apartments) compared to those who live in independent suburban houses.
The struggle between different classes in society has been a long and enduring one since the beginning of this world. Many people have managed to become higher classes through their own efforts and due to the right circumstances/conditions. However, from my perspective, governments should use the money paid by taxpayers to improve communities around the country, to build schools, improve infrastructure, and make sure to have a stable financial system, so that all people have an equal chance to thrive and get wealthy, so that wealth is not something that is only reserved for a small percentage of people.
Advice on Achieving Racial Equality
Teach values of equality and inclusivity to children while they were in school.
Implement policies and procedures to solve problems such as racial profiling, and allocate money to improve black communities’ housing, education, and to reduce crime rate, encourage good behaviour and positive survival skills. (such as going to school and finishing education.)
Establish a black cultural fund, specifically to improve the racial inequality problems faced by many of the poorer black communities. Help the families find an industry/job that is most fit for them.
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