Part 1
The status of women around the world depends on where you look. Some countries hold more opportunities for the average women in society, while others are severely lacking. There are also varying levels of what is a high status in different countries. Three main topics of women's status are; Government, Education, and Abuse/Health.
"If one man can destroy everything, why can't one girl change it?" -Malala
Government:
Not all areas of the world even have women in any role of government. Some have no positions of power in their countries at all. Those who have the opportunity to hold power often take it for granted.
Education:
Lowest literacy rate of women: Afghanistan (12.6% literacy)
Highest literacy rate of women: Andorra, Finland, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg (100% literacy)
Some women like Malala Yousafzai, spend their whole lives trying to get educational equality for women. Some never succeed.
"One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world." -Malala
"When it comes to female education rates, progress has been made around the world, and in many countries girls and young women have outnumbered and outperformed boys and men at all levels of schooling for decades. Nevertheless, these advances have yet to translate into greater equity in employment, politics and social relations." -Mario Osava
"Gender discrimination in the MENA region is sometimes codified in law, frequently in family laws or civil codes. In many countries in the region, women must obtain permission from a male relative, usually a husband or father, before seeking employment, requesting a loan, starting a business, or traveling. Such laws often grant women a smaller share of inherited family wealth. As a result, families tend to make greater investments in education for boys than for girls."
Health/Abuse:
Up to 1/2 of women are abused while married.
"Of pain you could wish only one thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes --George Orwell
Part 2:
Women's status is very different worldwide, depending on the location, amount of pay, age, and religion.
"Thirty years after the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), many girls and women still do not have equal opportunities to realize rights recognized by law. In many countries, women are not entitled to own property or inherit land. Social exclusion, “honor” killings, female genital mutilation, trafficking, restricted mobility and early marriage among others, deny the right to health to women and girls and increase illness and death throughout the life-course. We will not see sustainable progress unless we fix failures in health systems and society so that girls and women enjoy equal access to health information and services, education, employment and political positions." -Dr. Margret Chan (World Health Organization)
Payment Gap:
Women all around the world are not payed equally to their male co-workers, just based on the fact that they are female.
"Women not only earn less than men but also tend to own fewer assets. Smaller salaries and less control over household income constrain their ability to accumulate capital. Gender biases in property and inheritance laws and in other channels of acquiring assets also leave women and children at greater risk of poverty." -UNICEF
Effect of religion:
Women's rights are commonly taken away because of the religious views of people. The right to choosing what to do with your body is very often taken away from women in many countries including the US.
"Each year, 1/2 million women die from pregnancy complications and 100,000 from unsafe abortions."
Complications occur frequently because of unsafe actions, made because of restrictions due to religious beliefs.
Location:
"Women—particularly those in poor countries—will be affected differently than men." -UNFPA
Because of the social and educational status of women around the world, females are generally the ones who suffer through poverty.
"At the same time that women produce 75 to 90 percent of food crops in the world, they are responsible for the running of households. According to the United Nations, in no country in the world do men come anywhere close to women in the amount of time spent in housework."
Part 3:
Women in India are not given equal rights, they face many struggles on a daily basis. Indian women are often blamed for some of the shortcomings of society; they are told that if they were raped or abused that it was their own fault. Stereotypical gender roles are often very prominent in Indian households, schools, and government.
Government/Politics:
"Malnourished, suppressed, uneducated, violated and discriminated against, Indian women have the odds stacked against them."
Panchayat leaders- five person elected council. Very few of which contain any female leaders.
"One of the major elements hampering women's rights progress in India is the chronically low level of female political representation, analysts say."
Education/Schools:
"Some boys in India are questioning why their girl classmates have much more housework than they do." -Huffington Post
Many other things influence the extent of women's education, including safety.
"Panchayat leaders talk about building separate bathrooms for girls, which studies have shown will reduce the number of female drop-outs after puberty. They bring safe drinking water to their students. All these are not just palliatives, but are necessary developments in rural education."
But, things are improving literacy wise:
The amount of education given to women in India is quite dismal, this directly affects how many women participate in the government.
Abuse in India:
"It's really a constellation of factors hindering women's rights, including gender sex selection, literacy, child marriage, and violence."–Rachel Vogelstein, Council on Foreign Relations
"The classes come as India aims to curb rising gender-based violence: Citing the National Crime Records Bureau, Reuters reported the country experienced a 26.7 percent spike in crimes against women in 2013 from the year before. The data considered crimes like rape, sexual harassment, trafficking and kidnapping." -Huffington Post
Recently there has been a large increase in violence and abuse toward women and children in some parts of India. Very often this abuse comes from a family member.
"Most sexual abuse offenders are acquainted with their victims; approximately 30% are relatives, most often brothers, fathers, uncles or cousins; around 60% are other acquaintances, such as “friends” of the family, babysitters, or neighbors."
Credits:
Created with images by DFID - UK Department for International Development - "Inspiring words from Malala"