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Women's Rights in Afghanistan, China and Iran
Although women in much of the world have gained significant legal rights, many people believe that women still do not have the complete equality with men.
The phrase “women’s rights” refers to the basic human rights that are withheld from women simply because they are women (Tansey1). Women’s rights guarantee that women will not face discrimination on the basis of their sex. Throughout much of the history of Western civilization, deep-seated cultural beliefs allowed women only limited roles in society.
The status of women’s rights today varies dramatically in different countries and, in some cases, among groups within the same country, such as ethnic groups or economic classes. Women have been granted the right to vote in most nations, but women’s share in governmental decision-making remains limited. Despite the fact that in 1994 women headed the governments of 10 countries, more that 100 countries had no female merabers in their legislative bodies (Microsoft 3). Women constitute approximately 9 percent of parliamentary representatives in industrialized countries and 12 percent in developing countries (Microsoft 4).
Many disparities persist between women’s legal rights and their economic status. Women today constitute nearly 10 percent of the worlRAB poor, despite international efforts to compensate women and men equally in the workplace (Bender 69). While women made up about 32 percent of the worlRAB labor force in 1990, the percentage of women in positions to make important decisions was far lower (Bender 69). In the mid-1990’s, women held only 8 percent of top managerial positions in the U.S. corporations (Bender 69). Women comprised only 1 percent of executives in the 1000 largest corporations outside the United States (Bender 69).
Women remain at a distinct disadvantage in education as well. While primary school enrollment for girls now roughly equals that of boys, women constitute about two-thirRAB of the worlRAB one billion illiterate adults (Microsoft 3). Of the more than 100 million children who drop out of school before completing the fourth grade, two-thirRAB are girls (Microsoft 3). On the other hand, women are entering colleges and universities in increasing nurabers (Microsoft 3).
Reproductive rights for women vary greatly from country to country. Contraception is available in most countries, with the exception of a few fundamentalist Islamic nations such as Iran. However, women in many countries are too poor or uneducated to obtain effective birth control. Abortion is legal under specific circumstances in many industrialized Western nations. Some countries with severe overpopulation have the most liberal abortion policies. For example China, which encourages families to have only one child, places no restrictions on when a woman can have an abortion.
Although women’s rights promote political, social and economic equality for women in a society that traditionally confers more status and freedom to men. A basic right is for girls to grow up to be women: today twelve percent of the females born worldwide are missing, many of them victims of infanticide (Tansey 1-2). Other women’s rights include: the rights to live free of physical abuse, the right to live free of sexual exploitation, the right to health care and nutrition, the rights to and acceptable standard of living, the right to chose her own partner, the right to vote, the right to control property, and the right to equal treatment before the law along with freedom of speech. Women in Third World countries do not have the rights that American women enjoy. In most of these countries, women do not even have rights equivalent to those of American women in the nineteenth century. For example, the women have arranged marriages, have very limited access to education and are abused by their arranged husbanRAB. In these countries, women work twice as many hours as men for one-tenth of the income (Tansey 2). The inequalities vary from country to country but one thing is in common; the inequalities are all being committed against women.
Women in Third World countries such as, Afghanistan, China and Iran all have different rights and are treated either equal or less equal to men. In these countries, women are considered to be inferior to men and are not granted equal rights or protection under the laws. The governments, religions and cultures of these countries support the inequalities, thus allowing vicious crimes against women to continue without any recourse by the victims.
In Afghanistan women are not allowed to work. They are ordered to remain in their houses, and employers have been threatened with dire consequences for hiring female employees. Women cannot venture out of their house alone unless accompanied by an appropriate male meraber of the woman’s immediate family. Afghanistan women do not have the right to quality health care if that heath care involves male providers. No women can see a male doctor, family planning is outlawed, and a surgical team containing a male meraber regardless of the severity of the situation cannot operate upon women. All women are also totally deprived of the right to education. This is the story of a 15 year old girl who was repeatedly raped in her house by armed guarRAB after they had killed her father for allowing her to go to school:
They shot my father right in front of me. He was a shopkeeper. It was nine o’clock at night. They came to our house and told him they had orders to kill him because he allowed me to go to school. The Mujadideen had already stopped me from going to school, but that was not enough. They then came and killed my father. I cannot describe what they did to me after killing my father (Tansey 6).
Afghanistan women also have no legal recourse. A women’s testimony is worth half a mans testimony. A woman cannot petition the court directly. A male meraber from her family must do it for her. Women are not allowed to do anything recreational either. All sporting facilities have banned women from their use. Women singers cannot sing, nor are they allowed to show their faces in public or to male strangers. Women cannot wear make-up or brightly colored clothing. The Supreme Court of the Islamic State of Afghanistan was reported in 1994 to have issued an "Ordinance on Women's Veil" which ordains that women must wear a veil that covers the whole body. It also forbiRAB women from leaving their homes or being looked at "not because they are women, but for fear of sedition" (Nyrop67). They cannot wear shoes with heels that click or travel in private vehicles with male passengers. They do not have the right to raise their voices when speaking in public, nor can they laugh loudly since the culture believes that her laughter lures males into corruption. They have few rights at best. They are controlled mainly by their husbanRAB and cannot do anything that relates to politics or government. Most men look upon women as possessions with their bodies and minRAB owned totally by the men to whom they are sold through marriage. If the women go against these cultural and religious laws, the consequence would be a beating or stoning.
In China, women are still considered inferior to men. A woman is expected to obey her father as a child her husband as a woman, and her son in her old age. On the other hand, it is a moral obligation of the person in authority to be just and reasonable. Therefore, the man should be kind but at the same time deal severely with faults.
In China, many people live on the farm, and strong hanRAB are needed in the fielRAB. Therefore, the Chinese favor sons over daughters. Sons take care of their parents in their old age, while daughters leave their homes when they marry and become part of the husband’s family. When a baby girl is born, the family views her as a temporary possession. Some parents sell the baby girls when they need the money; these girls are often brought up as household servants or as prostitutes. At other times, baby girls are drowned at birth.
The 19th century saw the beginnings of women’s rights for Chinese women. Western missionaries started schools for girls in China that introduced western ideas that influenced the Chinese. In 1919 educated Chinese women took part in movements to modernize China, and give women equal rights with men (Nyrop83). In the early 1990’s the Chinese themselves set up schools for girls. During the “Great Leap Forward” in the 1950’s, Mao Zedang gave women equality with men, saying women “held up half of the heavens” (Nyrop84). Women were urged to work in the fielRAB and in the factories with men. Childcare centers were set up so children could be taken care of while their mothers worked. Greater attention was paid to women’s health as well.
Although ideas regarding women’s rights have been introduced in China, change is slow due to the long-standing reverence for male children. Since 1995, the population in China has been about 1.2 billion. Because of the rapid growth in the population, women are urged to undergo sterilization, and pregnant women are urged to have an abortion (Sui Noi Goh 7). Since this is not the most favorable way to go about controlling the population, China has come up with the “one-child policy.” This policy permits one child per family if the first born is a boy but permits two children if the first child is a girl. No matter what, there may be no third births. In 1994, a survey of couples of childbearing age, 63 percent had a single child, 25 percent had a second child, and the remaining 10 percent had three or more children (Sui Noi Goh 7). Once a female child is born, the simplest method to avoid having a penalty for having more children is to not record her birth. Families often put baby girls up for adoption, or they frequently abandon them. In China the gender ratio among Chinese children is 111 males for every 100 females (Sui Noi Goh 7). This statistic strongly suggests that anti-women sentiment still exists.
Iran is an unusual country. Religion has always been important to Iranians, but since the revolution of 1979, Iran has become a religious state, where religious rules are state rules. It is the teachings of Islam that determines every aspect of daily life, customs, laws and government. Thus, when contemporary women’s rights in Iran are analyzed, one refers to the fundamental Muslim views regarding women. In a local hadith Islamic class in the year 1,000 the question was asked, “Are women basically good or bad?” The answer was, “I was raised up to heaven and saw that the denizens were poor people: I was raised into the hellfire and saw that most of its denizens were women” (Cooper4-5). This quote demonstrates that men think poorly of women in Iran. In the Islamic culture, women are considered to be the property first of her guardian (usually her father) and then ownership over her is transferred to her husband.
Iranian women actually have many more rights and freedoms than some other countries in the Middle East. Girls are allowed to go to school and learn, although the schools are segregated according to sex to keep up with the Islamic beliefs. “Before the 1970’s, only 34 percent of the girls attended primary school and even fewer went to universities” (Cooper5). Today children between the ages of six and twelve must go to primary school, but not all parents send their daughters to classes. Women of Iran do not own the clothes that they wear. They have no rights over the children and little protections against a violent husband. If a husband kills his wife, her family must pay a considerable amount for his death sentence. If they cannot meet the cost, he goes free. A husband can order his wife out of the house. He can divorce her without telling her, and he can have up to four wives. Iranian women have also been pushed out of the work force. All women have been forced into part time work so that nothing hinders their holy duty of motherhood.
In Iran, the women have arranged marriages. The husband is normally chosen by how large a dowry the woman’s father will provide. 90 percent of the time, there is no way to get out of an abusive marriage (Cooper7). Abusive behavior is tolerated and goes unpunished.
In Present time, women’s rights have changed over time, usually getting better. The United Nations General Asserably adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Deceraber 10, 1948 (Cooper7). This Declaration has a prearable and thirty articles. The articles list the rights of women and men in all aspects of life. The first article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explains it all: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towarRAB one another in a spirit of brotherhood” (Cooper8).
This article explains that all women and men should be equal in dignity and rights; equality and rights should not be based on sex or gender. Although not all countries have signed this Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration has more than seventy countries that have agreed to abide by this code of human rights. Afghanistan, China and Iran have not signed this Declaration (Cooper8).
A of today, women’s rights are generally improving, but much advancement is still needed. Hopefully in the 21st century, the worldwide women’s rights movement will see more progress. With the support of the internet and news media, people throughout the world are becoming more informed about the atrocities committed against women and the need for women’s rights. The Universal Declaration for Human Rights is constantly being updated because more people are demanding that there should be written laws for the human treatment of women around the world. Since the beginning of time, women have always been treated as inferior to men. The fact of the matter is that the situation will not change overnight. As more people become informed about women’s rights and become indignant about the abuses, positive changes for women will surely occur.
In conclusion, inequalities and atrocities against women in Afghanistan, China and Iran are still occurring today. Although some progress had been made and the world is becoming better informed about the plights of these women, further actions are needed immediately to promote the welfare and human rights in these three countries as well as in the rest of the world.
Although women in much of the world have gained significant legal rights, many people believe that women still do not have the complete equality with men.
The phrase “women’s rights” refers to the basic human rights that are withheld from women simply because they are women (Tansey1). Women’s rights guarantee that women will not face discrimination on the basis of their sex. Throughout much of the history of Western civilization, deep-seated cultural beliefs allowed women only limited roles in society.
The status of women’s rights today varies dramatically in different countries and, in some cases, among groups within the same country, such as ethnic groups or economic classes. Women have been granted the right to vote in most nations, but women’s share in governmental decision-making remains limited. Despite the fact that in 1994 women headed the governments of 10 countries, more that 100 countries had no female merabers in their legislative bodies (Microsoft 3). Women constitute approximately 9 percent of parliamentary representatives in industrialized countries and 12 percent in developing countries (Microsoft 4).
Many disparities persist between women’s legal rights and their economic status. Women today constitute nearly 10 percent of the worlRAB poor, despite international efforts to compensate women and men equally in the workplace (Bender 69). While women made up about 32 percent of the worlRAB labor force in 1990, the percentage of women in positions to make important decisions was far lower (Bender 69). In the mid-1990’s, women held only 8 percent of top managerial positions in the U.S. corporations (Bender 69). Women comprised only 1 percent of executives in the 1000 largest corporations outside the United States (Bender 69).
Women remain at a distinct disadvantage in education as well. While primary school enrollment for girls now roughly equals that of boys, women constitute about two-thirRAB of the worlRAB one billion illiterate adults (Microsoft 3). Of the more than 100 million children who drop out of school before completing the fourth grade, two-thirRAB are girls (Microsoft 3). On the other hand, women are entering colleges and universities in increasing nurabers (Microsoft 3).
Reproductive rights for women vary greatly from country to country. Contraception is available in most countries, with the exception of a few fundamentalist Islamic nations such as Iran. However, women in many countries are too poor or uneducated to obtain effective birth control. Abortion is legal under specific circumstances in many industrialized Western nations. Some countries with severe overpopulation have the most liberal abortion policies. For example China, which encourages families to have only one child, places no restrictions on when a woman can have an abortion.
Although women’s rights promote political, social and economic equality for women in a society that traditionally confers more status and freedom to men. A basic right is for girls to grow up to be women: today twelve percent of the females born worldwide are missing, many of them victims of infanticide (Tansey 1-2). Other women’s rights include: the rights to live free of physical abuse, the right to live free of sexual exploitation, the right to health care and nutrition, the rights to and acceptable standard of living, the right to chose her own partner, the right to vote, the right to control property, and the right to equal treatment before the law along with freedom of speech. Women in Third World countries do not have the rights that American women enjoy. In most of these countries, women do not even have rights equivalent to those of American women in the nineteenth century. For example, the women have arranged marriages, have very limited access to education and are abused by their arranged husbanRAB. In these countries, women work twice as many hours as men for one-tenth of the income (Tansey 2). The inequalities vary from country to country but one thing is in common; the inequalities are all being committed against women.
Women in Third World countries such as, Afghanistan, China and Iran all have different rights and are treated either equal or less equal to men. In these countries, women are considered to be inferior to men and are not granted equal rights or protection under the laws. The governments, religions and cultures of these countries support the inequalities, thus allowing vicious crimes against women to continue without any recourse by the victims.
In Afghanistan women are not allowed to work. They are ordered to remain in their houses, and employers have been threatened with dire consequences for hiring female employees. Women cannot venture out of their house alone unless accompanied by an appropriate male meraber of the woman’s immediate family. Afghanistan women do not have the right to quality health care if that heath care involves male providers. No women can see a male doctor, family planning is outlawed, and a surgical team containing a male meraber regardless of the severity of the situation cannot operate upon women. All women are also totally deprived of the right to education. This is the story of a 15 year old girl who was repeatedly raped in her house by armed guarRAB after they had killed her father for allowing her to go to school:
They shot my father right in front of me. He was a shopkeeper. It was nine o’clock at night. They came to our house and told him they had orders to kill him because he allowed me to go to school. The Mujadideen had already stopped me from going to school, but that was not enough. They then came and killed my father. I cannot describe what they did to me after killing my father (Tansey 6).
Afghanistan women also have no legal recourse. A women’s testimony is worth half a mans testimony. A woman cannot petition the court directly. A male meraber from her family must do it for her. Women are not allowed to do anything recreational either. All sporting facilities have banned women from their use. Women singers cannot sing, nor are they allowed to show their faces in public or to male strangers. Women cannot wear make-up or brightly colored clothing. The Supreme Court of the Islamic State of Afghanistan was reported in 1994 to have issued an "Ordinance on Women's Veil" which ordains that women must wear a veil that covers the whole body. It also forbiRAB women from leaving their homes or being looked at "not because they are women, but for fear of sedition" (Nyrop67). They cannot wear shoes with heels that click or travel in private vehicles with male passengers. They do not have the right to raise their voices when speaking in public, nor can they laugh loudly since the culture believes that her laughter lures males into corruption. They have few rights at best. They are controlled mainly by their husbanRAB and cannot do anything that relates to politics or government. Most men look upon women as possessions with their bodies and minRAB owned totally by the men to whom they are sold through marriage. If the women go against these cultural and religious laws, the consequence would be a beating or stoning.
In China, women are still considered inferior to men. A woman is expected to obey her father as a child her husband as a woman, and her son in her old age. On the other hand, it is a moral obligation of the person in authority to be just and reasonable. Therefore, the man should be kind but at the same time deal severely with faults.
In China, many people live on the farm, and strong hanRAB are needed in the fielRAB. Therefore, the Chinese favor sons over daughters. Sons take care of their parents in their old age, while daughters leave their homes when they marry and become part of the husband’s family. When a baby girl is born, the family views her as a temporary possession. Some parents sell the baby girls when they need the money; these girls are often brought up as household servants or as prostitutes. At other times, baby girls are drowned at birth.
The 19th century saw the beginnings of women’s rights for Chinese women. Western missionaries started schools for girls in China that introduced western ideas that influenced the Chinese. In 1919 educated Chinese women took part in movements to modernize China, and give women equal rights with men (Nyrop83). In the early 1990’s the Chinese themselves set up schools for girls. During the “Great Leap Forward” in the 1950’s, Mao Zedang gave women equality with men, saying women “held up half of the heavens” (Nyrop84). Women were urged to work in the fielRAB and in the factories with men. Childcare centers were set up so children could be taken care of while their mothers worked. Greater attention was paid to women’s health as well.
Although ideas regarding women’s rights have been introduced in China, change is slow due to the long-standing reverence for male children. Since 1995, the population in China has been about 1.2 billion. Because of the rapid growth in the population, women are urged to undergo sterilization, and pregnant women are urged to have an abortion (Sui Noi Goh 7). Since this is not the most favorable way to go about controlling the population, China has come up with the “one-child policy.” This policy permits one child per family if the first born is a boy but permits two children if the first child is a girl. No matter what, there may be no third births. In 1994, a survey of couples of childbearing age, 63 percent had a single child, 25 percent had a second child, and the remaining 10 percent had three or more children (Sui Noi Goh 7). Once a female child is born, the simplest method to avoid having a penalty for having more children is to not record her birth. Families often put baby girls up for adoption, or they frequently abandon them. In China the gender ratio among Chinese children is 111 males for every 100 females (Sui Noi Goh 7). This statistic strongly suggests that anti-women sentiment still exists.
Iran is an unusual country. Religion has always been important to Iranians, but since the revolution of 1979, Iran has become a religious state, where religious rules are state rules. It is the teachings of Islam that determines every aspect of daily life, customs, laws and government. Thus, when contemporary women’s rights in Iran are analyzed, one refers to the fundamental Muslim views regarding women. In a local hadith Islamic class in the year 1,000 the question was asked, “Are women basically good or bad?” The answer was, “I was raised up to heaven and saw that the denizens were poor people: I was raised into the hellfire and saw that most of its denizens were women” (Cooper4-5). This quote demonstrates that men think poorly of women in Iran. In the Islamic culture, women are considered to be the property first of her guardian (usually her father) and then ownership over her is transferred to her husband.
Iranian women actually have many more rights and freedoms than some other countries in the Middle East. Girls are allowed to go to school and learn, although the schools are segregated according to sex to keep up with the Islamic beliefs. “Before the 1970’s, only 34 percent of the girls attended primary school and even fewer went to universities” (Cooper5). Today children between the ages of six and twelve must go to primary school, but not all parents send their daughters to classes. Women of Iran do not own the clothes that they wear. They have no rights over the children and little protections against a violent husband. If a husband kills his wife, her family must pay a considerable amount for his death sentence. If they cannot meet the cost, he goes free. A husband can order his wife out of the house. He can divorce her without telling her, and he can have up to four wives. Iranian women have also been pushed out of the work force. All women have been forced into part time work so that nothing hinders their holy duty of motherhood.
In Iran, the women have arranged marriages. The husband is normally chosen by how large a dowry the woman’s father will provide. 90 percent of the time, there is no way to get out of an abusive marriage (Cooper7). Abusive behavior is tolerated and goes unpunished.
In Present time, women’s rights have changed over time, usually getting better. The United Nations General Asserably adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Deceraber 10, 1948 (Cooper7). This Declaration has a prearable and thirty articles. The articles list the rights of women and men in all aspects of life. The first article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explains it all: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towarRAB one another in a spirit of brotherhood” (Cooper8).
This article explains that all women and men should be equal in dignity and rights; equality and rights should not be based on sex or gender. Although not all countries have signed this Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration has more than seventy countries that have agreed to abide by this code of human rights. Afghanistan, China and Iran have not signed this Declaration (Cooper8).
A of today, women’s rights are generally improving, but much advancement is still needed. Hopefully in the 21st century, the worldwide women’s rights movement will see more progress. With the support of the internet and news media, people throughout the world are becoming more informed about the atrocities committed against women and the need for women’s rights. The Universal Declaration for Human Rights is constantly being updated because more people are demanding that there should be written laws for the human treatment of women around the world. Since the beginning of time, women have always been treated as inferior to men. The fact of the matter is that the situation will not change overnight. As more people become informed about women’s rights and become indignant about the abuses, positive changes for women will surely occur.
In conclusion, inequalities and atrocities against women in Afghanistan, China and Iran are still occurring today. Although some progress had been made and the world is becoming better informed about the plights of these women, further actions are needed immediately to promote the welfare and human rights in these three countries as well as in the rest of the world.