Human Rights- 2. What are the variations in women rights

define gender inequality

define gender inequality

the unequal treatment of individuals based on gender- the idea that the sex they are means they are treated differently

how do you tell gender inequality

women suffer most however men’s rights are also important in helping development

global patterns inequality are closely related to disparities in respect for women

the global gender gap index (GGGI) is a way to visually compare these disparities

what does the GGGI measure

educational attainment subindex

economic participation and opportunity subindex

health and survival

political empowerment

at the current rate of progress, how many years will it take to reach full parity

132yrs

what are improvements in gender inequality that we still need to overcome

• forced marriage (including children)

• trafficking into forced labour (including sex slavery)

• access to education and healthcare

• employment opportunities and political participation

• wage equality for similar work to men

• violence against women

• access to reproductive health services

where does inequality stem from

patriachial societal norms →women = domestic tasks

why is female education so important

• if women get a good education, more likely to get hihger paying job (break cycle of poverty)

• L->if they have a good education and job, less likely to have loads of children

• wasted potential

why would there be spatial variation in employment opportunity

• social norms

• cultural and religous beliefs

• levels of governmental support

• social acceptance of women as earners

• gender based job norms

• discrimination by employers

• structure of labour market- different sectors

define employment opportunity

women and men should have equal employment opportunities

what is India’s place in the GGGI

0.629 (135th)

what are the categories of gender inequality issues in India (and say if it is social, political or economic)

• violence against women (social)

• modern slavery (social)

• property ownership (economic)

• employment opportunity (economic)

• discrimination in the workplace (social)

• political participation (political)

• access to healthcare (political)

• access to education (political)

explain gender inequality issues in India (violence against women (social))

• underpinned by social norms

• UNICEF also indicates that domestic violence is tolerated by communities and to some extent by the state

• there are deeply entrenched patriarchal and customary practices which are deeply entrenched patriarchal and customary practices

• there have been increases in dowry killings and increases in rape and violence outside the home e.g. against women using public transport

explain gender inequality issues in India (modern slavery (social))

• in 2014, 14.3million people (mostly women and girls) were subject to modern slavery in India

• L→this includes trafficking for sexual exploitation, early forced marriage and forced labour

explain gender inequality issues in India (property ownership (economic))

• women have very few rights in ownership of land and property and, in practice, inheritance is invariably patriarchal

explain gender inequality issues in India (employment opportunity (economic))

• women have limited access to employment opportunities and are often expected to remain at home, raise children, conduct domestic chores and work in subsistence farming

  L→this especially true in poor rural areas

explain gender inequality issues in India (discrimination in the workplace (social))

• Discrimination in the workplace is common practice. Maternity benefits are denied by many employers and most women do not return to work after birth. In Delhi, only 25% of married women return to work after childbirth

• The social conditioning is that it is their responsibility to bring up children

explain gender inequality issues in India (political participation (political))

• gender inequality is perpetuated by the lack of women in goverment

• women have poor representation in India’s parliament

explain gender inequality issues in India (access to healthcare (political))

• gender discrimination in healthcare is closely related to cultural norms (in which women have little influence)

• nearly 1/3 of all households in Bihar do not access government health services

explain gender inequality issues in India (access to education (political))

• nationally, 70% of girls attend primary schools but the figure is much lower at secondary

• strong oppositions from families and communities, poverty and cultural beliefs are restrictive factors

what are the concequences of these inequalities in India

a dowry however this tradition was removed from britains society in the 1800’s and despite the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961), it still lives on in India

what happens if the family cannot meet the demands of the dowry

a punishment is meted out on the woman. this includes murder (poisoning, hanging ect.), disfiguration by burning and starvation

how many dowry killing per day occured in 2001 and 2016

dowry killings have supposedly risen from 19 per day in 2001 to 21 per day in 2016

what is the spread of killings and abuse across the counrty

• more common in rural areas

• women subject to honour killings for not agreeing to arranged marriges

• separated and divorced women are stigmatized, which is the reason behind women continuing in abusive marriages either under family pressure or of their own accord

• beatings and sexual violence and domestic servitude are common practice in certain areas

describe the access to reproductive health services

• both maternal and infact health are at risk due to lack of education and development

• similar to china, there have been selective abortions of girls in order to have a male offspring and forced sterilisations

• high rates of young pregnancies

• gender bias in education/access to information

• early forced marriage

• sexual violence

• harmful tradition

• child brides

causes of inequalities towards women

• patriarchy, class and hierarchy influence the norms and expectations around the role of woman in India (girls are first seen as the property of her father and then her husband

• girls are seen as a economic burden. in moments of unbearable financial or social distress families resort to marrying their daughters off

• ignorance of age: because of illiteracy, home birthing and lack of awareness, birth dates are rarely recorded so often inaccurate. puberty is widely considered to be the onset of fertility and therefore eligibility for marriage

• controlling girls and womens sexuality is an influential factor. pressure towards early marriage aims to minimise the dishonour associated with improper female sexual conduct, often leading to marriages arranged around the time of puberty

• poor educational opportunities, especially in rural areas also increase girls vulnerability to child marriage

changing societal norms and strategies for gender inequality

• the issues occur from deeply entrenched norms from society which has heavily favoured males. these problems are still existent but there is a slow change occuring

• strengthing and increasing laws, NGO work in communities, improving education and influence of media- all efforts to reduce this inequality

• there are multiple ratified treaties within india e.g international convention on civil and political rights.

• the indian government have joined CEDAW (committee on elimination discrimination against women)

name some practical approaches

anti-trafficking portal- expansion of police units, specific police training, accuracy of crime reporting and a victim support programme

large companies providing child care facilities and flexable working hours

NGO interventions- International centre for research on women (ICRW) works in delhi- shortfall in policing due to rapid urbanisation resulting in high crime rates of rape and molestation in outskirts of delhi

list the strategies of global governance

• change and modernise norms → trying to encourage a revolution in terms of how certain criteria are veiwed e.g women should have education not just have children

• the influence of MNC’s (multinational corporations) in terms of their corporate social responsibility (CSR)

• the creation and application of international laws

• attempts to strengthen the law

• reference to legal mechanisms such as European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court

• treaties/convections established by supranational organisations such as UN, ASEAN, EU, NATO

• individual UN agencies at work such as the office of high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR)

• role of UN peacekeeping operations in promoting and protecting human rights

• humanitarian work (military) intervention and humanitarian work

• civil society → NGO’s and other organisations, who don’t work with governments, volunteer to support citizens and communities throughout the world

list violations of rights lead to conflict (these violations are either intinal causes of conflict or a contributing factor)

• denial of human needs- food, housing, employment education

• discrimination and denial of freedom

• unrepresentative government where people are treated unequally/unjustly and excluded from decision making

• oppressive governments that do not respect the needs of all groups

• gemocide/torture

how can conflict violate human rights

• can lead to injury/ death

• education opportunities … economic opportunity

• decrease in access to health care

• high rates of mortality→ military and civilians

• damage to home and property

• damage to infrastructure

• food/water supply

• exploitation of women

explain with case specific detail how conflict has violated human rights (loss of infrastructure)

• 3million Syrian children are out of schools threatening there futures

• cost to relpace the infrastructure could be £2 billion and with 2.8 million never returing to school costing economy 5.4% of GDP

explain with case specific detail how conflict has violated human rights (exploitation of women)

mass rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced marriages, force pregnancy

multiple rapes and gang rapes of young girls