Discrimination against women

Discrimination against women is still a global social epidemic today. Is this true? Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours and produce half of the world’s food, yet they only earn 10 per cent of the world’s income and own less than 1 per cent of the world’s property and only 12. 7 per cent of all parliamentary seats. These statistics show that women are still being discriminated throughout the globe and it is a wake-up call for everyone to the severity of this issue.

Discrimination refers to the njust or prejudice treatment of different categories of people, in this case between female and male. A few areas where discrimination against women occurs globally are the dehumanising practices against women, women rape cases, and the glass ceiling in Jobs for women. One area in which women are discriminated is that there are dehumanising practices against women. Dehumanising practices are acts that deny the “humanness” of a person, it occurs discursively, symbolically or physically.

Women are abused both verbally and physically in many parts of the world, such as India and Africa. In 28 countries, ranging from east to west, there are cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and it has absolutely no benefits for the women, and its main purpose is to deprive them of the pleasure of sex to ensure that they don’t cheat on their husbands. However, FGM brings about harmful side effects to the women’s bodies; which are bleeding and infections as well as complications to child- birth and all of which may lead to death.

Women are the only one who undergoes this, men don’t need to do such things as women are viewed to be the weaker sex and are to be controlled. Dehumanising practices causes nothing but harm to women who experience it, and it is still practiced in various parts of the world, mostly in developing countries, and as such serves to support the point that discrimination against women is still a global social epidemic today. Another area which depicts that women are discriminated against is the numerous rape cases occurring throughout the world.

Rape is defined as an instrument used by men to subjugate women, and as women are often seen as objects of desire, men desires them and uses rape to subjugate women. In India, rape and abuse of women is common, as the society is patriarchal. There are over 80,000 rape cases in India that are pending investigation, yet the police or the government have not made significant changes and efforts to resolve this problem. As seen from the above, there is evidence that people’s mind- set does not change easily. In the past, gender discrimination was a common ccurrence throughout the world.

Although most of the world have moved past gender discrimination, but there are still countries practicing gender discrimination, and it is not one or two, but big enough to make an impact on the world overall. Hence discrimination against women is still a global social epidemic today. One unseen source of discrimination against women is that there are glass ceilings in jobs for women. Although most societies have moved past gender discrimination, but there is still differences in treatment between men and women, no matter how small n society, and it is mostly observed in workplaces.

As the level of authority and power in workplaces and Jobs increase, it is observed that there are less and less women in these levels, only 12. 7 per cent of all parliamentary seats are claimed by unseen glass ceiling that is hindering them, discrimination still prevails even after a few decades of the “removal of gender discrimination”, Just that now it is more discreet and not that obvious. Hence, discrimination against women is still a global social epidemic today.