Global Sociology: Womens Rights & Development Suzanne Reid 09077928

8/8/2019 Global Sociology: Womens Rights & Development Suzanne Reid 09077928

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Women & Development

Suzanne Reid

09077928


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2 Womens Rights & Development

Suzanne Reid 09077928

INTRODUCTION

Feminist movements have been operating worldwide for more than a century now withvarying degree of participation and assertiveness, but what is the purpose of such socialand political struggle? And what are the benefits, if any, to society as a whole?In order to answer these questions this paper will investigate a number of fundamentalhuman rights, as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and discuss howvarying degrees of adherence to such ideals throughout the world in the hope ofascertaining whether the presence of these rights for women has any positive effect on thesocial and economic climate of developing countries, or whether they add little or anyvalue to these regions.In determining these facts, it is my hope to illustrate how a failure to respect womens rightsis of detrimental effect to the entire societies in which these women reside. The remedy forwhich would appear quite straightforwardempower women so that they mayparticipate in raising the level of social and economic enrichment of a country in which we,men, women and children, can all benefit.


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BODYHuman Rights

Human rights expansion is generally considered a work in progress even within Western

countries, with various violations reported from inadequate prison systems, to unequal payand race discrimination and many more. One of the core issues within many Western, anda growing number of non-Western countries, is the issue of womens rights. Firstly, whatare human, and consequently womens rights? Let us begin by briefly examining thisquestion.

Human rights are generally considered to be divided into three generations of rights.These generations were numbered according to their appearance in history and overalldevelopment in Western countries over time.

First generation human rights came about fairly early on in European history, being at firstcodified by the United States in the Bill of Rights and essentially dealt with personalliberty and political participation.They are individual in nature and exist to protect the individual from the state. Such rightsinclude things like freedom of speech, the right to a fair trial and universal suffrage.These rights were adopted on with almost global consensus in 1948 by the United Nationsin the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and cover Articles 3 to 21 of the declaration.For many these are considered the most important human rights in existence, since anylimitation on these fundamental rights results in a limitation of other rights which wouldcome at later dates.

Second generation human rights were the result of the Second World War following thesystematic Nazi attempt at the extermination of a number ethnic groups. The horrors ofthe war bore witness to a stronger notion of the fundamental need to protect humans, theirrights, lives and dignity. This, coupled with the need to rebuild much of the world and theimmense human casualty meant that human rights relating more to equality became theresult. Women had played important roles at home during the war and consequentlygained higher social status and employment rights out of both need and opportunity.These rights encompass social, economic and cultural rights including equal treatment forall citizenry such as the right to equal opportunity of employment, housing, healthtreatment, social security and unemployment benefits. These rights are covered in articles22 to 27 of the declaration.

Finally and most recently, the development of third generation human rights came about in1972, due largely to a perceived need to protect future generational groups of peopleand their environment. These include those that encompass rights that cover more than theindividual, such as group rights. Group rights apply to areas such as the right of society orsocieties to protect their heritage and culture, the right to self determination, the right tointegrated equity and sustainability.

These rights form part of one of the worlds largest international agreements having beensigned by the majority of UN member countries at one point or another. This leads to theassumption then that such rights constitute a global consensus on human rights, however with

varying social conditions, many counties have yet to realise these ideals.


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Equal Suffrage

Perhaps one of the oldest recorded struggles was faced by the famous suffragettes ofAmerica during the late 19th century, forming part of the first generation human rights, is

that of equal suffrage for women. It deserves a mention in this paper for a couple ofreasons. Firstly, it is considered by many to be a key indicator as to the level of humanrights rights respect within a country. Secondly, it marked a pivotal moment in therecorded history of womens movements and finally, although the number of countrieswhich prevent women this fundamental right are now very few, they do still exist.

Country Voting Situation WorldRanking

Description

Bhutan Partial 142 One vote per household, traditionallymade by the head male figure.Prevention by convention, rather thanlaw.

Brunei No electorate 112 A sultanate with no elected officials.Lebanon Partial 113 Women require proof of education to

vote, men do not.Saudi Arabia None 11 Prohibited by law.United Arab

EmiratesNo electorate 40 Authoritarian state.

Vatican City None Unranked Prohibited by law.

Notably, the majority of the listed countries fall rather low on world economic rankings.

Saudi Arabia being the only exception almost falling within the top 10, this may bepredominantly due to their large reliance on the petroleum industry, since many of thecountrys inhabitants are considered quite poor with the exception of the elite in the

petroleum business. Another special case is the Vatican City. Although not strictlyspeaking a country, it is considered a separate and independent economy from Italy, andenjoys a highly prominent position in the world market with many lucrative investments in anumber of trading markets. Although there is a law prohibiting women from voting, thefact that no women reside within the city means this states ranking can be omitted for the

purpose of this paper.

But what are the implications of partial voting for a country? Partial voting implies that

proper representation cannot be achieved. In many of the countries listed above, thelifestyles of men and women are very different. With unequal participation in the politicalprocess how can the needs of the full society of that country be met? Without the voice ofall mature minded people being heard there is a danger of running a social deficit, a factthat would surely hinder the social, and perhaps also the economic, development of acountry.


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Economic Rights

What do economic rights encompass exactly? In the Universal Declaration of HumanRights, hereafter referred to as the declaration, economic rights are described as having

the right to own property, the right to work and free choice of employment and having justand favourable remuneration which enables individuals to live a life of dignity. Theseform part of those found in both first and second generation rights.But how then are these rights linked to social and economic development? In order toanswer this I would like to refer you to the article by Isobel Coleman, The Payoff FromWomens Rights which indicates that a number of studies have shown that

Giving women more control over resources also profits communities at large because

women tend to invest more in their families than do men. Increases in household income,for example, benefit a family more it the mother, rather than the father, controls the cash.Studies of various countries as varied as Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia and United

Kingdom suggest that women generally devote more of the household budget toeducation, health, and nutrition...

The Payoff From Womens Rights, Isobel Coleman, Foreign Affairs, Volume 83, No. 3, May/June 2004, page 84

These studies would appear to indicate that greater economic freedom and independencefor women benefits a number of aspects of daily life, not just for women but for all familymembers. With items such as education and nutrition gaining additional investment fromwomen there are knock on effects such as increased life expectancy, health andstrengthened economies.Additionally, not only the benefits of their spending patterns are reaped but consideration

also needs to be given to their impact on increasing the workforce, GDP and publicrevenue of a country in the form of taxation, all of which are valuable resources in thestruggle for development.


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Right to Education

The right to education is covered in the second generation human rights in Article 26 of the

Declaration and covers such aspects as having the right to all levels of education; primary,secondary and higher education, which shall be directed at developing to the fullestextent possible all aspects of the human personality.In a great many countries worldwide young girls are often placed in education where thepossibility exists only after the male childs education has been provided for. Since freeeducation is a problem in many developing countries, parents are often forced to choosebetween which children shall attend schooling, this choice frequently falls on the malechildren since they are considered by tradition to become the major breadwinners in thefuture, while the female children are expected to fill more of a caring role in staying homewith the children.Other problems facing young women are those of availability later on, even with an

education many young women find it difficult to penetrate the system at the higher levels,such as university and the subsequent job markets following that due to existing in cultureswhich share these more traditional social set ups. Women are frequently married offyoung and find themselves with children to care for as a result.But what is the positive result of educating young girls and women? What can society gainfrom such efforts? The benefits of educating women appear to be quite diverse.Many studies and government policies today which are focused on development reflect therecognition of the need to invest in the equal education of females. Educated women arebetter equipped to make informed decisions about their personal futures, famliy planning,better nutrition and healthcare for themselves and their families. The factors help increaselife expectancy and overall national health, they greatly reduce population explosions.

Educated women are more likely to have careers in the future, thus encouraging society topercieve them as more valuable contributing family members, which raises the status ofwomen both in the family and in society at large. This in turn equips women with moreauthority in decision making. Studies also show that women, overall, have priorities thatare different to those of their male counterparts. This coupled with having an authoritivevoice in society makes for more well rounded, well balanced social policy making, a factthat benefits all members of society as a whole.


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Self Determination

Making up the final part of this essay is the fundamental right of self determination which

applies for all human beings. Self determination does not only mean allowing individualsthe right to make decisions, but means also their right to be equipped to make informeddecisions for their future. This right therefore, in the context of this paper, means providingfemales, from the earliest possible ages and throughout life with the opportunity foreducation and self improvement, with equal career possibilities, with the right to choosewhen and whom to marry and to family planning with an equal voice.In giving women such opportunities we have the chance to be part of a society where allaspects of society are represented, which implies that we will receive care and welfare tobenefit as much of the society as is possible. This is surely the purpose of documents suchas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and forms the basis for so manyinternational organisations worldwide, from the UN and the European Commission to a

great number of development agencies. Among these institutions and organisations thereis a general consensus that progression of the human race means granting respect and theability to live with dignity to all those members of it.


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CONCLUSION

A couple of facts which are interesting to note are that women make up approximately50% of the global population and approximately 70% of the worlds poorest people.

Another important note is that overall, women take up the major portion of childrearingworldwide. These factors alone give cause for alarm, since failing to provide adequatelyfor women has a knock on effect of failing to provide for the next generation. When thisgeneration becomes old and must be supported by future generations we must continue toface the consequences of both failures.In the West, we face the issue of not having enough children to provide taxes to supportthe country and consequently ourselves, society - a fact which may well result from forcingwomen to choose between having a family or a career, rather than supporting her to doboth. Some argue that women who raise children and work are paying into the socialsystem twice, once with taxation revenue, and again in providing the future taxablegeneration, yet society continues to make such valuable contributions difficult to obtainthrough inadequate government policies and social discrimination.The major issue at present though is that of situation which is prevalent in developingcountries throughout the world. In referring you to appendixes I through IV it shouldbecome apparent that the developing countries of the world fall predominantly within thesame regions where economic opportunities for women are limited, uneven equalitybetween the sexes is large and vast differences between male and female incomes arereported. The problems associated with a failure to respect womens rights start to

become very apparent. In such countries many women have only the prospect of marrying

well as being the only opportunity for living a life outside of poverty. This only happensthough for a minority, with the majority of women facing a lack of control over theirpersonal development, few career prospects and large families to help provide for, orwhich they must provide for alone. Overpopulation, under education and social declineare often the results of such cases.So what is the solution? In summary, the granting of human rights to women which enablethem to develop to the extent where they can contribute to society in ways which areunlimited will result in significant gains for all. This is a fact which has already beenrealised by a great many and is beginning to be realised through public policies.Already, some of the largest micro finance providers to developing countries are targetingwomen specifically, not only for the benefits to society as a whole, but because in order to

actually reduce world poverty on a global scale they realise they have to empowerwomen to life themselves out of poverty.Let us hope that this work will continue to develop.


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Appendix I: Developed and Developing Countries 2008

http://www.econguru.com/heat-map-of-worldwide-gdp-ppp-per-capita-2008/

Based on the CIA World Factbook, I have decided to utilise the above map as a reference

for determining low income or developing countries. There are a number of different

resources available to demonstrate the distribution of both developed and developing

countries, however the CIA World Factbook was deemed the most reliable mapped source.
http://www.econguru.com/heat-map-of-worldwide-gdp-ppp-per-capita-2008/http://www.econguru.com/heat-map-of-worldwide-gdp-ppp-per-capita-2008/http://www.econguru.com/heat-map-of-worldwide-gdp-ppp-per-capita-2008/


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Appendix II: Ratio Male to Female Earned Income 2010

http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/
http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/


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Appendix III: Womens Economic Opportunity Index June 2010

http://graphics.eiu.com/upload/WEO_report_June_2010.pdf
http://graphics.eiu.com/upload/WEO_report_June_2010.pdfhttp://graphics.eiu.com/upload/WEO_report_June_2010.pdfhttp://graphics.eiu.com/upload/WEO_report_June_2010.pdf


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Appendix IV: Equality Index 2010

http://bigthink.com/ideas/24565
http://bigthink.com/ideas/24565http://bigthink.com/ideas/24565http://bigthink.com/ideas/24565

Global Sociology: Womens Rights & Development Suzanne Reid 09077928

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