It is a well-known global issue that women have much fewer opportunities in terms of economic participation as compared to men. Not just that, women all over the world face injustices in the workplace, get less access to higher education, face greater health risks as well as are less represented in politics. It is important for people to understand why the women’s empowerment fight is one that is crucial for the well-being of our future daughters and nieces.
It is incredibly important that we give women all around the world equal opportunities for them to reach their maximum potential be it in school or university or in the workforce. They need to have the same rights as any other gender present as well as receive the same treatment. Not only is this important in the rally of achieving gender equality, it will also meet international development goals. In short, when women are empowered, it can contribute to the health and productivity of their family and the communities surrounding them too.
Why is it important that women get equal rights? Apart from it being simple human decency, there are other reasons as to why society needs to start treating women equally.
The Impact
With all the challenges women face all over the world, from sexual harassments to ill treatments in the workplace to even just sheer inequality in different areas of life, it’s not a surprise that many agencies and organizations have taken it upon themselves to address the needs of women and girls all over the world. The impact that these initiatives have on women is very important, as it teaches women and especially little girls to know that they need to stand up, and fight for their rights too.
The initiatives taken to address women’s education and economic empowerment is actually beneficial in a few standpoints. Not only are they beneficial for human rights, they are transformative economically too. When girls get to stay in school, they get the opportunity to live a long and healthy life, in which they will marry later and have fewer kids, which can increase their future incomes. If girls around the world get the proper secondary school education they need, there would be less teenage pregnancies, which can reduce child deaths.
The Necessity
Over the years, the world has made significant progress towards achieving gender equality. But there are other major issues like education inequalities and career inequalities, less access to healthcare in which women continue to face challenges in receiving. Not only is it their human rights to be receiving these, but it is unfair that women have to go out of their way to prove themselves so that they will be able to be treated fairly.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, these inequalities became much more severe for women all over the world. They had to bare more household burdens, and with the imposing of lockdowns, there was a significant increase in violence against women and girls. So who will fight for these girls? Despite the advancements that have been made, these challenges will still arise.
Being a young girl in a developing country is extremely difficult. Girls face hurdles from the young age of 3, when seeking education and resources. In some cases, families don’t have enough money to educate all their children, so they choose to educate the boys, leaving the girls without basic education like how to read and write. You will get the heavier share of household chores and be exploited for cheap labour while you should be out there studying in school.
Eventually, these girls will be sent off for marriage. Without access to proper family planning or contraceptives, girls get pregnant early, have kids early. Only if you are lucky, will you be able to escape that life of having kids, no job to support yourself and being stuck at home. It’s like a domino effect. One small decision made by their parents leads their child’s life to turn out a certain way. It could all be changed if there were enough resources that allowed parents in developing countries to send their girls off to school.
Women’s empowerment is necessary if we don’t want to see more women on the streets, begging for money. Granted it is equally important for people of all gender to be supported. But there is a lot of support out there given to men that women don’t get. Women who are not treated properly in their childhood tend to become sex workers at an early age, limiting their true potential and hiding their talents from the world. Some women even turn to gambling with slot vigor online and end up becoming alcoholics and drug addicts.
How Do We Empower Women?
There are lots of initiatives out there that are centered around providing the support and resources that women need to live a fruitful life, fairly. When you empower women, you are actually empowering a family, which is why it’s so important that women’s empowerment initiatives continue for the years to come. So how exactly do we empower women?
There needs to be more of these initiatives that focus on providing this support and resources to women in developing countries. Due to the lack of access to resources in developing countries, providing opportunities to girls in developing countries is equally important. These opportunities can include education or career, as well as general skills that women may need to make it in the real world.
Women face a lot of exclusion in their lives. We need to advocate for women even more than we are doing now, especially in rural areas and developing countries. Women and young girls of those countries need to know that they are supported and that they have a chance out there too. Eventually, these initiatives will have to get big enough so that they will be able to support all women and young girls in developing countries to receive their basic needs, access to education and higher education, as well as the proper treatment they need in the workplace and in their daily lives.
Check this article out if you are wondering about whether or not gender pay really matters.
