Are women victims of widespread discrimination – Part 1

There is no denying that over the years, women throughout the world have made significant progress. Today, there are women who occupy positions of power in almost all spheres of life. We have women ministers, corporate leaders, administrators, academicians etc.But despite their contributions, discrimination against women is still widespread. Women are victims of male dominance. This is the reality.

In fact, in some societies discrimination starts even before they are born., when expectant parents hoping for a son abort their unborn daughters.

In other societies, girls are forced to marry at an early age before they are emotionally and physically prepared for motherhood. And the suffering and unfair treatment continues in the form of domestic violence which is quite prevalent even in the developed countries. Often these women, having no way out, are forced to live tragic life.Of course legislation has been introduced to protect women. Women’s organizations throughout the world are doing their best to combat all forms of discrimination. Such efforts have only met with limited success. In our country, after years of campaign, the Domestic Violence Art was finally passed in 1996. However, it has yet to be fully implemented due to administrative constraints.One of the major causes of the discrimination is the outdated ideas and attitudes against women. The belief that women are inferior to men is still strong. This leads mens to the mistaken notion that the main duty of women is to serve men. With such unprogressive ideas it is difficult for most societies to view women’s rights as human rights. To these misguided people, women’s rights are a separate entity.

Discrimination at the workplace is still rampant. Although in most occupations women enjoy equal pay, discrimination rears its ugly head in other forms. Women, for example, do not enjoy equal opportunities when it comes to promotion. Sexual harassment at the workplace is yet another form of injustice women have to put up with.To alleviate the sufferings of women there should be concerted effort to do away with cultural practices that discriminate against women. This can be done by continuous public education to change the mindset of both men and women so that women can enjoy fully their rights as humans.Governments have to be supportive of the women’s struggle against all forms of injustice. One should not forget that women make up half of the world’s population. The full participation in the political and socio-economic life of a nation can only be made possible if all forms of discrimination are eliminated.Let’s wait for the day when emancipated women are treated as partners, and not as the ” weaker sex ” created for the sole purpose of serving men.