WOMAN'S RIGHTS - HUMAN'S RIGHTS
In the past few weeks, the previous blogs have communicated with the readers about women’s rights, specifically in marriage and education. There has been many information given to extend the knowledge and awareness of readers; however, a final communication between the bloggers and readers is also needed to cover the crucial points of all blogs. Marlo Thomas, an American actress, said “We have been taught to believe that actions speak louder than words. But I think words speak pretty loud all of our lives; we carry these words in our head”(brainyquote.com). Therefore, we need to remind people about the loss of women’s rights in marriage and education in order to find solutions. In the beginning of the blog series, the causes of imbalanced illiteracy and some statistics have been shown. The lack of basic needs such as electricity and proper school buildings increases the illiteracy in urban areas. Not so many urban areas have access to electricity in many countries; only 22 percent in Saharan Africa and 85 percent in Vietnam have access to electricity (“Statistic on literacy”). The infrastructure of the school buildings also creates the fear of going to school in students. Some “schools” in poor countries are built with six to seven wood columns holding a metal sheet on top as a roof; no windows or doors are available to prevent diseases from affecting students. In some schools, boys and girls have to use the same bathrooms, so girls are afraid of sexual harassment. Furthermore, the journeys to school for some students have never been “smooth”. In martial arts movies, we usually see how the main character has to go through all the triumphs in order to obtain the education from his/her master. In some cases, the students’ journeys to education are like that. They have to swim across big rivers, climb up hazardous mountains, and fly on steel and unstable cables. These reasons discourage students to go to school, and stop them from getting their education. The next big issue attacking women’s rights is the practice of arranged marriage. The purpose of arranged marriage is to serve the selfishness, enhance the prejudice, and increase the separation of society. Arranged marriages happen more likely in wealthy families. In order to maintain the power and the money in the families, parents would arrange marriages for their children ever since they were young to “hold the spot”. In addition, marriage is also used as tools to solve family problems such as accidental pregnancy. The worst arranged marriage is the “mail order bride”. “ Mail order bride” is a type of marriage that women are treated like products for men to choose. This kind of arranged marriage extremely insults the value of a woman. Arranged marriage ruins the sacred meaning of the true marriage. It is unfair for women to lose their freedom of choice. Have women not suffered enough? Why would someone want to take away their choices in marriage, especially in Asia, where marriage can only happen once in a woman’s life. God creates people in his own image, whether they are male or female. Therefore, men must respect the freedom and choices that the women are rightfully deserved. For a very long time, women were oppressed, and treated nothing more than objects that every man could possess. But the world constantly changes, and women have earned their voices in society. They are able to speak up for what is wrong in this world. However, in some parts of the world, the conventional beliefs about women’s rights still exist. Those places are where we must put our minds in and find solutions. We must take action upon those injustices happening to women. You may ask why we have to care about other countries while our country still has so many issues. However, Martin Luther King, Jr said that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”(brainyquote.com). If we do not take action, and solves those problems, they will become contagious viruses that destroy the world. Knowing the facts and information is just the first step of releasing women from domination. There must be solutions for these problems as soon as possible. In fact, there are organizations running and fighting for women’s right in marriages. For many years, we have heard many heroic female figures fighting for the rights of education; one of the famous activists is Yousafzai Malala. People are more aware of problems around the world, but only a few are there to join and take actions. However, they must remember that all males and females are born equal, bestowed by God, and created as a community. No community should separate and let the corruption ruin it. "Marlo Thomas." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2017. 5 April 2017. www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marlothoma371603.html
"Martin Luther King, Jr.." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2017. 5 April 2017. www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth122559.html “Statistics on Literacy”. UNESCO, www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/education-building-blocks/literacy/resources/statistics. Accessed 05 April 2017. Photo: Aipa, Daniel. “The Journeys These Students Take To School Will Make You Value Education”. Life hack, www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/the-journey-some-students-take-school-will-make-you-value-education.html. Accessed 10 February 2017.
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“Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife” said Franz Schubert. Marriage has always been the most sacred ritual in a person’s life. Marriage involves two distinct individuals walking on the same path to the rest of their life. However, the true meaning of marriage has been distorted in the world. Arranged marriage was born to serve the selfishness, prejudiced and conventional beliefs, and the corruption of certain individuals. In order to stamp out arranged marriage, a comprehension of the causes of arranged marriage must be brought out. In addition, the impacts of arranged marriage must also be taken seriously; arranged marriage not only hurts women physically, but also mentally. The first cause of arranged marriage come from the selfishness of parents. Children are used as tools to create bonds between families. In order to pursue the strong links between family, many wealthy families choose to promise a marriage that will definitely happen when their children reach a certain age. Marrying to gain more power happened frequently in the 17th and 18th century. Parents would rather give away their children’s happiness to gain a good social status for family than give them the human’s rights that they were born with. The best example illustrates royalties using marriage to pursue a unbreakable bond is the marriage of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. In 1066, William, the Duke of Normandy, invaded England. In order to gain social status and create wealthy bonds between two family, Matilda’s parents decided to arrange her marriage with William (Charkow, “Royal Marriages”). Marriage is the highest stage of love; therefore, marriage must come from love not from self-interest of anybody. Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia, said “We must become bigger than we have been: more courageous, greater in spirit, larger in outlook. We must become members of a new race, overcoming petty prejudice, owing our ultimate allegiance not to nations but to our fellow men within the human community”. However, the infamous prejudice carries over to marriages. There are many families that do not want their children to marry people that have different religious beliefs, because those families believe that marrying people from different religious practices will disgrace their own religions. Religious prejudice spreads widely in countries that have a diversity of religions such as India. According to Censusindia.gov, Hinduism has the most followers in religious communities with 80.5 percent. Most Hindus families do not allow their children to marry the people from other religions. That prejudiced belief makes arranged marriage become commonly practiced in India; moreover, arranged marriage is legal. As reported by Learningindia.in, 90 percent of all marriages in India were arranged, and 65 percent of young Indians had their parents arrange their marriages. In summary, prejudice is not an ignorable problem; there must be solutions to prejudice before it digs deeper into marriages in the world. One of the three biggest causes of arranged marriage is dealing with the consequences of accidental pregnancy. Young girls are forced to do an undesired marriage in order to fix the mistake of pregnancy. The accidental pregnancy happens more frequently in Latin American countries; young women had sexual relations with the men she didn’t wish to marry, but when they were found pregnant, they had no choice but to get married (“Report of arranged marriage in Canada”). However, this is the most dangerous marriage, because women are more likely to be abused in this marriage; violence will rapidly increase when a woman marries a man she doesn’t have any plans to get married to. This matter relates to the education of young girls and young boys about sex. Although using marriages to deal with accidental pregnancies is the most dangerous marriage to women, it can be prevented early. The effects of arranged marriage on women are extremely dangerous. Arranged marriage can prevent women from pursuing their education. During pregnancy, women are more likely to be out of school for a period of time, but after the babies’ birth no one is willing to come back to school. Instead of going back to finish their education, they want to dedicate their time to work for living, and the mother’s lack of education will affect the child’s education. In Jamaica, a study found out that 60 percent of pregnancies occurred at high schools, only 16 percent returned to schools after their children’s births (“The impact of early pregnancy”). Another issue of arranged marriage is the risk of mortality. As stated by Advocatesforyouth.org, the risk of dying of pregnant adolescent’s risk in Paraguay is 52 times higher than in the United States. Moreover, 20 percent of young female deaths create much more complicated situations adding to the early-pregnancy issue in Paraguay. Due to the undeveloped bodies of young girls, experiencing pregnancy in the early ages will carry a high risk of death. Furthermore, if the teen mother is able to survive the birth, the newborn child is more likely to be premature, or suffer from “retarded fetal growth” (“The impact of early pregnancy”). People need to be more aware of the hazardous impact of arranged marriage; the danger of arranged marriage is undeniable so there must be actions taken in order to prevent the deaths of many teen mothers and newborn children. Marriage is a gift from the Creator to humans. Therefore, people must appreciate His gift and protect the goodness of marriage. They must not let the selfishness, prejudice, and mistakes in relationships stand in the way of finding true love. Knowing the causes and impacts of arranged marriage is just the first step; the next step is to take action. Work cited
Brainy Quote, www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/franzschub325151.html?src=t_marriage. Accessed 22 March 2017. Brainy Quote, www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/haileselas540921.html. Accessed 22 March 2017. Charkow, Ryan. “In Depth: Royal marriages throughout history.” CBC News, 21 March. 2011, www.cbc.ca/news/world/royal-marriages-throughout-history-1.1049949. Accessed 06 March 2017. Miller, Neil. “What you didn’t know about arranged marriages in India.” Learning India, 2 September. 2014, www.learningindia.in/arranged-marriages/. Accessed 23 March 2017 “Religion.” Census India, www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/religion.aspx. Accessed 23 March 2017. “Report on the Practice of Forced Marriage in Canada: Interviews with Frontline Workers Exploratory Research Conducted in Montreal and Toronto in 2008”. Justice, www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/fv-vf/fm-mf/p2.html. Accessed 23 March 2017. “The Impact of Early Pregnancy and Childbearing on Adolescent Mothers and Their Children.” Advocates for youth, www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/publications-a-z/432-the-impact-of-early-pregnancy-and-childbearing-on-adolescent-mothers-and-their-children. Accessed 23 March 2017. Photo: "Nepalese men in a wedding ceremony; arranged marriages are the norm in mainstream culture." Countries and Their Cultures, edited by Carol R. Ember and Melvin Ember, vol. 3, Macmillan Reference USA, 2001. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&sw=w&u=5166pchs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CPC3401787769&it=r&asid=32570422e46736475cb96627abcdf3b1. Accessed 25 Mar. 2017. “The real act of marriage takes place in the heart, not in the ballroom or church or synagogue. It is a choice you make - not just on your wedding day, but over and over again - and that choice is reflected in the way you treat your husband or wife” said Barbara De Angelis. However, the choice of marriage has never been given to some women. The existence of sexism affects the belief of women’s marriage in some culture. Especially in European and Southeast Asian countries, arranged marriage plays a crucial role in maintaining a country’s system, stopping wars, and keeping the royal bloodline. Women have no rights to speak for their freedom and no free will of marriage. Moreover, women are always expected to use marriage as a way to solve the problems. The three common arranged marriage, which damage the rights of women in marriage the most, are child marriage, diplomatic marriage, and mail order. According to New World Encyclopedia in an article about arranged marriage, child marriage is an agreement between two children’s parents to allow their children to get married in the future; the two children are not allowed to meet each other until the wedding ceremony. There are differences in married age in some cultures. While children in some cultures will get married when they are in the age of puberty, children in other cultures will get married when they are only five months old. Of course, two five-month-old children will not have any ideas that they have already been married, and they will not be allowed to have any babies until their bodies are well developed. In addition, child marriage can be involved between a young child and an adult for certain circumstances. The story of Nujood Ali is the best example of a child who was a victim of an arranged marriage to a thirty-year-old man named Faez Ali Thamer. In her book, I am Nujood Ali, Age 10 and Divorced, Ali told that her family was in need of money because of her father’s addiction to cigarette. Therefore, in order to solve the problem, her father arranged a marriage to Faez Ali Thamer. Not only was Ali regularly beaten by her mother in law, but also she was raped by her husband. Fortunately, she was able to seek for justice in 2008 and break free from her dreadful marriage. Nujood’s story is one of many stories that children are used, abused, and sexually harassed. Instead of deserving normal childhoods, children like Nujood have to suffer the dread of arranged marriage.
Among arranged marriages, diplomatic marriage is probably the most important marriage; many conflicts have been settled by diplomatic marriages. However, what is diplomatic marriage? Diplomatic marriage is the marriage arranged due to political reasons in order to create bonds and relationships between royal families or countries (“Arranged marriage”). The typical example of a diplomatic marriage is the marriage between the Englishman John Rolfe and the Indian Chief’s daughter Pocahontas. In 1608, the intense war between the English settlers and the Native Indians reached the pinnacle, and the agreement of peace seemed to be unreachable. However, the marriage between John Rolfe and Pocahontas put an end to the raging war between the English and the Native American. Furthermore, there are many more marriages that were set to save the country’s crisis such as the alliance of Spain and Britain which was created by the marriage of King Henry VIII and Princess Catherine, and the existence of British monarchy was strengthened by the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Charkow, “Royal Marriages”). These marriages control the continuation of the countries. It is true that these marriages are strategic and important to the countries. However, these marriages do not symbolize the true meaning of marriage. According to Merriam Webster, marriage is the “state of being united as spouses in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law”. However, during that period of time, it was normal for princes and kings to have multiple wives, while queens could only get married once. Therefore, there were no reasons for female to waste their happinesses while there are still inequalities for women in societies. Additionally, women must have rights to choose when it comes to marriage. The worst marriage that can happen to women is the “mail order bride”. Men will actually pick women from a catalog, and these women can be from other countries. Mail order brides has become a popular service in Russia, where there are more women than men. Different from the tradition that a man makes the first move to approach the woman he likes, a woman can directly contact the man. Seth Barnes, a blogger at Sethbarnes.com, explained in an article about how mail order brides became so popular in some countries such as Moldova. In his blog, he pointed out the consequences which the former Soviet Republic left on Moldova. After the fall of the Soviet Republic, Moldova was left with the collapse of economy (Barnes, “Mail-order bride”). According to Seth Barnes, Moldova has the unemployment rate of 85 percent, which is the highest in Europe. For this reason, most of the citizens of Moldova migrate to other countries such as France or Russia to work. In worst cases, women get trafficked to another country, or participate in marriage services in hopes for a better life. Marriage comes from mail order bride is not only the worst arranged marriage, but it also deteriorates the human rights of women. Marriage must be understood as the consent between two people, and each of them must value the other’s existence in his or her life. The creation of marriage is to build a family that will nurture the next generations. However, an arranged marriage is totally opposite. The existence of arranged marriage ceases the freedom of women’s choices, and it creates distorted views about women’s roles in society. Therefore, there must be limits for this global issue. 7.5 billion people is the current population of the world (“International Database World Population”, 1). 774 million people is the number of adults who have never stepped foot in classrooms, two third of which are girls (“Statistics on Literacy”). These numbers may frighten you to think that there are people have never attended school or finished their education. These numbers increase as the readers read this blog. In order to notify others about this issue, we must have good knowledge about the statistics of the women’s illiteracy. According to UNESCO in 2013, 54 of the 76 million illiterate young women live in only 9 countries: India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of The Congo, United Republic of Tanzania, Egypt, and Burkina Faso (“Women and girls’ education - facts & figures”). India was at the top of the list with over 25 million uneducated women; Pakistan and Nigeria followed behind India with less than 10 million; the other countries are less than 5 millions. The website unwomen.org reports that only 39 percent of rural girls are able to attend secondary school, while rural boys have a percentage of 59 for attending school (“Commission On The Status Of Women”, 3). There are many factors that contribute to the prevention of attending school many countries. For example, in Pakistan, if the distance from a child’s house to school increases half-kilometer, there will be a deduction of girls attending school due to the danger of war (“Commission On The Status of Women”, 4). In Cambodia, the percentage of women who are illiterate is 48 compared to 14 percent of rural men, because the road from their homes to schools are mostly arduous; most of the rural areas have big rivers that require students to cross over those rivers to get to school. Due to gender equality, more boys are able to attend school than girls . As shown in the graph, the number of illiterate females has significantly changed over time. From 1985 to 1994, the young female’s illiterate was 106 million people; however, there was a change as the number of uneducated women dropped from 106 to 86 million people from 1995 to 2004, and decreased again from 86 to 68 million people in 2013. Although, the number shows that there has been improvement in women’s world, there is still injustice for women in the world. In West and Central Africa, for every 100 literate men there are 44 literate women, which means that there are still 60 illiterate women in some parts of Africa (“Literacy among youth is rising, but young women lag behind”). ![]() Nowadays, the world can not deny the great contributions that females have done, especially in scientific research. For example, Rachel Carson, an American marine biologist and conservationist, succeeded in revolutionizing the global environmental movement; her researches and contributions were inspirations for many global protections in the world (Scientist, “10 Famous Women Scientists in History”). Another example is Wanad M. Austin. Wanad is one of the leading architects for the national-security space program, serving on President Barack Obama’s Review of Human Spaceflight Plans Committee in 2009 and 2010 (Lynette, “17 Black Women In Science and Tech You Should Know”). Despite many works of women, there are still lack of involvement of women in the scientific area in the world. The number of women working in the research field is: 30 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa, 19 percent in South and West Asia, 47 percent in Central Asia, 45 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 32 percent in North America and Western Europe, 40 percent in Arab states, 49 percent in Central and Eastern Europe, and 23 percent in East Asia and the Pacific (“Women Researchers By Country”) The statistics shown above are capricious. In order to decrease the illiteracy of women, we must act now. There are organizations that have been fighting for women’s rights, and fighting for little girls to be able to go to school. Yet, they need more people to participate in helping change the world. No child must be left behind, and every child deserves an equal education. Therefore, actions are needed more than ever, so that these statistics will be history. “How much better to get wisdom than gold. To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.” - Proverbs 16:16 (Holy Bible - NIV, Proverbs. 16.16) WORK CITED
Holloway, Lynette. “17 Black Women in Science and Tech You Should Know”, Theroot, 03 July. 2014, www.theroot.com/17-black-women-in-science-and-tech-you-should-know-1790868408. Accessed 20 February 2017.Holy Bible. New International Version, Biblica, 2011. Scientist. “10 Famous Women Scientists in History”. Famousscientists, www.famousscientists.org/10-famous-women-scientists/. Accessed 20 February 2017. UNESCO. “Women and Girls’ education - Facts & Figures.” unesco, www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/international-womens-day-2014/women-ed-facts-and-figure/. Accessed 20 February 2017. Unicef. “Literacy among youth is rising, but young women lag behind.” unicef, April 2016, www.data.unicef.org/topic/education/literacy/#. Accessed 20 February 2017. Unicef. “Literacy among youth is rising, but young women lag behind.” unicef, April 2016, www.data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Education_Literacy_Figure1_300_147.png . Accessed 20 February 2017. Unicef. “Literacy among youth is rising, but young women lag behind.” unicef, April 2016, www.data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Education_Literacy_Figure2_72_148.png . Accessed 20 February 2017. Unwomen. “Facts & Figures.” unwomen, www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/commission-on-the-status-of-women-2012/facts-and-figures. Accessed 20 February 2017. “International Data Base World Population by Age and Sex.” census, www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/worldpop.php. Accessed 20 February 2017 “International Literacy Day 2013.” unesco, www.uis.unesco.org/literacy/Documents/Intl-literacy-day/literacy-infographic-2013-en.pdf. Accessed 20 February 2017. “Women Researchers In Science.”, ffctn, www.ffctn.com/a/womeninscience/#overview!region=40515. Accessed 20 February 2017. Every student understands the importance of education, but many students take it for granted. Most of these students complain that the current education does not equip them with what they need in their lives; students see no practical values from the subjects they study. Is it really the school’s fault for not having good educational system? Or is it the irresponsible students who would rather hang out with friends than go to schools? In order to indulge their laziness, students would come up with a variety of excuses. These students do not realize the educations they have are dreams to other students in the world. In some parts of the world, some students can hardly go to school due to the conditions of the school facilities, and the environment they live in. Furthermore, women do not only face those problems, they also have to deal with the prejudice between men and women; men are allowed to get their education while women are not. In fact, out of 176 million children ranging from five to seventeen years old, two third are girls. Therefore, a question is set “What are the specific causes of this imbalanced illiteracy ?” Ranking number one on the list of the causes of illiteracy is the poor condition of the school’s facilities. Many schools in developing countries struggle with the problem of not having hygienic air, windows, and electricity. As a matter of fact, in Saharan Africa, only 22 percent of the schools gain access to electricity (“Statistics on Literacy”). In addition, the lack of school supplies such as books also contributes to the loss of students attending schools. Looking at rural areas in Southeast Asia, the infrastructure of public schools in Vietnam is highly degraded: rain water leaks through the ceiling; unstable and hazardous stars; stained bathrooms affect the student’s health (“Statistics on Literacy”). Moreover, in some regions, the schools do not provide separate bathrooms for boys and girls. For this reasons, the fear of sexual harassment in young girls is created. Also the so called “school” is actually a shelter built from six to seven wood columns holding a metal sheet on top as a roof; no windows or doors are available to keep diseases from affecting students. Consequently, students are not eager to go to schools; teachers are unenthusiastic when it comes to teaching in these rural areas. . ![]() Next on the list of reasons for illiteracy is the belief that women do not need to be educated. Specifically in Southeast Asia, young girls are not allowed to go to school. Instead, these girls are expected to stay home, help with chores, and prepare skills to become good wives. In the other hand, boys are able to go to schools because they are believed to be the main pillars of the family. Women are trusted to produce heirs, and if they fail to do that, they are disgraces to the family. However, the world has been witnessing many women overcoming adversities in their lives, and making many great contributions to their societies. Creating the robots that could sense and respond to their environment in 1979, Ruzena Bajcsy - a professor at Berkeley - opened a new path for the world’s mechanical science(Svitil, “The 50 Most Important Women In Science”). Believing in the value of education, Malala Yousafzai - A Pakistani activist - is fighting for the equality in education for the young women in Pakistan and the world. These women, and many more, have sent a clear message to the world that women are as strong, intelligent, and independent as men; they can do what men can do. As stated in a study about literacy program in Arab region, an educated mother will likely raise her child better than an uneducated mother does(Alem, “Literacy Programs in Arab Region”) . The bond between a mother and a child is unbreakable; therefore, the mother has the responsibility to nurture the intellect of the child. The biggest reason prevents students in rural areas from going to school is the adversity in transportations. Normally, students go to school by cars, bikes, or school buses, but students living in areas where civilization can barely reach have difficulties to go to school. Due to the difficulties in transporting from homes to schools, lots of students would rather stay home than cross huge rivers, climb mountains, and fly on steel cables. Capturing by Daniel Aipa, the photos clearly illustrates the hazards, which children in rural areas have to combat everyday(Aipa, “The Journeys Of Students To Schools”). Is it horrifying looking at those photos? Will any students still think going to school is going to prison while these young children’s lives are on the edge of death in order to pursue knowledge? As stated in a famous quote by Malcolm X, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”(brainyquote.com). Education is the key to the door of future; everybody dreams of making the earth a better place for all the creations of God, but a dream will remain a dream unless everyone is able to learn, understand, and apply the knowledges of the world. Out in this world are knowledges waiting to be discovered. However, humankind is not going to be able to achieve those knowledges if these perilous journeys to school still happens. Think about the facilities the schools offer young girls in most rural areas in the world; think about the struggle they have with the conventional customs in their cultures; think about a child who may be born illiterate; think about how the joyful trips to school turn into survival games. Thinking about those issues will make students appreciate more what they have and how lucky they are to be educated. Work Cited "Malcolm X." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2017. 13 April 2017. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/malcolmx386475.html Alem, Maria. “Literacy Programs in Arab Region: A Stubborn Problem”. Voicesofyouth.org, http://www.voicesofyouth.org/en/posts/literacy-programs-in-arab-region--a-stubborn-problem. Accessed 13 April 2017. Svitil, Kathy. “The 50 Most Important Women in Science”. Discover Magazine, 01 November 2002, http://www.discovermagazine.com/2002/nov/feat50. Accessed 13 April 2017. “Statistics on Literacy”. UNESCO, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/education-building-blocks/literacy/resources/statistics. Accessed 13 April 2017. Photo
Aipa, Daniel. “The Journeys These Students Take To School Will Make You Value Education”. Life hack, http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/the-journey-some-students-take-school-will-make-you-value-education.html. Accessed 13 April 2017. Yuson, Zak. “DepEd’s Luistro: A Profile”. Rappler.com, 08 June 2013, http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/30861-deped-luistro-profile. Accessed 13 April 2017. ![]() ¨Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less¨ said Susan B. Anthony. Many decays have passed, the gap between women’s rights and men’s rights have been decreased. However, there are still injustice for women existing in the world, and two of the biggest issues in the world addressing to women’s rights are education and marriage. “You might not know but there are so many girls who can not go to school, there are so many boys who can not go to school. They have never dreamed of any ipad, and PlayStation, any Xbox. The only thing they dream of is a school, is a book and is a pen” said Malala (Malala, “Malala receives Nobel Peace Prize”) . Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist of women’s education. As illustrated in her book, I am Malala, Malala is able to draw the world’s attention to the lack of education for Pakistani women, and the sexism roaming all over Pakistan. Being the daughter of a diplomat, she learned that education is a path to solve all problems. In her book, she conveys the differences in education between boys and girls. Girls don’t have many chances to go to school as boys do. Moreover, in some parts of Pakistan, raging guns prevent the children, especially girls from going to schools. Realizing how important education is, Malala wants to change the fate of her country by becoming an activist in supporting education for all children, especially girls. For that idea, she won the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17. Malala’s story is an excellent example of how crucial education is in our life. In some countries, education has become such a common thing that no one realizes what a privilege it is to be educated. In some countries like Pakistan, education is a scarce thing. Not only do Pakistani women face illiteracy, but also women from South East Asia and subregions of Africa. The unfair treatment in education has been rooted since ancient time, when women were not appreciated. The roar of sexism has defined the gender equality between male and female. After the women’s rights movement in 1908, women in most of the world received the equal amount of education as men do. However, the existence of sexism creates millions of illiterate women in the world; there are 774 million illiterate adults in the world and two third of them are women(UNESCO, “Statistics on Literacy”). However, the highest number of illiterate women come from nine countries: India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Republic of Tanzania, Egypt, and Burkina Faso. In order to prevent illiteracy of women, there must be a good understanding about causes and some statistics of illiteracy. Besides education, one of the biggest issues affects women’s rights is marriage. Marriage is supposed to be a spiritual combination between two individuals. However, existing from the past to the 21st century is the practice of arranged marriage. This practice is most likely unseen in western countries such as U.S or U.K; however, it is a well-known tradition that has been practiced for thousands of years in Eastern countries. The country that is well known for arranged marriages is India. While the percent of arranged marriages in the world is 53.25 percent, India has 88.4 percent of arranged marriages (Statisticbrain, “Arranged/Forced Marriage Statistics” ). There are many reasons that lead to arranged marriages and they will be covered in the future. Not every arranged marriage is bad, but not every arranged marriage is good either. The story of Nujood Ali is a typical example of the terrors that an arranged marriage can bring to a woman’s life. In Nujood’s book, “I am Nujood, 10 and divorced”, she pictures horrible images that her marriage brings to her. She was married at the age of nine because of the belief that marrying a nine year-old girl will bring wealth to the husband’s family. Moreover, her father has never seen her as his child. According to Nujood’s words, her father was happy that he was able to lessen a “mouth” in the family (Nujood 55). Therefore, he forced Nujood to marry a thirty five-years old man in a trade of earning some money for his chewing khat addiction (Khat is a type of tobacco leaves). The man was not allowed to touch Nujood until she is 18 years old, but on the first day of marriage, the man broke the promise and sexually assaulted Nujood. Moreover, during her time at her husband’s house she was treated horribly by the husband’s family. Later on, she was able to escape from the hellish situation, reach out to the court, and get herself divorced. Her story is one of many stories that inspires the world about women’s rights. There are so many things that women are not allowed to do; however, not being able to choose the right person to marry is the total loss of women’s rights. Women’s rights are humans’ rights. Women deserve the same thing that men do. Therefore in the future communications, I will concentrate on the education for women in different parts of the world, discuss the causes, and statistics. And then, I will focus on arranged marriage, and also talk about the causes and the statistics of arranged marriage in the world. Work Cited
"First Lady Michelle Obama Speaks On International Women's Day." UPI Photo Collection, 2016. GeneralOneFile,go.galegroup.com/ps/i.dop=GPS&sw=w&u=5166pchs&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CCT4099995145&it=r&asid=b7f80d038799a1db3645ce3c4ab39c3b. Accessed 3 Feb. 2017. Brainy Quote, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/susan_b_anthony.html. Accessed 02 February 2017 Nujood, Ali and Delphine Minoui. I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced. Broadway Paperbacks, 2010. Statistic Brain. “Arranged / Forced Marriage Statistics”. Statistic Brain, 16 August 2016, www.statisticbrain.com/arranged-marriage-statistics/. Accessed 01 February 2017. Tribune. “Global recognition: Malala makes us proud”. 11 December 2014, https://tribune.com.pk/story/805149/global-recognition-malala-makes-us-proud/ . Accessed 02 February 2017. “Statistics on Literacy”. UNESCO, www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/education-building-blocks/literacy/resources/statistics. Accessed 01 February 2017. |
AuthorA Pella Christian Senior who is interested in fighting for woman's rights. Living in Asia, I grew up hearing news about inequality between men and women. While men have chances to get educated, women are oppressed with family's responsibility. Moreover, their lives are not even appreciated. Therefore, as a feminist, I believe that women should have equal rights with men. |