Many nations are attempting to reach a level of advanced civilization and western acceptance in the world today. The United States of America should be a standard barer for those human rights perceived as necessary to attain such status. Interestingly , if one reviews multiple societies and the qualities that separate modern from primitive, two values emerge. An advance society can be defined by how It honors human rights and How It treats women.
An Advanced Society Can Be Defined By How it Honors Human rights and How It Treats Women
Many nations are attempting to reach a level of advanced civilization and western acceptance in the world today. The United States of America should be a standard barer for those human rights perceived as necessary to attain such status. Interestingly , if one reviews multiple societies and the qualities that separate modern from primitive two values emerge. An advance society can be defined by how It honors human rights and How It treats women.
Today we still witness female genital mutilation, as an acceptable custom for teenage girls reaching puberty, in some African nations. Systematic rape of women , blaming the women for provoking the rapist and honor killings , if a woman is deemed to have shamed a family. Women are forced to cover all exposed parts of their body or it is considered flirtatious and is punishable by law. In some nations women are not allowed to drive and their male children have more rights then they have. Education is denied to many women and punishable , if they attempt to enrich their knowledge. If beaten by a husband , the woman has to defend her own actions that instigated this behavior .
Some religions treat women with less then equal stature , limiting their participation in religious observances , ceremonies, learning and rituals. Many times relegating them to the role of servers or preparers of food and drink for male participants or excluding them entirely.
In many modern nations, women are limited in the work place to secondary positions, are paid less for the same work and rarely attain leadership positions, based on their gender alone.
Many of these examples still occur in America and other western nations, but it is rampant and endemic throughout the rest of the world.
Most recently in the United States, we witnessed the removal of certain women’s reproductive services from coverage in the new health reform bill. The weakening of guidelines for mammograms and pap smears for women, in order to save money. Treating a women’s right to choose as an elective procedure ,such as cosmetic surgery, even more absurd. Yet many stood silent while this injustice occurred.
It is imperative that the United States not falter from demanding human rights for all and equal rights for women world wide in it’s deliberations with foreign nations. To do less may be perceived as not caring or acceptance of these behaviors.
We live in difficult times and we are attempting to create difficult working relationships with some repressive societies, but we cannot sacrifice our values to do so.
The United States Congress must uphold the dignity of all it’s citizens, protect minorities, give equal treatment to it’s people and most of all protect the rights of our Mothers, daughters and sisters. We should never waiver from this position, under any circumstances. ....... Ben Graber, Candidate for Congress, Fl-19