Empowering Women

Shelly Wood asked:


Shoes are universal and women just love them. Shoes have the power to make women not only happy but **** also. Women use different collection of shoes to match their outfits. Even researchers have attested to the fact of increasing love of women for shoes. Some women keep a large collection of shoes in their wardrobes while some like only few selected ones. Men can easily make women happy by gifting a **** pair of shoes.

High heel shoes can develop confidence in a woman. These shoes add a little height to women who are short and their stature and confidence grows in general social gatherings. These women with high heels become the center of attraction.

About **** Women’s Shoes

Nowadays woman want to buy shoes that look **** and add value to their look. The vast collection of shoes available in the market has also changed to the thought process of women and they opt for **** and trendy shoes. Common women are emulating celebrities and models and their wardrobes include shoes ranging from high heels to ****** shoes.

The ****** of women for shoes is well known. *** appeal and allure is what women want and ****** shoes hit the right spot by providing both to women. The different styles like pointed shoes, stilettos, and shoes with wedges make women buy them without any second thoughts.

The vast collection of **** women’s shoes is available in almost every leading store. You can also buy this collection from online stores that are genuine and sell durable shoes. This collection of shoes include high heels, platform shoes, thigh high boots, knee high boots, ankle boots, mules, lace up leg shoes, court shoes, wedges, stilettos, peep toe shoes, pointed shoes, party shoes, strappy shoes, flats, gothic, and ****** shoes. This list is endless because women are not satisfied with only few. However, they can choose among this collection to complete their wardrobe.

Wedges Shoes

These types of shoes are popular with fashion lovers. Wedges can add appeal to catwalk. Those women who are trendy and fashionable buy these shoes. The different sizes, styles, and colours give options to all women to select the best shoes.

The different types of shoes available for women in leading stores have affected the fashion trends. The fashionable aspects of shoes were not explored in the past but due to growing reach of internet worldwide, women are catching up with the latest fashions and shoe industry is coming up with trendy and **** shoes.

Shoes are important in all seasons of the year. However, some stores make sales offers usually at the start of every season and it generates huge craze among women who want to buy the latest and **** shoes at not so high prices.

Shoes industry has become the busiest industry in the world, women are unstoppable when they move out on a shopping expedition. The introduction of **** summer shoes or ****** shoes at the start of the season generates lot of demand. You can find every type of shoes that fits both your size and imagination.

Sexy shoes can make women look sensuous even if they do not have matching outfits. The power of shoes is such that men just kneel down at the feet of women who look **** with high heels or ****** shoes on.

Pointed shoes

Some women like pointed shoes. The closed point becomes a seductive sight and women look very **** in these shoes. They can wear it with skirt or dress. This is also very trendy, as women want slim and trim things. These shoes are available in different sizes making it easy for women to get the size that fits them easily.

Stilettos

Stilettos are generally seductive shoes. These shoes have closed toe ankle strap pump and are available in different sizes. Buying stilettos online is a new trend that is catching up with most of the women nowadays.

Ramaiah Bheenaveni asked:


Beliefs and Practices in Women Health

• Ramaiah Bheenaveni *

Rural women’s health is an infinitely broad topic. Many Indian women have come from circumstances in which women have limited access to healthcare. Traditionally, there has been discrimination towards women in decision-making; access to resources such as food, education and health care; job opportunities; and in child-rearing and parenting. However, women’s health in rural areas affects everything in their environment from their families to their economies and vice versa. A woman’s health, especially among the poor and illiterate, is often neglected not just by her family but by the woman herself. She is taught not to complain and if she does then she is directed either to use condiments in the kitchen or try faith healing.

Man is unique in that he has a distinct cultural environment of his own. This includes all the conditions in which men are born, brought up, live, work, procreate and perish. Culture as an environment is deeply related to the health of humans. It includes patterns of social organizations designed to regulate a particular society; one can understand the behaviour of people belonging to various sections and predict how an individual of a particular section will react in a given situation. With our knowledge of health, the treatment of diseases among ignorant peoples appears to be strange since they frequently follow practices of praying, wearing of amulets or consulting an exorcist who recites certain verbal formula. Hence, we can say that beliefs and cultural practices are predominately playing significant roles in the human health more peculiarly in the health of women.

Many rural people did not know about the services set up for them at sub-centres and PHC by the government because they did not see any evidence of these services being provided for them. As a part of the awareness programmes, the health workers (ANM) have been organizing to several exposure trips at the villages. It was there that the women were informed about the specifics of various services supposed to be made available to them. This encouraged some of them to ask questions and report on the situation in their PHC. They explained that though a nurse did visit their village it was not a daily visit, nor did she go beyond a certain point in the village, and certainly did not take a round of the village. They made a show of doing their duty by providing nominal services.

A variety of factors, including an older population, a limited supply of health care providers, and further distances from health care resources may contribute to special health concerns for people in non-metropolitan areas. Access to health care and social services are critical issues for rural women.

Belief is the psychological state in which an individual is convinced of the truth of a proposition. Like the related concepts truth, knowledge, and wisdom, there is no precise definition of belief on which scholars agree, but rather numerous theories and continued debate about the nature of belief 1.

The cultural phenomenon of social organization, according to Giger and Davidhizar (2004), includes groups in the social environment that influence cultural development and identification. The family, an important aspect of the social organization phenomenon, strongly influences cultural behavior through a process of socialization or enculturation of children and group members (Giger & Davidhizar; Niska, 1999). These learned cultural behaviors guide individuals through life situations, events and health practices. Understanding family from a cultural perspective is a significant element in providing nursing care to Mexican-Americans since Giger and Davidhizar identify the family as being most values in this culture.

Environmental control is defined by Giger and Davidhizar (2004) as the ability of persons within a particular cultural heritage to plan activities that control their environment as well as their perception of one’s ability to direct factors in the environment. Kuipers’ (1999) discussion of this model, in relation to Mexican-American culture, emphasized the construct of environmental control with a focus on locus-of-control, health beliefs, and folk medicine. Locus-of-control explains the way in which individuals, within their cultural environment, perceive their ability to control what happens to them and to their health. Health may be viewed as being dependent on outside forces or their own actions (Bundek et al., 1993). Beliefs about health and illness, which are components of environmental control, affect health practices, use of health resources, and a person’s response to experiences of both health and illness (Giger & Davidhizer, 2004; Northam, 1996). A third component of environmental control, folk medicine, includes alternative therapies such as using herbs and teas or visiting a cultural folk healer.

Objectives:

1. Exploration of women beliefs on health, risk and their relationship to lifestyles;

2. Elicitation of their views across a range of health-related behaviours and practices, especially puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and child rearing, and assessment of the potential for the positive promotion of women health in these and other areas of her sexual health.

3. Identification of the sources of information and influences on the development of health beliefs amongst women, particularly with respect to common elements in attitudes to risk-taking across a number of health beliefs and practices.

4. To focus on what women themselves know and want to know, including the salience of health, and the relevance of health-related knowledge in their lives

Hypothesis:

1. There is a positive relationship between social beliefs and cultural practices of a given society

2. Positive relationship may be observed among the social beliefs and cultural practices and various other factors such as caste, religion, social and traditional customs in society

3. The explanation for the persistence of belief systems is that people remain committed to them, but for this commitment to last long, the belief system must be validated

Research Design:

A quantitative and qualitative study, building on our previous work in this area, concerning the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices of female children and young women to health, risk and lifestyles. A guiding methodological principle underpinning the study was the development of a sensitive research design for rather than on women: a study grounded not simply in what women know or need to know, but also in what they want to know and feel to be important in the context of their everyday lives. The methods enabling these principles to be taken forward are described below.

a) Area of the Study:

The Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh consists of ten districts namely Hyderabad, Ranagareddy, Mahabubnagar, Medak, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Nalgonda, and Khammam. From this region, the village Ramchandrapur in Koheda Mandal of Karimnagar district has been randomly selected as an area of the study.

b) Universe & Sampling:

According to 2001 census, the village Ramchandrapur has an approximate population of 1840 who from nearly 550 families. This village has a primary health centre (PHC), but lacks a major hospital within a range of 35 kms. And this village has been selected as universe for this study.

So for this study, the researcher adopted stratified-proportionate random method of sampling based on caste composition of the villagers and selected the respondents from the families mentioned in the habitation list of Ramchandrapur. This village population data was collected from Supraja Seva Samithi, a voluntary organization, which is working in the region for the last 10 years in the fields of health, education and environmental protection. The list consists of various caste grouping and from which proportionate stratified samples were selected. Then a list of about 181 respondents was prepared for data collection. Therefore, it is obvious that an attempt has been made to present a general picture of community data and on the basis of which, views and attitudes of the respondents were taken into consideration.

C) Tools of Data Collection:

As the research is qualitative and quantitative, non-participant observation and interview schedule was adopted for the collection of primary data. The aspects that will cover in the interview schedule were defined under two parts, one is for socio-economic and cultural status of respondents such as name, sex, age, social status, education, religion, income, nature and type of the house, etc. and the other for socio-cultural beliefs and practice patterns in health and the related treatment of the villagers.

D) Analysis and interpretation of data:

After arranging the collected data through tabulation and classification, they were analyzed and interpreted in the socio-cultural context so as to give a scientific basis to the study. Although statistical methods like frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, t-test, chi-squire and ANOVA have been used in the study, they were applied in a relevant way.

Findings:

Socio-Economic Profile:

During the field work, observed that 22 castes were appeared and most of the respondent belongs to the BC castes like Yadava, Gouda, Munnuru Kapu, Vishwa Brahmin, Mudiraj and a insignificant number of people belongs to services caste like Mangali, Chakali, Mera and so on. A considerable amount of people belongs to SC community i.e. Mala and Madigas. Only a few respondents belong to ST (Erukala) community. Out of the 181 respondents, 55 percent are male and 45 percent female,. This research is carried out with almost all the equal four fold age groups of respondents. Thus, it is noted that age group is scattered in this study. More number of respondents i.e. 91% belongs to Hindu religion and 5% are Muslim. Nearly 4% of the respondents belong to Christianity. It is also proved that common phenomena of religion composition in India.

In this village, a majority of the respondents i.e. 82 (45%) are illiterates. The next more number of respondents have studied up to primary and secondary level i.e. 24 (13%). There are 21 (12%) of the respondents can read and write. A significant number of respondents i.e. 18 (10%) claimed to have studied up to college level while the small number of people who have studied up to professional level, technical level and others stands at 7 (4%), 3 (2%) and 2 (1%) respectively. The findings reveal that more number of the respondents i.e. 55 (30.4%) are labourers and one-fourths of the respondents i.e. 45 (24.9%) are engaging in the farming. On the whole 38(21%) are continuing their caste occupation while 20 (11%) and 17 (9.4%) respondents are doing other occupation and brought up into the service sector respectively. Only a few of the respondents i.e. 6 (3.3%) are carrying out business.

It is also noted that a majority of the respondents i.e. 84.21% are living under the tiled houses and a significant number of the respondents i.e. 15.79% posses R.C.C houses. A substantial number of the BC community respondents i.e. 75% owned the tiled house and rest of them i.e. 14.29% have R.C.C. houses and 8.04% own asbestos roofed houses. Most of the SC respondents i.e. 91.49% are residing under the tiled houses while only 8.51% consist R.C.C. houses. Among the ST respondents, 33.33% have R.C.C., tiled house and thatched house equally. Regarding the income, less than 24% of the respondents earn Rs. 1501 – 2000 per month. Almost equal number i.e. 22.7 and 21.5 % of the respondents earn below Rs. 500 and between Rs. 1001 and 1500 respectively. A significant number of respondents i.e. 20 % obtaining monthly income is in the range of Rs. 501 – 1000 while only 12.7% claimed their income was over Rs. 2000.

This village consist very good fertile lands, There is just below half of the respondents i.e. 84 (46.4%) have not possess any land on their own. There are 35 (19.3%) of the respondents possess land between 1- 2.19 acres. A significant number of respondents i.e. 28 (15.5%) and 20 (11.04%) are having land between 2.20 – 4.39 acres and 5 – 9.39 acres respectively. A considerable number of respondents i.e. 14 (7.7%) are owned land 10 and above acres.

Social Dogmatism on Menstruation

Patriarchal societies have tended to control women by first announcing menarche (the onset of menstrual cycle in a young girl) to the world in an apparently celebratory fashion while thereafter attempting to control the implied fertility and sexual power by monthly rites of pollution, restriction and isolation of the menstruating woman.

The various names for menstruation or ‘periods’ point to its polluting quality. For instance in Telugu, it is called samurta or peddamanshi meaning attaining maturity. Menstrual blood is believed to be polluting. There are varying restrictions put on a girl due to this belief such as not touching people or hanging washed clothes out to dry; not touching certain flowering plants lest they die or not fruit; sleeping on a jute bag or woollen blanket away from others. A woman cannot touch her child during menstruation. If she has to, the child must first be unclothed completely or made to wear silken clothes. Visiting or touching images of gods, temples, religious scriptures is also prohibited. A fear is inculcated in the adolescent that she will sin if she breaks these taboos. Restrictions are also placed on diet. These pollution taboos result in many women getting an enforced rest for at least these three days of the month since they are barred from carrying out their normal activities.

Not only is menstrual blood supposed to be dirty, but evil too. A menstruating girl should not let her shadow fall on a child with measles lest the child turn blind. The used menstrual cloth also possesses an evil quality. If men see the cloth, dry or otherwise, they could go blind. If a cow were to swallow the cloth she would curse the girl with infertility. In villages in A.P., women do not throw their menstrual cloth-they either burn it or bury it.

There seem to be some similarities between Hindus and Muslims regarding the practice of some of these rituals. Among Muslims, the menstruating woman should not touch holy books lest they become impure. Converted Christians follow, although to a lesser degree, the rituals of their original castes. The taboos and rituals clearly devalue. Women’s reproductive powers. The notion of women being polluted and unclean can be ascribed to patriarchal control of women’s reproductive powers. While the woman fulfils a vital social role of giving birth to progeny through her biological reproductive capacity, she is, at the same time, isolated during menstruation.

Cultural Practices of Puberty

Most women do not know about the physiology of menstruation and therefore the first experience of menstruation is filled with fear, shame and disgust. In some areas such as in rural areas of A.P. the girl is sometimes told to dub three or four dots of menstrual blood or mustard oil on the wall and draw a line between the second and third or third and fourth; it is believed that she will finish her menstruation within two and a half or three and a half days in all subsequent periods.

Elaborate rituals are performed in south Indian states-as well as in many parts of north India-at the onset of menstruation. The onset of puberty is traditionally viewed in terms of the girl’s emergent sexuality and prospective motherhood. The pubescent girl is given an elaborate ritual bath, after a massage with turmeric and vermillion. The Mudiraj communities in A.P. isolate the pubescent girl for 21 days within the house, away from the male gaze. The room in which she is secluded is separated with an iron rod and a fire is kept constantly burning during this period. Fire signifies purity and also keeps away daiyyam or witches and evil spirits. The girl is polluted and hence prohibited from touching people and other people are not allowed to touch her. In case of default, a bath is essential for ritual purification.

The Impact of the Food Habits on Women Health:

Although women are more or less marginalized and neglected in relation to the quality and quantity of food, certain occasions in a woman’s life are celebrated with the offering of a variety of nutritious foods specially prepared for her. Almost every community has the practice of feeding a girl on her first menstruation with delicious and nutritive foods, with the time of seclusion for the period ranging between nine to 21 days. In parts of A.P., sweets made of jaggery, groundnuts, sesame, fenugreek, wheat flour and sorgum are given to the girl. Menstruation for the first time in the house of one’s in-laws is also considered very auspicious in all regions of A.P. and is celebrated with gaiety.. The idea seems to be to give the girl ‘rich’, that is, strength-giving foods as well as both ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ foods.

Certain ‘hot’ foods (like jaggery) and ‘cold’ foods (like tamarind and lemons) are taboo as it is believed that the girl will suffer from menstrual pain. ‘Hot’ foods may cause heavy bleeding and ‘cold’ foods may cause severe menstrual pain. Special foods are understood to compensate for the loss of blood, regularise the menstrual cycle and flow, strengthen her reproductive organs and generally contribute to her fertility.

Work Prohibition of Pregnant Women:

It is also observed during the fieldwork that almost all the respondents have revealed that prohibition of work is compulsory while a women pregnancy but this notion is varies to one community to another. The higher social status communities are not allowed to perform the works even domestic works also from the early months to after late months of maternity. Whereas weaker section women perform the daily domestic actives some of them perform field activates but it is only in the early months. They should also take rest in the late months of pregnancy and early months of maternity.

Encourage and Disencourage Food Items During the Pregnancy of Women:

During pregnancy and lactation, many traditional communities across the country restrict a woman’s food intake. It is believed that if a pregnant woman eats too much, the foetus will not have room to move. The abdomen is supposed to contain both the food and the foetus and the latter’s space needs should be given greater priority. Another reason for controlling a pregnant woman’s food consumption is perhaps that excess weight would reduce the productivity of her work in the fields and around the house. A widely prevalent practice all over India is shrimanta. In the seventh month of pregnancy special rituals are performed and different types of sweets are prepared and given to the parents-to-be. The purpose is to give moral support and encouragement to the pregnant woman and celebrate her achievement of having reached near full-term. The sweets are generally made of wheat flour, jaggery, ghee, fenugreek and dry fruits. In the final stages of pregnancy, the pregnant woman is supposed to cat these foods custom every day. This is a good custom because it provides the calories and protein needed for the rapidly growing foetus in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Food Items Encourage % Disencourage %

1.Milk 173 95.5 8 4.4

2.Green leafs 148 81.7 33 18.2

3.Toddy 80 44.1 101 55.8

4.Non-Veg 132 72.9 49 27

5.Papaya — — 181 100

6.Potato 49 27 132 72.9

7.Brinjal 50 27.6 131 72.3

The above table explains the villager’s perceptions on encourage and disencourage food items during the pregnancy of women. The data shows that there are 173 (95.5%) of the respondents have stated that they are encouraging milk and its related food items and only insignificant number of respondents i.e.8 (4.4%) are not encouraging the food items of milk. As many as 148 (81.7%) of them revealed that they are encouraging green leafs and rest of the significant number of respondents i.e. 33 (18.2%) are not interested to give the green leafs to the pregnants. Interestingly the data depicts that more than half of the respondents i.e. 101 (55.8%) have said that they are encouraging toddy and 80 (44.1%) of them are not giving taking toddy. A substantial number of the respondents i.e. 132 (72.9%) have expressed that they are encouraging the consummation of non-vegetarian foods like mutton, chicken and egg. The total number of respondents is practicing the prohibition of papaya consummation during the pregnancy. All most all equal number of respondents i.e. 49 (27%) and 50 (27.6%) have revealed that Potato and Brinjal are encouraged food items and as similar 132 (72.9%) and 131 (72.3%) of them are not encouraging the food items of Potato and Brinjal.

The data regarding Caring of Pregnant Women among the Villagers clarifies the pursuance of the opinion of several communities respondents such as Yadava 14 (7.7%), Gouda 3 (1.7%), Munurukapu 11 (6.1%), Oddera 6 (3.3%), Vishwa Brahmin 5 (2.8%), Mala 25 (13.8%), Madiga 21 (11.6%), Padmashali 7 (3.9%), each 3 (1.7%) of Mangali, Dudekula and Erukala, Kumari 2 (1.1%) and each 1 (0.6%) of Pusala, Mera, Chindi and Dakkali have stated that family and their kins are taking care of their pregnant women. In this category the total numbers of SC and ST communities are appeared because of less financial status and peer group pressure. A majority number of working caste like Yadava, Munnurukapu, Oddera, Padmashali, Dudekula and Kummari are appeared. However, these communities’ people are visiting either government or private hospital for check up their health conditions during early pregnant hood as well as before delivery. One more interesting thing that the caste Mangali itself is traditional birth attendant community in this village so we may consider them in response to this query that they are taking care about pregnant as a traditional birth attendant and as a family. On the whole 3 (1.7 %) of Yadava, 2 (1.1 %) Gouda, 1 (0.6 %) of Munnurukapu and Kummari, 8 (4.4 %) of Chakali, 5 (2.7%) of Dudekula and the total number of Mudiraj 7 (4%) community respondent have expressed that traditional birth attendant are taking care about pregnant of their communities. It is important to note that previous these caste people took care about pregnant but at presently they are seeking the help of traditional birth attendant by reason of saving of time. These kind of villagers always busy in their routine work if they involve in the caring process they should be lost more time in order to money also. The data also describes that all most all the respondents of Deshmukh 3 (1.6%), Vysya 4 (2.2%) and Vaisnava 5 (2.7%) communities have revealed that health workers or ANMs are looking after the pregnant women. It may due to the higher awareness regarding health and personal bias or prejudices of health workers or ANMs who are interested to associate with the higher social status communities.

On account of preferable birthplace; the responses of majority respondents i.e. 112 (62%) is that birth at the traditional birth attendant is more preferable. As many as number of respondent i.e. 36 (20%) have revealed that they prepared birthplace is Government Hospitals and the reaming respondents i.e. 32 (18%) have expressed their perception that Private Hospital are preferable to give the birth. The cluster analysis of data also provides the social status wise explanation that there are 7 (4%) of OC respondents, 19 (10.5%) of BCs and 10 (5.5%) of SCs are interested to go to the government hospitals. There are 10 (5.5%) of OCs and 23 (12.7%) of BCs were interested on Privates hospitals. Among the reaming of categories, the more number of BC respondents i.e. 70 (38.5%), 37 (20.5%) and the total number of ST community respondents i.e. 3 (1.7%) and only few {2(1.1%)} of OC respondent are still interested to give birth under the observation or treatment of traditional birth attendant.

Practices after Delivery:

Women underfed themselves during pregnancy and strove for a small baby to ensure easy delivery. Babies were not to be ****** fed on first three days and baby-clothes were not used till a ceremony (purudu/Naming) on 9th day to 21st day. Mothers could not leave the delivery room till that day. To minimize the toilet needs, they severely restricted their intake of fluids and food during first week after delivery. Mothers did not wash hands properly; their clothes and linen were often dirty. Newborn babies, even if sick, were not moved out of home. The usual explanations for the sicknesses in neonates were ‘evil eye’, ‘witch craft’, or ill effects of foods eaten by mother.

The practice of breast-feeding female children for shorter periods of time reflects the strong desire for sons. If women are particularly anxious to have a male child, they may deliberately try to become pregnant again as soon as possible after a female is born. Conversely, women may consciously seek to avoid another pregnancy after the birth of a male child in order to give maximum attention to the new son

Summary and Conclusions:

Due to the orthodoxical and traditional dogma, majority numbers of respondent are not possess proper notion on Women’s health. In addition to supernatural beliefs about what brings on disease, women also have some beliefs about the non-physical causes of ill-health. The most commonly found syndrome was ‘weakness’ which consists of fatigue, body ache, ghabrahat (a generic term used for anxiety, fear, restlessness, trepidation, etc.), pallor, low backache and burning of palms and feet. Thus poverty, illiteracy and social backwardness complete the subordination of women. In reality, therefore, most women carry a tremendous degree of mental anguish and agony due to the improper beliefs and practices.

However, practices existed to over come or to tune with the problems, which may be physical, psychological, cultural and environmental. Subsequently practices are to be strengthen in order to persisting as the beliefs. Once, belief is to be got its own identity; the existence of practice should automatically come by the deeds of the victims or followers. Sometimes belief might be deteriorate due to the business, cost effective and the rationalism should also vanish the irrational beliefs so that we can eventually conclude beliefs exist by the practices which may takes place to over come the problems or to adjust with the nature.

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief

2. Giger, J.N., & Davidhizar, R. E. (2004): “Transcultural nursing: Assessment and intervention” (4th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby publication.

3. Spector, R. E. (2004): “Cultural diversity in health & illness” (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Health publication..

4. Bundek, N. I., Marks, G., & Richardson, J. I. (1993): “Role of health locus of control beliefs in cancer screening of elderly Hispanic women”. Health Psychology, 12(3), 193-1999.

5. Pachter, L. M. (1994) “Culture and clinical care: Folk illness beliefs and behaviors and their implications for health care delivery”. Journal of the American Medical Association, 271(9), 690-694.

6. Roberson, M. H. (1987): “Folk health beliefs of health professional”. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 9(2), 257-263.

7. Treistman, J. (1988): “Health beliefs in socio-cultural perspective”. In G. Caliandro & B. L. Judkins (Ed.), Primary nursing practice (pp. 119-133). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company.

naraginti amareswaran asked:


Forms of Domestic Violence and Development of

Women through Education

 

                                                                                          

INTRODUCTION

            However much a mother may love her children, it is all but impossible for her to provide high-quality child care if she herself is poor and oppressed, illiterate and uninformed, anemic and unhealthy, has five or six other children, lives in a slum or shanty, has neither clean water nor safe sanitation, and if she is without the necessary support either from health services, or from her society, or from the father of her childen.

                                                          - Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, “The Asian Enigma”

            Women constitute almost half of the population in the world. But the hegemonic masculine ideology made them suffer a lot as they were denied equal opportunities in different parts of the world. The rise of feminist ideas has, however, led to the tremendous improvement of women’s condition through out the world in recent times. Access to education has been one of the most pressing demands of theses women’s rights movements. Women’s education in India has also been a major preoccupation of both the government and civil society as educated women can play a very important role in the development of the country.     

·                     India has world’s largest number of professionally qualified women.

·                     India has largest population of working women in the world.

·                     India has more number of doctors, surgeons, scientists, professors than the US.

What is Domestic Violence?

            Domestic violence is controlling behaviour and includes all kinds of physical, sexual, economic, psychological and emotional abuse within all kinds of intimate relationships. The perpetrators of domestic violence or abuse are usually men and the victims or survivors are usually women and children that they know. It includes:

• Punching and slapping.

• Kicking and hair pulling.

• Biting and pinching.

• Pushing and shoving.

• Being forced to have ***.

• Being beaten or cut with other objects.

• Disrespect, neglect and emotional blackmail.

• Verbal abuse and swearing.

• Being prevented from going out or seeing people – being isolated.

FORMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The following are the forms of Domestic Violence:

1.      Physical Abuse

2.      Sexual Abuse

3.      Psychological Abuse

4.      Emotional Abuse

5.      Financial Abuse

1. Psysical Abuse:     

            Physical abuse is the most visible form of abuse and most likely (with sexual abuse) to give rise to criminal charges. Injuries include black eyes, cut lips, bruising, fractures, deafness, blindness, internal bleeding, missing teeth, persistent ill health, miscarriages, and injuries to a foetus and death. Injury sites are often concealed by clothing or hair. It can include slaps, shoves, pushing, being thrown across the room or down the stairs, kicking, stamping, strangulation, burns and scalds, being attacked with weapons such as knives, household objects, firearms etc internally as well as externally.

2. Sexual Abuse:

            Sexual Abuse in an abusive relationship is another form of violence, control and degradation. It includes rape, sexual assaults (including with implements),enforced prostitution, enforced sexual practices including being forced to watch or engage in pornography.

3. Psychological Abuse:

            Psychological abuse examples include “Jeckyll and Hyde” behaviour, preventing contact with friends and families, constant belittling and humiliating things being said, claims that children will be removed if anyone is told of abuse, controlling behaviours, deliberately enforcing dependency, constant statements that the victim is mentally ill etc.

4. Emotional Abuse:

            Emotional abuse is an attack on victims’ personality and well being and is often described as worse than physical violence. It may be referred to as “mind-games”. It frequently amounts to the abuser assuming a tight and unhealthy control of all members of the family, which may become increasingly isolated in the community.

            Examples include threats of violence to all members of family, constant criticism of the victim saying she is ugly, ignorant or worthless, using the children as ammunition, family life and mood being dictated by abuser (abuser-centric) continual questioning, humiliation in public, playing on community and cultural fears, threats to have the children removed, threats to kill or have deported, threat that the abuser will commit suicide, threats and actual violence to family pets etc.

5. Financial Abuse:

            Financial Abuse is essentially the deprivation of and / or the control of money whether earned or benefits.

            An abuser may refuse to pay bills or prevent the victim from having any control over the family finances. The abuser may steal money belonging to the victim or children. Essential services such as gas and electricity may be cut off. The mother may be forced to support the children solely on what she can earn without assistance or child benefit if this is claimed by the abuser. An abuser may deliberately spend money on himself or sell the woman’s possessions and family furniture.

CRIME AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA

·        One crime against women every three minutes

·        One **** every 29 minutes

·        One dowry death case every 77 minutes

·        One case of cruelty by husband and relatives every nine minutes

·        Once ******* every 4 hours

Source: National Crime Records Bureau

 

The main problems of Indian women:

·         Malnutrition: India has exceptionally high rates of child malnutrition, because tradition in India requires that women eat last and least throughout their lives, even when pregnant and lactating. Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children, perpetuating the cycle.

·         Poor Health: Females receive less health care than males. Many women die in childbirth of easily prevented complications. Working conditions and environmental pollution further impairs women’s health.

·         Lack of education: Families are far less likely to educate girls than boys, and far more likely to pull them out of school, either to help out at home or from fear of violence.

·         Overwork: Women work longer hours and their work is more arduous than men’s, yet their work is unrecognized. Men report that “women, like children, eat and do nothing.” Technological progress in agriculture has had a negative impact on women.

·         Unskilled: In women’s primary employment sector - agriculture - extension services overlook women.

·         Mistreatment: In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in atrocities against women in India, in terms of rapes, assaults and dowry-related murders. Fear of violence suppresses the aspirations of all women. Female infanticide and sex-selective abortions are additional forms of violence that reflect the devaluing of females in Indian society.

·         Powerlessness: While women are guaranteed equality under the constitution, legal protection has little effect in the face of prevailing patriarchal traditions. Women lack power to decide who they will marry, and are often married off as children. Legal loopholes are used to deny women inheritance rights.

            India has a long history of activism for women’s welfare and rights, which has increasingly focused on women’s economic rights. A range of government programs have been launched to increase economic opportunity for women, although there appear to be no existing programs to address the cultural and traditional discrimination against women that leads to her abject conditions.

GOVERNEMNT ROLE TO MINIMIZE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN INDIA

            Overall, a crime against women is committed every three minutes in India, according to India’s National Crime Records Bureau. Despite the scale of the problem, there had been no specific legislation to deal with actual abuse or the threat of abuse at home. Domestic violence, under the new law, includes “actual abuse or the threat of abuse whether physical, sexual, emotional or economic,” a statement from the federal ministry of women and child development said.

            “We have been trying for long to protect women from domestic violence. In India alone, around 70% of women are victim of these violent acts in one or the other form,” junior minister for women and child development Renuka Chowdhury told the Press Trust of India news agency. They say a bill alone will not help in preventing domestic abuse; what is needed is a change in mind sets.

            In January 1992, the National Commission for Women (NCW), was set up as a statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 ( Act No. 20 of 1990 of Govt.of India ) to review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women; recommend remedial legislative measures, facilitate redressal of grievances and advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.

            There are so many government and non-government organizations are working for the benefits of women. Both Central and State governments are continuing so many programmes for the development of women in the country.

 DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN THROUGH EDUCATION

            You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.

                                                                                                                 - Jawaharlal Nehru

Female Literacy in India:

            According to last census held in 2001, the percentage of female literacy in the country is 54.16%. The literacy rate in the country has increased from 18.33% in 1951 to 65.38% as per 2001 census. The female literacy rate has also increased from 8.86% in 1951 to 54.16%. It is noticed that the female literacy rate during the period 1991-2001 increased by 14.87% whereas male literacy rate rose by 11.72%. Hence the female literacy rate actually increased by 3.15% more compared to male literacy rate.

Factors Responsible for Poor Female Literacy Rate:

Historically, a variety of factors have been found to be responsible for poor female literate rate, viz.

·         Gender based inequality.

·         Social discrimination and economic exploitation.

·         Occupation of girl child in domestic chores.

·         Low enrolment of girls in schools.

·         Low retention rate and high dropout rate.

The main strategies adopted by the Government for increasing female literacy in the country include:

1.      National Literacy Mission for imparting functional literacy

2.      Universalisation for Elementary Education

3.      Non-Formal Education

History of Women’s Education in India: Although in the Vedic period women had access to education in India, they had gradually lost this right. However, in the British period there was revival of interest in women’s education in India. During this period, various socio religious movements led by eminent persons like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar emphasized on women’s education in India. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and Baba Saheb Ambedkar were leaders of the lower castes in India who took various initiatives to make education available to the women of India. However women’s education got a fillip after the country got independence in 1947 and the government has taken various measures to provide education to all Indian women. As a result women’s literacy rate has grown over the three decades and the growth of female literacy has in fact been higher than that of male literacy rate. While in 1971 only 22% of Indian women were literate, by the end of 2001 54.16% female were literate. The growth of female literacy rate is 14.87% as compared to 11.72 % of that of male literacy rate.

 

Importance of Women’s Education in India: Women’s education in India plays a very important role in the overall development of the country. It not only helps in the development of half of the human resources, but in improving the quality of life at home and outside. Educated women not only tend to promote education of their girl children, but also can provide better guidance to all their children. Moreover educated women can also help in the reduction of infant mortality rate and growth of the population.

Obstacles: Gender discrimination still persists in India and lot more needs to be done in the field of women’s education in India. The gap in the male-female literacy rate is just a simple indicator. While the male literary rate is more than 75% according to the 2001 census, the female literacy rate is just 54.16%. Prevailing prejudices, low enrollment of girl child in the schools, engagements of girl children in domestic works and high drop out rate are major obstacles in the path of making all Indian women educated.

            According to the Women and Child Development study, 45 percent of Indian women are slapped, kicked or beaten by their husbands. India also had the highest rate of violence during pregnancy. Of the women reporting violence, 50 percent were kicked, beaten or hit when pregnant. About 74.8 percent of the women who reported violence have attempted to commit *******. It shows the importance of education. Educated woman has more strength and power to face the challenges when compared to uneducated woman.

            Kumud Sharma of the Centre for Women’s Development Studies in New Delhi traced the correlation between education and domestic violence to patriarchal attitudes. “Educated women are aware of their rights,” she said. “They are no longer willing to follow commands blindly. When they ask questions, it causes conflicts, which, in turn, leads to violence. In many Indian states, working women are asked to hand over their paycheck to the husband and have no control over their finances. So, if they stop doing so or start asserting their right, there is bound to be friction.”

            It is necessary to establish some more colleges and universities in India.  The number of Residential Schools for SC/ST and BC’s is not sufficient today. So, increase the number of these schools in the both rural and urban areas. Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens. Take care about future generation. Then only India will become developed country in the future.

CONCLUSIONS

            Now we are living in the modern and technological world. Women are also entering in all the fields like men for doing job. Educated women have better opportunity compared to uneducated women in the society. They are facing so many problems in the society. With the help of education and law and order it is easy to escape from those problems. So it is necessary to educate all types of women in the society. Education gives strength, wealth, health and power to the individual.

 According to Swami Vivekandanda:

“We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind increased and intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s own feet”.      

            The plight of women in medieval India and at the starting of modern India can be summed up in the words of great poet Rabindranath Tagore:

“O Lord Why has you not given woman the right to conquer her destiny?

Why does she have to wait head bowed,

By the roadside, Waiting with tired patience,

Hoping for a miracle in the morrow?”

References:

1.      National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2001). The National Reading Panel: Reports of the Subgroups.

 

2.      UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Literacy rates, youth (15-24) and adult (15+), by region and gender (September 2006 Assessment).

 

3.   Child and Women Development Report, (2006), Ministry of Women and Child  

      Development, Government of India, New Delhi.

 

4.    National Family Health Survey, (2006), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

5.    National Crime Records Bureau, (2007), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

6.   Census of India, (2001), Government of India, New Delhi.

 

 

.

*****

Ms. Kshama Sen asked:


Atrocities Against Women: Indian Perspective

Kshama Sen

Head of the Department: Political Science

L.R.College,India.

                   The constitution of India enjoins upon every citizen the duty to “renounce any practice derogatory of the dignity of women”. The need to incorporate the injunction into Indian constitution arose due to the prevailing atmosphere in which the women were denied their place in family and in society and subjected to humiliation, which reduced them to a position inferior to men.

                   The incidence of crime is rising at a very fast rate in our country and crime against women is no exception. Our constitution provides equality of sexes. Despite the constitutional provisions we continue to have inequality and women are treated as inferior and subservient beings. In all spheres of life, women are denied the basic right to live with dignity. Inspite of the legal safeguards provided for women, atrocities against women continue unabated in our country. Violence against women manifests itself as rape, molestation, stripping, eve-teasing, kidnapping and abduction, aminocentisis (killing of female foetus in the womb) and the like. Domestic violence includes wife beating, dowry harassment, dowry deaths, and cruelty to women driving them to commit suicide, female infanticide and sati and so on.

                   Women are oppressed in two ways: –                                                          (a) Oppression within the family,

                   (b) Oppression outside the family.

                   The sexual division of labour and the master-slave relationship between man and woman generally form the structure of the family life. The factors like age-old household drudgery, bringing up children, cooking, washing and cleaning etc. increase the burden of womenfolk. Addiction of men to alcohol and wife-beating further multiply hardship of the women. Hence the sphere of her oppression becomes total on her mental capabilities, capacity to work, and finally on her own self. In some educated families, as I have noticed, husbands force their wives to resign from their services in which they were engaged before their marriage on flimsy grounds. A job provides a woman not only economic liberty but also a strong feeling of dignity. Forcing a woman to give up her job may satisfy the ego of a husband but it tantamount to severe mental torture of the wife.

                   As per the report of National Crime Records Bureau, namely Crime in India since 1991, a total number of 10,410 cases of **** were reported in the country. Out of this 2596 cases were reported in a single state that is Madhya Pradesh followed by 1417 cases in Uttar Pradesh. These two states and Andhra Pradesh,Bihar,Maharastra and Rajasthan jointly account for nearly 70% of the **** cases reported in the country  during 1991.Incidence of child **** has multiplied manifold, i.e., from 394 in 1990 to 1099 in 1991.(S.K.Khanna: Women and the Human Rights).Every morning news papers publish new and horrifying cases of **** including gang **** of women including minors throughout the country. The saddest part of the story is delay in justice.  There are also large numbers of cold blooded murders of their wives by their husbands who are regarded as ‘param gurus’ by the Hindu ladies. Often relatives of the husband also carryout the pious duty of punishing the wife. Unfortunately many a cases of such atrocities remain unreported and never come for trial in the court of law due to social stigma, poverty of parents of the bride, illiteracy, lack of courage and scope etc.

It is also true that police interference does not always help except in a few cases. Agitations during the Roop Kanwar’s episode in Rajasthan brought to light that there have been 40 reported cases of ‘sati’ since independence. Is it not a matter of shame? The acquittal of all the 32 accused by the session court proves the efficiency of the police investigation. More shameful is the act of some fundamentalists who garlanded these people after their acquittal. In the same manner the judgement of the Honourable Supreme Court was nullified in Shah Banu’s case to please the fundamentalists for cheap political gain.

                   Violence against women takes place for several other reasons like poverty, alcoholism, lack of education in the family etc. According to the estimates of the Task Force on Housing and Urban Development in 1981 between 30 to 45per cent of the population of the Metros were living in slums. Poverty affects the daily life of the women in the slum, the very environment directly leads to the erosion of personal values of the women in slum areas. It may be regarded as social atrocities against the women.

                   Most of the Indian societies are male- dominated and it is the husband who decides even the number of children in the family. We strongly believe that it is inhuman to let helpless women get inflicted with frequent maternities which ruin them physically and kill them psychologically. This is also atrocity.

                   Regarding health care also data show that women, particularly in rural areas receive nominal or no health care services. The reasons may be many but the result is one and that is physically weak and mentally shattered women population who are supposed to nourish the future MEN FOLK of the country for a bright and prosperous India. Generally a woman is brought to the hospital for medical checkup only when things go out of control. In most of the families belonging to lower socio-economic strata, the women receive home remedies instead of proper institutional care.

                   The answer to the problem of the solution of sufferings of women lies in proper social education which will expand the knowledge base of the society. In our country there is a visible gap between the ‘Law’ as it stands and the ‘Law’ as it operates. This gap should be permanently wiped out. There is a well known dictum ‘educating a woman means educating a family’. Thus spread of education among the women of India, both rural and urban is a must. Only the educated section of women can bridge the gap and save the society as a whole. For this central as well as the state governments should join hands and ensure free and compulsory education for women from primary to atleast undergraduate level.

                   The central and state governments should take all other necessary and practical steps for fruitful development of women, particularly those who are residing in rural and interior areas. Only setting up of Mahila Commissions cannot be considered as adequate.

                   Economic independence is essential for the personality development of a woman which also gives her confidence, liberty, identity, security, a status and moreover a feeling of sharing the economic needs of he household. The NGOs can play an effectual role and exert effective influence for the harmonious development of the position of women in our taboo-infested society.

                   I would like to conclude this discussion by adding a few words regarding the responsibilities of women. Any discussion is bound to be one-sided and indeterminate if the responsibility and provocative role of a section of women is overlooked. Under the influence of maddening addiction of quick money and so called name and fame a section of young girls go almost bare in the public. Earlier we used to enjoy cinema with our entire family but those days are gone. TV has entered almost every house. This small box is giving worst possible exposure of female bodies through its serials and advertisements. Even the advertisement of a shaving razor ends up with the exposure of female flesh. What do we notice in our neighbourhood?  Sometimes our mode of activities invites atrocities. For instance, there are some modern ‘mummies’ who allow their growing daughters to wear tight jeans and tops. With their active consent young girls are presented now a day as commodity in the TV serials and advertisements. Such license in the name of modernization leads to provocation and this may endanger the security of a lone girl in the society. The young and elderly women in the society should come forward and raise voice not only in papers or in seminars but also within the family and on the streets. In my opinion, even a small beginning in this regard will go a long way in reducing atrocities on women. I do believe that women can be a real force behind success if the retarding factors are properly addressed.

(The author does not claim any originality as this article is a collection of views of many thinkers all over the world which helped her in framing her own views. The author expresses her gratitude to all of them and also proposes for a joint movement in this regard.)

Uzma Naheed Ghazi asked:


Visit our Website Home Page

Muslims generally do not take interest in social work as compared to other communities and as such the social problem in this community is much more than those of other communities. IIWA is an international Non-Profit organization, which is established with a view to fill this vacuum and brings the women together under one umbrella to serve the Ummah.  Since most of the sensitive issues in the society relate to women alone it is natural that her involvement and views on the subject is very necessary. Individually some women might be working for the good cause but their presence is never felt due to lack of communication and adequate publicity.

IIWA is a platform for woman to help those who are in need but also to raise their voices against injustice being meted out against women in the society. Though IIWA is an organization of Muslim women, it would also work for betterment and upliftment of women irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. By and large Muslim women are neither employed nor do any business and they have adequate time, which could be utilized, for social cause and make our society happy and healthy.

Visit our Website

The First Step

IIWA is the first Muslim women organization, which would have an international connection and presence and would try to solve all issues relating to women. They may include matrimonial issues, like selection of spouse, divorce, payment of Meher and maintenance, marriage of widow or discrimination in inheritance. It could be educational or even economic issues, which need to be addressed in any society.

The women involved in this organization have worked individually in any or all of the fields mentioned above. For example a model Nikahnama was drafter some 15 years ago and was discussed with Ulama and after due deliberations it was released by All India Muslim Personal law Board.

If we look at the history of Islam, we find that women are very much involved in social, economic and religious activities. They had a say in the matter and was respected for their views. However, subsequently under the influence of other non-Islamic societies, the presence of women diminished from our society which resulted into discriminations against Muslim women, never heard of before in Islamic society. In order to rectify this situation, it was necessary to form a Muslim women group which shall act as per the well defined laws as given in Qur’an, Hadith & Sunnah under the able guidance of our Ulama. It is sad that despite very clear understanding of the position of women in Islam, the Muslims generally adopted various customs and traditions regarding position and treatment of women, which were quite discriminatory in nature, which people followed religiously, so much so that some of these traditions were allowed to be continued by educated elite under the guise abundant precaution.

It is a matter of great pleasure that an international Muslim women’s organization IIWA is now established. To me, it was a dream comes true. During last two decades of my work in the field of education and social activities my meeting with a few ladies and study of a few books made me think of working with other concerned ladies in an organized way. Fortunately, the moment this idea was floated many women and young girls came forward offering their ideas, views and services for the noble cause.

When I look at the condition of women in the world both in Islamic and non Islamic country I find that the woman is oppressed either due to ignorance or deceit in the name of liberation. Whereas when we look at the history of Islam, we find women as part of the ummah, contributing in every field in the sphere of life. We find her in education, business, battlefields, politics, and literature. Muslim women made history by participating in social life as she was an important member of society. .

A Sense of Equality

Abdul Haleem Abu Shiqah, an Arabic scholar writes in his book (which is translated into Urdu as “Aurat Ahde Risalat mein”), that a woman is part of our society but we made her contribution nil and due to her illiteracy and ignorance she is not capable of bearing and upbringing of a generation which this ummah needs today. No wonder the ummah has become so voiceless and inactive in the present world. A woman has the same capabilities, thoughts, vision and sensibilities as men do. Unfortunately half of Muslim population has been made redundant for no valid reasons and with no logical explanations or sanction from Qur’an and Hadith.

Islam is a way of life for both men and women enjoining upon them to educate themselves. The responsibility of creating a healthy society lies with both men and women, in Islam, which is not possible with half the population remaining illiterate and ignorant. The reason is simple, the ummah followed traditions rather than Qur’an and Sunnah. The result was obvious. Majority of women remained illiterate under coercion in a male dominated society whereas those who defied had blindly followed the west and had become epitome of western culture.

While we thank Allah SWT that He made us a part of this Ummah that follows Islam, a balanced logical religion. The reason as to why can’t we be a part of feminist movements is simple. All such movements are anti Islam; moreover we don’t need to be their part for, we have a beautiful and most logical Shariah which gives equal rights to women and guides us to a well defined path of bliss in both the worlds. Islam takes care of a women whether she is a child, orphan, married, widow or divorcee.

Remember when Rasulullah (S) was given the prophet hood it was a woman Hazrat Khadija (R) who accepted him as  prophet first and said Ammanna wa Saddaqna. It was a woman (Hazrat Umme Ammara Ansari) who was praised by Rasulullah (S) as great warrior in the field of Ohud and he gave his shield to her as gift. You should know that it was a woman Hazrat Ayesha Siddiqa (R) who is considered the best of teachers of Ummah. It was a woman Hazrat Asma (R) who was made in charge of the markets by Hazrat Umer (R) due to her exceptional qualities and capabilities to do the job.

Attain Worldly Knowledge

The purpose of establishing IIWA is to help people look at the Muslim women from an angle that conforms Qur’an and Sunnah. It will help women to achieve her goals and objectives and perform her duties strictly within the framework of Shariah. While she learns Qur’an and Hadith she also has to obtain the worldly knowledge to give her child a better perspective and understanding. Today the problem of Muslim women is not those projected by media and leaders but the need to change her perspective and mind-set. Which has been corrupted due to centuries of un-Islamic coercion and fear.

As per a Hadith Rasulullah (S) said that in every generation some righteous people will be born who will rectify the views of those who transgress, exaggerate or foolishly misinterpret and deviate from the right path. He also said that at the turn of every century, Allah SWT will send people who would rejuvenate the “Deen”.

Visit our Website

Alex Strandberg asked:


Hatred for women is one of the biggest issues that are holding guys back from learning dating and relationship mastery. Most of the time their hatred for women goes on unconsciously, just below the surface. This is common even with guys who are trying to get “good” with women. There are several reasons why guys **** women.

The first reason for their contempt for women stems from their anger at how easily women can get ***. They will call women ***** or ****** but the truth is they wish that they could get laid as easily as they do. A guys desire to have an easy pass to getting laid comes from feelings of being inadequate. They feel like they are not enough and try and fill that gap inside of themselves through ***. When they are unable to get sex, they go further into despair.

Men who **** women hold onto feelings of not being enough and desire to cover this up by sleeping with a whole score of women. They can’t accomplish this and it intensifies their feelings of being inadequate because it’s something that guys should naturally be able to do.

Guys **** women for their ability to get men to do whatever they want them to do. They **** this because it reflects back their own desires to be able to control and manipulate people. I see this all the time with guys, they get into stuff like inner game reframe and ideagasms not to expand love but to control women. This desire to control others stems from their own inability to control themselves and their own lives.

Most things that are based in fear like controlling and manipulating others are often judged very harshly and become too painful for a person to handle. As a result, their desires get projected out into the world. They try and fix the ***** in the mirror and not themselves. They will live vicariously through their children because they are mad at themselves for not making something of their lives. They will try and offer unsolicited advice on relationships because their own relationships ****. They will go door to door convincing others to worship their God because deep down they don’t believe it.

This all comes back to unbalanced orange chakra. With an unbalanced orange chakra the ego tends to run wild. The ego wants nothing more then to control others. It likes to feel superior to people because it is in fact deeply insecure. It feels superior by putting other people down.

A great example of this is how most women will treat each other. Its very common for women to **** other women, unless they are friends with them. Even then they are usually just in competition with each other. An average looking girl will call a hotter girl a ****. Not because the hotter girl is in fact a **** but because they feel inferior to them. This leads to a lot of woman on woman hating because there will always be a hotter girl.

If the hotter girl in fact turns out to be a slut, the less attractive girl is happy. She feels happy because it puts the attractive woman on a lower scale then her. She feels superior and her ego is nice and pleased.

Another cause for men hating women is because even the ugliest girl can still get men’s attention. The guy hates this because he is attention deprived. He wishes he could try and attempt to fill the gap inside of him by getting attention from others.

Attention from others is what the ego loves. It makes the ego feel special and important but this is a lie. No body is special, including yours truly. We are all one and all equal, a fact that this ego wishes to ignore.

A guy who lets his ego control him will desire the massive attention from others. Unfortunately the ego can never get filled no matter what. No matter how much attention you get from other people or how cool they think you are it will not be enough for the ego. Sadly, this fact is not realized by most people and they waste an entire lifetime chasing a mirage.

If they do get tons of attention from women and sleep with the hottest girls, after a while they will find it very unsatisfying. This is because the ego is a bottomless pit. No external thing will ever bring you true happiness. Granted, love from women is nice but it’s not a requirement to be happy. If you aren’t happy with yourself no amount of external love will make up for it.

Guys also **** and love women because of the old Madonna/whore complex. They love the ***** and feel guilty as a result. They feel this way because deep down inside their programming from parents and society tell them that they should go for the Madonna, the good girl. It’s like being pulled apart emotionally by two opposing magnets.

Another motivation for hating women comes from the guilt that they feel from their HUMAN biology. The biology of a human is very animalistic in nature. It doesn’t care about love or loyalty or even the girl’s name. It cares only about mating. Deep down there is a fantasy of every guy to have un-attached, un-emotional, perspicuous *** where they basically use the other person. It’s something that is hardwired into EVERY GUY.

This hump and dump kind of fantasy creates a large amount of guilt and shame. They feel guilty for even having thoughts like this, let alone actually doing it. They project their own values onto the human biology. They think that because they are into meditating and inner game that they should know better. They try and repress these thoughts and label them as “dirty.” Repression always comes out in unhealthy ways like resenting women.

The way to transcend the guilt of having lust no strings attached fantasies is to realize that its only the biological part of the body that has these desires. The biology part of yourself is NOT actually who you are. Don’t judge it or repressed it, simply let it go and know that its not you. Observe it.

The mind will see a hot woman and think about how great it would be to just rip her clothes off and have caveman style *** with her. This is fine, let the mind think what it wants to think, its not you anyways.

Hating women also comes from learning and becoming a pick up artist. Become a pick up artist long enough and you will learn to downright loathe women. Most of the guys who become good at picking up women started out being absolutely hopeless with them. They never got enough attention from women which caused a lot of anger and bitterness. They became good with women but still held onto this anger. Below the surface is a revenge mentality because they were never adored by them in the past.

On some level the pick up artist understands how shallow it is sleeping with new women every day of the week. Eventually they desire to be in a relationship with one of these girls and want something more.

The seduction community is based on showing higher value and pushing buttons. ACTING like you are indifferent is the cornerstone of their approaches. Acting aloof with draw in girls who are low consciousness and just as aloof as they are. These women will lie, cheat and sometimes steal from the guy. This will fuel their harboring bitterness and resentment towards women.

The PUA has some heart and deep deep down desires more than to just sleep with random girls. They want more but are stuck in the mindset of women being validation seeking state junkies. They have often helped women cheat on their boyfriends. The heart knows better than to do this. Cheating and dragon butter closes the heart greatly and causes a lot of pain. Like most people that feel pain, they must point a finger in order to avoid response-ability and abstain from letting the pain become too overwhelming. That finger is often pointed in the direction of women.

Another common reason why guys **** women is because of their own lack of ability to stand up for themselves. Women can either be your greatest helper or your worst enemy depending on how you treat them. If you have a complete lack of respect for yourself and let women walk all over you they will become your enemy- how can you respect someone who doesn’t even respect themselves.

A guy’s inability to stand up for himself and own his own strength will cause women to take advantage of them. They aren’t really mad at the woman for disrespecting them. They are really just made at themselves for not having more self-respect and putting up with too much crap.

Along these same lines a guy will begin to **** women if he has a lack of compassion for his past painful experiences. The compassion formula teaches us to understand how we invited these painful events into our lives. If a guy doesn’t accept response-ability for the role he played in the situation he will end up pointing a finger at women.

The mind tends to over generalize and lump things into an all or nothing category. It might have been Suzie that cheated on him but the mind over generalizes to think that ALL women are cheaters. If the past pain doesn’t get resolved through compassion the guy will end up having some level of disdain for women.

If the issues you have with hating women comes down to past relationships or experiences then run the compassion formula and get those issues solved. Compassion formula is like a magic pain reliever, better than any aspirin you will ever take.

A large portion of hatred for women stems from their relationship with their own mother. How their mothers treated them will be a strong indication on how they view and treat women. Some mothers are very aloof to their children. They don’t give enough love or attention and as a result the child begins to resent women.

To help “fix” these issues with hating women you must understand that it is not you that **** women but your ego. The ego desires to hold onto this anger towards women in order to get fed. It ensures its survival through your pain. Simply allow the thoughts to come up and to pass through you. Sit back and observe them without judgment.

Another trick to help balance your lack of attention issues is to repeat the following affirmation over and over: “I am enough.” Being enough means that you don’t need anything outside of yourself to make you feel happy. It doesn’t mean that you still don’t enjoy attention from women; it just means that you can take it or leave it. So the next time you feel resentment towards women repeat that affirmation until you calm down. After you have calmed down run the compassion formula.

Know that by hating women you are doing them a great disservice. Get over your not enough issues and spread the gift that is you.

-Alex

Heather asked:


ary Women         Throughout the history of the military, women have played a large role. Not only by supporting the soldiers but standing next to the male soldiers, ready to fight. Over nine thousand women served over in Vietnam and more served at hospitals caring for wounded soldiers (Wilson, 1996). In September of 2005 there were an estimated 203,000 women on active duty serving in the United States military (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2007, ¶ 24). While some do not believe women should be on the front lines, having women in the military has helped create a strong, more integrated fighting force    Vietnam and Other Wars        When Pearl Harbor was attacked the military did not have enough male soldiers to fill certain jobs which did not have to do with direct combat. These jobs are supported military occupational specialties (MOS). Many of these jobs were clerical duties, nursing, civil service and laundry workers. The government finally decided to let women fill these jobs and let them men go fight in the war. Many served in the civilian sector but some were sent overseas; and some women did die in World War II and Vietnam.         Vietnam was a remarkable breakthrough for women in all armed forces. Women served in the Marines, Air Force, Navy and Army. By the time the military was leaving Vietnam, 7,500 women had accomplished oversea tours (Holm, 1982, chap. 16). During Operation Just Cause in Panama 1989, a few hundred women served executing refueling missions and resupply missions while being shot at by the enemy (Wilson, 1996, ¶ 6). These missions still were not considered combat missions.         Women served in large numbers during the Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991. Over 40,000 (Ghajar, n.d., ¶ women reportedly served in the battle between Kuwait and Iraq. These women had set a milestone in women’s history and set record numbers. Today the women serving overseas against the War on Terrorism has helped contribute to the success of the military women.      The War on Terrorism has brought men and women together. Not fighting against each other about gender but fighting together as a strong force. Even though the military does not consider what women do in Iraq and Afghanistan as combat, many women find themselves in danger at any given moment. The women of these wars have made exceptional achievements and accomplished many successful missions.    Achievements      The military has given credit to the well deserved men and women. Women, who helped in the Revolutionary War, were the first to receive pensions. These women, not yet considered military, were recognized for "drawing well water" (Wilson, 1996, Military Women "Firsts" and their History) for soldiers on the battlefield. These women were accredited no matter how small the pension was and today female soldiers receive the same veteran benefits and pensions of male soldiers. But few have received as many awards as their male counterparts.         The only woman to receive the nation’s highest award, the Medal of Honor, is a Civil War surgeon Dr. Mary Walker. She was awarded the medal, and Congress eventually took it away from her for reasons still not exactly known. After her death, President Carter "reinstated her medal" (Wilson, 1996). There have been many women to receive the Purple Heart, which is the oldest and first military award.         The Purple Heart is awarded to soldiers who have been injured or killed during combat, directly engaged with enemy. The Purple Heart is an award of honor and is held in high regard. With the awards come honor but to receive honor one must receive rank that deserves respect.        Recently the first female was given the rank of four-star General. This is the highest commissioned rank in the military. Army Gen. Ann Dunwoody was promoted in November of 2008, which shifted the outlook on women officers (CNN, 2008). Women have served all branches and parts of the military.         The Army’s non-commissioned officers (NCO) are thought to be the "backbone of the Army". These NCOs train and fight next to their soldiers guiding them through their battles. There are only a few exceptional women NCOs documented, but there are many who have served. These NCOs stand for, what the military is; they fight beside their soldiers and lead from the front. Women have participated in the long tradition of the NCO ranks. Women NCOs have showed that they too can do what is right and lead the force.         Even though there are more men given awards of merit and so forth; the women have stood by these soldiers doing the same job. The physical fitness and training standards may be different, but these soldiers work together to get the mission accomplished.     Feminizing the Military        Many people will argue that women do not belong in the military or front lines because the obvious physical difference. Can a woman carry the same weight as a man on her back? Can a woman run as far as the man running beside her?        The military adopted the different physical standards to help provide fair evaluations of female recruits. Some female soldiers are able to run further then male soldiers, some may even be able to carry a heavy load longer distances than men. These standards are set in place to help women overcome the physical differences. The training of soldiers though does not have the same standards.         Training in a co-ed environment may be a little stricter on language and harder on sexual harassment. The women are trained in the same areas of men and are given the exact evaluations. These training units instill a tough sexual harassment and equal opportunity policy. Still with these policies in place there is a list of units and batteries that women are not allowed to train for ("Women in the Army", n.d., ¶ 7). These units are thought to be ones that would send a woman into direct combat.         A unit that does go into direct battle needs support soldiers, these support elements are: criminal intelligence, clerical, medical, military police, civil affairs, engineers and signal. Women are allowed to serve in all support units and go to war with the combat units. The support elements will engage in missions that will put women on the front lines. And even though the military will not recognize women serving in combat, in a support MOS, a soldier will be in the line of danger and fight along with the combat soldiers.    Views on Women in the Military         The combat readiness of female soldiers is a long debate. There are many that believe that because of a woman’s emotional needs that do not belong on the battlefields. Some say women are a distraction to men on the battlefields and women cannot carry the same load as men.         Today there are numerous women serving in support units which complete dangerous missions daily. The military prohibits women serving in line units (infantry) (Norris, 2007, ¶ 4) but females are part of a specialized unit themselves. The War on Terrorism brought a new threat, women ******* bombers.        The Muslim beliefs made it hard for male soldiers to search Muslim women properly who could be hiding critical information or weapons. The military designed a group of women, usually belonging to a military police unit, to conduct missions with combat units to help search the women. The "Lioness" proved to play a very important role in the ground war (Solaro, 2006, chap. 3).         These women help show respect to the Muslim beliefs and are very important in the War on Terrorism. This job puts these women on the front lines and many women in these units find themselves in battles with the enemy. These women know all to well the effects of war and have firsthand experience. Again, the military will not acknowledge that they put women on the front lines, they are there.         Our history has shown us that no matter one’s race, religion or gender; oneself can be successful in this country. A woman can run a business just as well as a male. An African American woman can run the same business. And a Muslim, African American woman can run the business just the same.        Women and men of many races and religions fight the war together, proving the country is united. This lets our enemies know the United States of America does have equality and will rise from our shortcomings. The military may not recognize women are on the front lines because of the policies, but the women overseas know better. They are fighting alongside the male soldiers in direct combat and, they are just as important to the success of the war. Virginia Woolf a British author once said "As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is my whole world."   

References Chamber of Commerce. (2007). U.S. Census Bureau News Release Available from Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/cb07ff-03.pdf CNN (2008). Army general is nation’s first four-star woman. Retrieved December 15, 2008, from http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/11/14/woman.4.star.general/index.html Ghajar, L. (n.d.). Persian Gulf War. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from Hagen, M. (2004). Women in the Military. Retrieved December 15, 2008, from http://www.mscd.edu/~history/camphale/wim_001.html Holm, J. (1982). Women in the Military an Unfinished Revolution. Novato, CA: Presidio Press. Lewis, J. (n.d.). About Women and World War II. Retrieved January 3, 2009, from http://womenshistory.about.com/od/warwwii/a/military.htm Norris, M. (2007, October 1, 2007). Roles for Women in U.S. Army Expand. NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14869648 Solaro, E. (2006). Women in the Line of Fire: What You Should Know About Women in the Military. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press. Wilson, B. (1996). Military Women "Firsts" and their History. Retrieved January 5, 2009, from http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/firsts.html Wilson, B. (1996). Vietnam-Southeast Asia. Retrieved December 29,2008, from http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvetsnam.html Women in the Army-Historical Highlights. (n.d.) Retrieved January 11, 2009 , from http://www.asamra.army.mil/eo/eo_docs/Women in the Army - Historical Highlights.doc Woolf, V. (n.d.). World of Quotes. Retrieved January 15, 2009, from http://www.worldofquotes.com/author/Virginia-Woolf/1/index.html

 

loveleenchawla asked:


 

Violence affects the lives of millions of women worldwide, in all socio-economic and educational classes. It cuts across cultural and religious barriers, impeding the right of women to participate fully in society. Violence against women takes a dismaying variety of forms, from domestic abuse and **** to child marriages and female circumcision. All are violations of the most fundamental human rights.

 

In a statement to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September 1995, the United Nations Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, said that violence against women is a universal problem that must be universally condemned. But he said that the problem continues to grow.

 

The Secretary-General noted that domestic violence alone is on the increase. Studies in 10 countries, he said, have found that between 17 per cent and 38 per cent of women have suffered physical assaults by a partner.

 

In the Platform for Action, the core document of the Beijing Conference, Governments declared that “violence against women constitutes a violation of basic human rights and is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace”.

 

The Work Of The Special Reporter

 



The issue of the advancement of women’s rights has concerned the United Nations since the Organization’s founding. Yet the alarming global dimensions of female-targeted violence were not explicitly acknowledged by the international community until December 1993, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.

 

Until that point, most Governments tended to regard violence against women largely as a private matter between individuals, and not as a pervasive human rights problem requiring State intervention. In view of the alarming growth in the number of cases of violence against women throughout the world, the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution 1994/45 of 4 March 1994, in which it decided to appoint the Special Reporter on violence against women, including its causes and consequences.

 

As a result of these steps, the problem of violence against women has been drawing increasing political attention. The Special Reporter has a mandate to collect and analyze comprehensive data and to recommend measures aimed at eliminating violence at the international, national and regional levels. The mandate is threefold: ? To collect information on violence against women and its causes and consequences from sources such as Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and to respond effectively to such information; To recommend measures and ways and means, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences; To work closely with other special reporters, special representatives, working groups and independent experts of the Commission on Human Rights.

Incest, **** And Domestic Violence

 

Some females fall prey to violence before they are born, when expectant parents abort their unborn daughters, hoping for sons instead. In other societies, girls are subjected to such traditional practices as circumcision, which leave them maimed and traumatized. In others, they are compelled to marry at an early age, before they are physically, mentally or emotionally mature.

 

Women are victims of incest, **** and domestic violence that often lead to trauma, physical handicap or death. And **** is still being used as a weapon of war, a strategy used to subjugate and terrify entire communities. Soldiers deliberately impregnate women of different ethnic groups and abandon them when it is too late to get an abortion. The Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women declared that **** in armed conflict is a war crime — and could, under certain circumstances, be considered genocide. Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali told the Beijing Conference that more women today were suffering directly from the effects of war and conflict than ever before in history.

 

“There is a deplorable trend towards the organized humiliation of women, including the crime of mass rape”, the Secretary-General said. “We will press for international legal action against those who perpetrate organized violence against women in time of conflict.”

 

A preliminary report in 1994 by the Special Reporter, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, focused on three areas of concern where women are particularly vulnerable:

1. in the family (including domestic violence, traditional practices, infanticide);

2. in the community (including rape, sexual assault, commercialized violence such as trafficking in women, labor exploitation, female migrant workers etc.);

3. and by the State (including violence against women in detention as well as violence against women in situations of armed conflict and against refugee women).

 

In the Platform for Action adopted at the Beijing Conference, violence against women and the human rights of women are 2 of the 12 critical areas of concern identified as the main obstacles to the advancement of women.

 

Commitments By Governments

 

Governments agreed to adopt and implement national legislation to end violence against women and to work actively to ratify all international agreements that relate to violence against women. They agreed that there should be shelters, legal aid and other services for girls and women at risk, and counseling and rehabilitation for perpetrators. Governments also pledged to adopt appropriate measures in the field of education to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women. And the Platform called on media professionals to develop self-regulatory guidelines to address violent, degrading and pornographic materials while encouraging non-stereotyped, balanced and diverse images of women.

 

Defining Gender-Based Abuse

 

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women is the first international human rights instrument to exclusively and explicitly address the issue of violence against women. It affirms that the phenomenon violates, impairs or nullifies women’s human rights and their exercise of fundamental freedoms.

 

The Declaration provides a definition of gender-based abuse, calling it “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”.

 

The definition is amplified in article 2 of the Declaration, which identifies three areas in which violence commonly takes place:

 

1.Physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs in the family, including battering; sexual abuse of female children in the household; dowry-related violence; marital rape; female ******* mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women; non-spousal violence; and violence related to exploitation;

 

2. Physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs within the general community, including rape; sexual abuse; sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere; trafficking in women; and forced prostitution;

 

3. Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

 

Groundwork Is Laid In Vienna

 

The importance of the question of violence against women was emphasized over the last decade through the holding of several expert group meetings sponsored by the United Nations to draw attention to the extent and severity of the problem.

 

In September 1992, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women established a special Working Group and gave it a mandate to draw up a draft declaration on violence against women.

 

The following year, the United Nations Commission for Human Rights, in resolution 1993/46 of 3 March, condemned all forms of violence and violations of human rights directed specifically against women. The World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in June 1993, laid extensive groundwork for eliminating violence against women. In the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Governments declared that the United Nations system and Member States should work towards the elimination of violence against women in public and private life; of all forms of sexual harassment, exploitation and trafficking in women; of gender bias in the administration of justice; and of any conflicts arising between the rights of women and the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism.

 

The document also declared that “violations of the human rights of women in situations of armed conflicts are violations of the fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law”, and that all violations of this kind — including murder, systematic rape, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy — “require a particularly effective

response”.

 

Kinds Of Violence Against Women

 



Domestic violence

 

Violence against women in the family occurs in developed and developing countries alike. It has long been considered a private matter by bystanders — including neighbours, the community and government. But such private matters have a tendency to become public tragedies.

In the United States, a woman is beaten every 18 minutes. Indeed, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury among women of reproductive age in the United States. Between 22 and 35 per cent of women who visit emergency rooms are there for that reason. The highly publicized trial of O. J. Simpson, the retired United States football player acquitted of the murder of his former wife and a male friend of hers, helped focus international media attention on the issue of domestic violence and spousal abuse. In Peru, 70 per cent of all crimes reported to the police involve women beaten by their husbands. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto strongly defended a 35-year-old mother of two who was severely burned by her husband in a domestic dispute.

 

“There is no excuse for such a behaviour”, the Prime Minister declared after visiting the hospitalized victim. “My presence here is to send a message to all those who violate Islamic teachings and defy laws of the land with their inhuman treatment of women. This will not be tolerated.” According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in the 400 cases of domestic violence reported in 1993 in the province of Punjab, nearly half ended with the death of the wife.

 

According to the Special Reporter’s report, many Governments now recognize the importance of protecting victims of domestic abuse and taking action to punish perpetrators. The establishment of structures allowing officials to deal with cases of domestic violence and its consequences is a significant step towards the elimination of violence against women in the family.

 

The Special Reporter’s report highlights the importance of adopting legislation that provides for prosecution of the offender. It also stresses the importance of specialized training for law enforcement authorities as well as medical and legal professionals, and of the establishment of community support services for victims, including access to information and shelters.

 

Traditional practices

 

In many countries, women fall victim to traditional practices that violate their human rights. The persistence of the problem has much to do with the fact that most of these physically and psychologically harmful customs are deeply rooted in the tradition and culture of society.

 

Female ******* mutilation

 

According to the World Health Organization, 85 million to 115 million girls and women in the population have undergone some form of female ******* mutilation and suffer from its adverse health effects. Every year an estimated 2 million young girls undergo this procedure. Most live in Africa and Asia — but an increasing number can be found among immigrant and refugee families in Western Europe and North America. Indeed, the practice has been outlawed in some European countries. In France, a Malian was convicted in a criminal court after his baby girl died of a female circumcision-related infection. The procedure had been performed on the infant at home.

 

In Canada, fear of being forced to undergo circumcision can be grounds for asylum. A Nigerian woman was granted refugee status since she felt that she might be persecuted in her home country because of her refusal to inflict ******* mutilation on her baby daughter. There is a growing consensus that the best way to eliminate these practices is through educational campaigns that emphasize their dangerous health consequences. Several Governments have been actively promoting such campaigns in their countries.

 

Son preference

 

Son preference affects women in many countries, particularly in Asia. Its consequences can be anything from fetal or female infanticide to neglect of the girl child over her brother in terms of such essential needs as nutrition, basic health care and education. In China and India, some women choose to terminate their pregnancies when expecting daughters but carry their pregnancies to term when expecting sons.

 

According to reports from India, genetic testing for *** selection has become a booming business, especially in the country’s northern regions. Indian gender-detection clinics drew protests from women’s groups after the appearance of advertisements suggesting that it was better to spend $38 now to terminate a female fetus than $3,800 later on her dowry. A study of amniocentesis procedures conducted in a large Bombay hospital found that 95.5 per cent of fetuses identified as female were aborted, compared with a far smaller percentage of male fetuses. The problem of son preference is present in many other countries as well. Asked how many children he had fathered, the former United States boxing champion Muhammad Ali told an interviewer: “One boy and seven mistakes.”

 

Dowry-related violence and early marriage

 

In some countries, weddings are preceded by the payment of an agreed-upon dowry by the bride’s family. Failure to pay the dowry can lead to violence.

 

In Bangladesh, a bride whose dowry was deemed too small was disfigured after her husband threw acid on her face. In India, an average of five women a day are burned in dowry-related disputes — and many more cases are never reported. Early marriage, especially without the consent of the girl, is another form of human rights violation. Early marriage followed by multiple pregnancies can affect the health of women for life. The report of the Special Reporter has documented the destructive effects of marriage of female children under 18 and has urged Governments to adopt relevant legislation.

 

Violence In The Community

 

Rape

 

Rape can occur anywhere, even in the family, where it can take the form of marital **** or ******. It occurs in the community, where a woman can fall prey to any abuser. It also occurs in situations of armed conflict and in refugee camps.

 

In the United States, national statistics indicate that a woman is ***** every six minutes. In 1995, the case of a Brazilian jogger ***** and murdered in New York City’s Central Park drew international attention once again to the problem. The incident occurred only a few years after an earlier sensational jogger-assault case in which the victim — an American assaulted in the same general area of the park — barely survived after her assailants left her for dead.

 

Relations between residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa and American GIs were thrown into turmoil in 1995 after two marines and a sailor allegedly kidnapped and ***** a 12-year-old girl. The Special Reporter?s report underlines the importance of education to sensitize the public about the special horrors of rape, and of sensitivity training for the police and hospital staff who work with victims.

 

Sexual assault within marriage

 

In many countries sexual assault by a husband on his wife is not considered to be a crime: a wife is expected to submit. It is thus very difficult in practice for a woman to prove that sexual assault has occurred unless she can demonstrate serious injury. The report of the Special Reporter noted that light sentences in sexual

assault cases send the wrong message to perpetrators and to the public at large: that female sexual victimization is unimportant.

 

Sexual harassment

 

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a growing concern for women. Employers abuse their authority to seek sexual favors from their female co-workers or subordinates, sometimes promising promotions or other forms of career advancement or simply creating an untenable and hostile work environment. Women who refuse to give in to such unwanted sexual advances often run the risk of anything from demotion to dismissal. But in recent years more women have been coming forward to report such practices — some taking their cases to court.

 

In her report, the Special Reporter stressed that sexual harassment constitutes a form of *** discrimination. “It not only degrades the woman”, the report noted, “but reinforces and reflects the idea of non-professionalism on the part of women workers, who are consequently regarded as less able to perform their duties than their male colleagues.”

 

Prostitution And Trafficking

 



Many women are forced into prostitution either by their parents, husbands or boyfriends — or as a result of the difficult economic and social conditions in which they find themselves. They are also lured into prostitution, sometimes by “mail-order bride” agencies that promise to find them a husband or a job in a foreign country. As a result, they very often find themselves illegally confined in brothels in slavery-like conditions where they are physically abused and their passports withheld.

 

Most women initially victimized by sexual traffickers have little inkling of what awaits them. They generally get a very small percentage of what the customer pays to the pimp or the brothel owner. Once they are caught up in the system there is practically no way out, and they find themselves in a very vulnerable situation. Since prostitution is illegal in many countries, it is difficult for *********** to come forward and ask for protection if they become victims of **** or want to escape from brothels. Customers, on the other hand, are rarely the object of penal laws.

 

In Thailand, *********** who complain to the police are often arrested and sent back to the brothels upon payment of a fine. The extent of trafficking in women and girl children has reached alarming proportions, especially in Asian countries.

 

Many women and girl children are trafficked across borders, often with the complicity of border guards. In one incident, five young *********** burned to death in a brothel fire because they had been chained to their beds. At the same time, *** tours of developing countries are a well-organized industry in several European and other industrialized countries.

 

The Special Reporter has called on Governments to take action to protect young girls from being recruited as *********** and to closely monitor recruiting agencies.

Violence Against Women Migrant Workers

 

Female migrant workers typically leave their countries for better living conditions and better pay — but the real benefits accrue to both the host countries and the countries of origin.

 

For home countries, money sent home by migrant workers is an important source of hard currency, while receiving countries are able to find workers for low-paying jobs that might otherwise go unfilled.

 

But migrant workers themselves fare badly, and sometimes tragically. Many become virtual slaves, subject to abuse and **** by their employers.

 

In the Middle East and Persian Gulf region, there are an estimated 1.2 million women, mainly Asians, who are employed as domestic servants. According to the independent human rights group Middle East Watch, female migrant workers in Kuwait often suffer beatings and sexual assaults at the hands of their employers.

 

The police are often of little help. In many cases, women who report being ***** by their employers are sent back to the employer — or are even assaulted at the police station. Working conditions are often appalling, and employers prevent women from escaping by seizing their passports or identity papers. The report of the Special Reporter draws attention to the fact that there are many international instruments that can be used to prevent abuse against migrant women and suggests some measures to protect the human rights of migrant women.

 

Pornography

Another concern highlighted in the Special Reporter’s report is pornography, which represents a form of violence against women that “glamorizes the degradation and maltreatment of women and asserts their subordinate function as mere receptacles for male lust”.

 

Violence Perpetrated Or Condoned By States

 



Custodial Violence Against Women

 



Violence against women by the very people who are supposed to protect them — members of the law enforcement and criminal justice systems — is widespread.

 

Women are physically or verbally abused; they also suffer sexual and physical torture. According to Amnesty International, thousands of women held in custody are routinely ***** in police detention centers worldwide. The report of the Special Reporter underlines the necessity for States to prosecute those accused of abusing women while in detention and to hold them accountable for their actions.

 

Violence Against Women In Situations Of Armed Conflict

 



Rape has been widely used as a weapon of war whenever armed conflicts arise between different parties. It has been used all over the world: in Chiapas, Mexico, in Rwanda, in Kuwait, in Haiti, in Colombia. Women and girl children are frequently victims of gang **** committed by soldiers from all sides of a conflict. Such acts are done mainly to trample the dignity of the victims. **** has been used to reinforce the policy of ethnic cleansing in the war that has been tearing apart the former Yugoslavia.

 

The so-called “comfort women” — young girls of colonized or occupied countries who became sexual slaves to Japanese soldiers during the Second World War — have dramatized the problem in a historical context. Many of these women are now coming forward and demanding compensation for their suffering from Japanese authorities. “Such **** is the symbolic **** of the community, the destruction of the fundamental elements of a society and culture — the ultimate humiliation of the male enemy”, the report by the Special Reporter noted. It stressed the need to hold the perpetrators of such crimes fully accountable.

 

Violence Against Refugee And Displaced Women

 

Women and children form the great majority of refugee populations all over the world and are especially vulnerable to violence and exploitation. In refugee camps, they are ***** and abused by military and immigration personnel, bandit groups, male refugees and rival ethnic groups. They are also forced into prostitution. In her report, the Special Reporter proposes the following measures to be taken for the protection of women and girls in refugee camps: improvement of security, deployment of trained female officers at all points of the refugees’ journey, participation of women in organizational structures of the camps and prosecution of government and military personnel responsible for abuse against refugee women.

 

Legal Steps To Criminalize Violence Against Women

 

In recent years some countries have taken significant steps towards improving laws relating to violence against women. For example:

# In July 1991, Mexico revised its **** law in several important ways. A provision was eliminated that allowed a man who ***** a minor to avoid prosecution if he agrees to marry her. Now judges are required to hand down a decision regarding access to an abortion within five working days.

 

# On 9 June 1994, the Organization of American States adopted the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women a new international instrument that recognizes all gender-based violence as an abuse of human rights. This Convention provides an individual right of petition and a right for non-governmental organizations to lodge complaints with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights.

 

# In Australia, a National Committee on Violence against Women was established to coordinate the development of policy, legislation and law enforcement at the national level as well as community education on violence against women.

 

# In 1991, the Government of Canada announced a new four-year Family Violence Initiative intended to mobilize community action, strengthen Canada’s legal framework, establish services on Indian reserves and in Inuit communities, develop resources to help victims and stop offenders, and provide housing for abused women and children.

 

# In Turkey, a Ministry of State for Women was established whose main goals are, among others, to promote women’s rights and strengthen their role in economic, social, political and cultural life. Legal measures are being adopted towards the elimination of violence against women.

 

The establishment of special courts to deal with violence is envisaged. Psychological treatment for abused women is also planned, along with the establishment of women’s shelters around the country. Specially trained female police officers could provide assistance to victims of violence. ? In Burkina Faso, a strong advertising campaign by the Government as well as television and radio programmes on the unhealthy practice of ******* mutilation was launched to educate and raise public awareness about the dangerous consequences of such an “operation”. A National Anti-Excision Committee was established in 1990 by the present head of State. Today, the practice of ******* mutilation has been eliminated in some villages of Burkina Faso. In others, there has been an incredible drop in the number of girls excised: only 10 per cent of the girls are excised compared to 100 per cent 10 years ago.

 

? Some countries have introduced police units specially trained for dealing with spousal assault. In Brazil, specific police stations have been designated to deal with women’s issues, including domestic violence. These police stations are staffed entirely by women.

 

Ensuring That Laws Are Obeyed

 

These examples illustrate some steps taken at the national level towards the eradication of violence against women. Combating and eradicating this scourge require enhanced and concerted efforts to protect women at the local, national and international levels.

 

States have tended to adopt a passive attitude when confronted by cases of violations of women’s rights by private actors. Most laws fail to protect victims or to punish perpetrators. Passing laws to criminalize violence against women is an important way to redefine the limits of acceptable behavior.

 

States should ensure that national legislation, once adopted, does not go unenforced. State responsibility is clearly underlined in article 4 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, which stipulates that “States should exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons”.

 

Any approach designed to combat violence must be twofold, addressing the root causes of the problem and treating its manifestations. Society at large, including judges and police officers, must be educated to change the social attitudes and beliefs that encourage male violence.

 

Conclusion

The meaning of gender and sexuality and the balance of power between women and men at all levels of society must be reviewed. Combating violence against women requires challenging the way that gender roles and power relations are articulated in society. In many countries women have a low status. They are considered as inferior and there is a strong belief that men are superior to them and even own them. Changing people’s attitude and mentality towards women will take a long time — at least a generation, many believe, and perhaps longer. Nevertheless, raising awareness of the issue of violence against women, and educating boys and men to view women as valuable partners in life, in the development of a society and in the attainment of peace are just as important as taking legal steps to protect women’s human rights. It is also important in order to prevent violence that non-violent means be used to resolve conflict between all members of society. Breaking the cycle of abuse will require concerted collaboration and action between governmental and non-governmental actors, including educators, health-care authorities, legislators, the judiciary and the mass media.