WOMEN’S RIGHTS

The endless fight

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

In 1888 Members of the first International Council of Women (from Canada, United States, Ireland, India, England, Finland, Denmark, France and Norway), met in Washington, D.C. to discuss women's rights.

Suffragists marched in October 1917, displaying placards containing the signatures of over 1 million New York women demanding to vote.

A year after women won full voting rights in U.S., they joined in the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Fifth Avenue on March 27, 1921.

Even though in today’s world most of women can vote, there are still women being discriminated against, especially in the Middle East and Africa. The top 3 countries that are the most dangerous for women are Afghanistan, Congo and Pakistan. These women continue to fight for their rights even though the progress is taking time.

Lack of Healthcare for women in Afghanistan make it one of the worst countries for women to live in. They have sky-high maternity mortality rates. 1 in 11 women die in Childbirth.

Hasrat Bibi was pregnant 3 times and suffered miscarriages each time. After the third, she was left a social outcast and unable to have more children, but in Afghanistan her story is all too familiar.

Afghanistan women took to the streets in July, 2012 demanding rights.

In Pakistan, insecurity and government resistance has led to a lack of educational facilities for women. In rural Baluchistan, 90% women are illiterate.

Malala Yousufzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl was targeted and nearly killed by the Taliban for supporting education for girls.

“The people who did this to me don’t want women to be educated. They want us to be stupid things.” says Shamsia, Acid violence victim. Pakistani Taliban continually battle to stop women and girls from getting an education.

Dozens of Pakistani women and girls suffer serious injury as a result of having acid thrown on them, often as a result of family disputes.Shaziya Abdulsattar’s father threw acid on her and her mother after her mother refused to sell her two boys to a man in Dubai to use as camel racers.

Women in Pakistan often hold public demonstrations for education rights.

Pakistan, March 2012. Women are still fighting for equality as it was in 19th and 20th century in United States.

In Congo and Somalia 4 of 5 girls get genital mutilation between the ages of 4 and 11. There are many reasons it is practiced, including social, economic, and political reasons. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) supporters believe that it will empower their daughters, ensure the girls get married, and protect the family’s name. FGM is believed to stop a woman’s sexual desire. In some groups, women who are not cut are viewed as dirty and are treated badly.

The levels of sexual violence and rape in Congo are the highest in the world, 1,152 women are rape in Congo every day.

Women sit outside at the Heal Africa Transit Center in Congo to be treated for sexual violence.

For three days in October 2012, 220 women from 41 countries gathered in eastern Congo to peacefully march in solidarity with 20,000 Congolese women and men against war and gender violence in mass rapes committed by multiple armies and militias.

It is hard to analyze why these situations happen in these countries and not in United States. Our history is so different from theirs. Their culture is more patriarchal . They have many economical, social and political problems which makes it harder for women’s civil liberties.

For Centuries Women have fought for their rights, and will continue to fight until they are not longer discriminated against.

It doesn’t matter what culture we are from. We are in this together.

What can we do?

CONTINUE FIGHTING…