#gender-based

[lovingauthority]

[vox-stellarum]

Girls can kick the air out of your lungs. Boys can have feelings. Girls can drive properly. Boys can cry whenever they feel like. Girls can be leaders and CEOs without being masculine. Boys can be hairdressers and stylists without being gay. Girls can wear elegant clothes. Boys can wear pink. Girls can have a career as individuals. Boys can count on their family. Girls can have male friends without being a bitch. Boys can have female friends without being a heartthrob. This society can live without gender-based generalizations.

[tearsofrefugees]

New study on gender-based asylum claims and non-refoulement

GENDER EQUALITY DIVISION ...

[theyouthtimes]

Mexican Women Stage Nationwide ‘Day Without Us’ Strike

Shoe shops, perfumiers and even ministry reception counters were left eerily empty in Mexico on Monday as the country’s female population staged a nationwide “Day Without Us” strike to protest against gender-based violence. FRANCE 24’s Laurence Cuvillier, Matthieu Comin and...

[nbcnightlynews]

Target says it will stop using gender-based signage in its stores

[globalhealth3250]

  Title: Saving Face

Author:Dr. Mohammad Jawad

Date Published: 2012

Date Accessed:March 24th, 2014

Description: This documentary explores the violence faced by women in Pakistan, who have been victims of brutal acid attacks. Zakia and Rukhsana share their experiences and their journey to justice. Dr. Mohammad Jawad allows these victims to pursue another chance in life by providing access to reconstructive surgery and a chance to fight for themselves. This artifact highlights the role of societal attitudes towards females in perpetuating the cycle of violence. Although, acid attacks against women are more common in countries like India and Pakistan, these acts of sex-based violence are reinforced by the lack of value placed on females.

Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQscuAUIFnU

  Reflection

The issue of gender-based violence is one that is growing globally. According to Seear (2012, p.157), violence against women is defined as “any act of gender-based violence that will likely result in physical, sexual or psychological harm” . Historically, females have suffered more social disadvantages and inequalities than men. For instance. women were only eligible to vote in Canada in 1917. Currently, female infanticide continue to occur in countries like India, where “it has been estimated that there are 0.5 million missing female births, annually (Seear, 2012, p. 158). Furthermore, the presence of gender inequality between   males and females is exhibited by the intermittent violence against women. Ensuring fairness and preventing further disadvantages against women is essential in achieving gender equity. Implementing and enforcing stronger laws against female infanticide and violence against women is critical. Furthermore, educating females that assault and battery is unacceptable in a relationship is essential in addressing these disadvantages. The lack of gender equity in some countries endorses high rates of assault and battery against women. In recognition of such inequity the Millennium Developmental Goals (MDG) set in 2000, strived to “promote gender equality and empower women by eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015” (United Nations, 2014, para. 1). Although, the world has achieved equality in primary level of education, discrimination against women continues to occur in many parts of the world. The recurrent gender-based violence is a primary factor hindering the achievement of gender equality and the MDG. Overall, in order to achieve global gender equity and equality, condoning factors such as violence against women must be addressed.

  The artifact “Saving Face” demonstrates one of the most brutal and popular manifestations of gender-based violence in countries like Pakistan and India. When discussed in class, I observed the horror and shock among my fellow classmates. Being born in Nepal, a country geographically and culturally close to India, this issue was ordinary. The act of acid attacks burn away more than one’s physical appearance, it takes away their identity and many of these women face stigma in communities that condone women as the lower tier gender. These victims are perceived as outcasts and dishonorable women among their communities. By growing up in a country that carries similar belief about women, there is a pervasive misconception that these women “deserved” these acts of violence. Acid violence is used as a measure of establishing a “patriarchal control over women, to maintain order” (AHRC, 2014)- great point! Please unpack what the patriarchal control over woman means, and reflect on it. This cruel practice is used to oppress any form of rebellion against men and spread fear among women who might. Moreover, in countries where acid attacks are prevalent, many judiciary and law authorities practice victim blaming. Such custom permits the abuser to continue and sanctions violence against women as a norm. Granted this, lobbying for justice is near impossible and unexpected by these women. Reported incidents of gender based violence from females are unvalued and disregarded. Being the second tier gender, females face greater social barriers and lack access to resources needed to obtain justice. I have lived in a developing country for 14 years, and the country had an analogous structure to Pakistan and India. I have seen, heard and read the corruption and unjust cases that occur everyday. I recognize that living in a democratic and free nation like Canada made me think that the lack of value placed on women is ridiculous; however,, when an individual lives and grows up in a society where women are devalued then that becomes their accepted social  norm. A social phenomenon like this is multidimensional and complex, and needs to be targeted with higher regulations and enforcement of vigorous laws prohibiting gender-based violence.

  The heinous maneuvers practiced against females have a permanent and long-term impact on the victim’s physical health, socio-economic, and psychological state. While, time is changing and feminism is prevailing in many cultures, being a female may still puts one at a disadvantage. Furthermore, according to Seear (2012), women in poverty, refugees, migrants, and minority groups are particularly vulnerable to violence.). We discussed the latter factors in class, and I understand how these factors can be dynamics and predispose women to violence. From my understanding, women that lack financial and social support have reduced levels of freedom or the knowledge to choose. Individuals facing poverty, regardless of gender, cannot afford to make a “healthier” choice. Similarly, the absence of freedom is frequently displayed in an abusive relationship. The lack of control and domination demonstrated by the other gender perpetuates submission and acceptance of such physical, emotional and psychological abuse. 

  In spite of my previous knowledge regarding acid violence in developing countries, I was surprised to learn about the pervasive gender-based violence present in South Africa. It was appalling to ascertain the normalization of physical and sexual abuse. Kim & Motsei (2002) pointed out the role of societal attitudes and norms that condone this normalization. Furthermore, I discovered an interesting similarity between the attitudes and beliefs regarding gender-based violence in South Africa and Pakistan. In both cases, violence was used as a measure for “discipline” and “punishment”. I found the resemblance between the two different cultures to be a general consensus and cause of partner-initiated assault. Certain cultural contexts promote and ensure the fallacy that violence against women can be justified by not accommodating to the partners’ need. Kim & Motsei, highlight the social attitudes from randomly selected men as “you just disfigure her once. Maybe when she looks ugly, then she will start doing some of this work’’ (2002, p. 1246). The latter beliefs are maintained by social approval of abusive men, as “he knows how to discipline he’s keeping order in his home, he is a right man’’ (Kim & Motsei, 2000, p. 1246). Efforts to promote gender equality must frame positive notion of women in a culturally sensitive manner and reduce the objectification of women. 

Please press the link below for references:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ckHi9O7c8lT_vSiigcbay3OQxCJeTWro6IrFmJbFZvE/edit?usp=sharing

[jaigujarat]

Have a HEART in Gujarat: Another step for mobile use to fight gender-based violence?

One initiative that I think may be another step in the right direction is the launch of ‘Help Emergency Assistance Rescue Terminal’, or HEART in Gujarat State, India.

[anupartha]

WHAT WOMEN WANT

HAPPINESS AT WORK IS NOT ABOUT LANDING THE BEST-PAYING JOB

STARTED MY career in the 80’s, when a majority of the girls around me chose to get married and settle down to a full-time ‘home-builder’ role. Blame it on ignorance, or destiny, I found myself in a sales executive role that demanded a significant amount of travel and external meetings — percent definitely not one of your predictable 9-to-5 jobs in the air-conditioned confines of a corporate office! Having got into it, I soon realised that I thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of traveling, meeting new people, and ushering computers into the Indian workspaces. I reveled in competitive make-or-break negotiations, and nail-biting finishes. No wonder then that I did do very well in that unconventional role. Imagine my surprise when my boss, during my second annual review asked me if I would want to consider moving to a more suitable back-office, support role! He was being considerate, assuming that I would soon get married, and would need more time for my family. Perhaps he was right, but I was livid. All I could see was my prospects for reaching the top vanish forever. Even that early in my career, I realised that business roles that directly impact the topline were the pathway to the top, not support roles. Women, have been forced to make such choices early on in their life; right after they finish high school and after landing their first jobs. The result of this shows up glaringly in the gender-based income disparities even in the private sector.The average annual income of a woman is $1,185, less than a third of a man’s at $3,698, in corporate India, as per a World Economic Forum report published in 2010-11. The same survey, based on responses of 60 of the 100 best employers in India, showed that women employees held only 10 percent of the senior management positions in two-thirds of the surveyed companies. We don’t even need formal surveys to show this, as it is very apparent that there are only a handful of women who make it to executive boards or any position of power in India. While girls outshine boys year after year in school exit exams, they do not charge ahead to compete for the most coveted seats in IITs or IIMs. Even the Civil Services that offer a highly secure and structured work environment attracted only 195 from the fairer sex, out of a total of 910 — percent a measly 20 percent share in their most recent recruitment drive in 2012. All this implies that the withdrawal and gradual dropping out from lucrative professions and powerful jobs starts early on in a woman executive’s life. This is true even in professions like medicine that are considered ‘women-friendly.’ Women dominate nursing while the higher paying specialties such as cardiac surgery, neurosurgery etc. are predominantly male-dominated. And this is just not true for Indian women, as a recent study done by Mathew Bidwell, a Wharton School professor, and Roxana Barbulescu, a McGill University professor, demonstrates. They chose 1255 men and women graduating from an elite mba program in the US as their sample. Their study showed that women are less likely to apply or accept Wall-Street type finance jobs or management consulting jobs and are more likely to take up internal marketing and finance jobs. Of course, the jobs they discard are the higher-paying ones. Not surprisingly, they found that the decision-making in women’s case stems from three factors. One, women prefer jobs that offer them work-life balance; two, women are often reluctant to apply for jobs that are seen as masculine; and three, women tend not to apply for jobs where they feel their chances of success are low. If we take it that Indian women would also be using somewhat similar factors in their decision-making, it would explain a lot of gender segregation in India. Flexi-time, work-site crèches, and better infrastructure etc.- facilities that are crucial for women are woefully inadequate in India. Add to this, constraints around personal safety and you have a more complicated picture. No wonder women overwhelmingly vote to take up jobs that address these concerns, leaving out salary and growth prospects as ‘nice-to-have’ considerations, rather than ‘must haves.’ We hear a lot of discussion in the media about what can be done to reverse this trend, or even move the needle a little towards bridging this gender gap. Others question the need to change this, as it appears that women themselves are choosing to compromise. What’s wrong if women prefer to play CEOs at home rather than at the workplace? Do we count the number of men who don the apron, or choose to bring up kids? Are girls better off not spending their adolescent years cramming for JEE as most boys from middle-class homes are expected to? Perhaps, we are missing the wood for the trees. Our measurement metrics are skewed when we decide to measure success only in terms of power and position. What about the number of women artists? How about teaching, which has always attracted women in droves? Should we assume that these statistics are irrelevant as their salaries are not what the investment banker and the management consultant make? In 1972, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the ruler of the tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, coined the phrase Gross National Happiness (GNH) to measure how well his country and its people were doing. This was, and continues to be, a radical departure from the gdp-based measures that every other country chooses to measure its progress by. However after four decades, the UN recently woke up to have a conference in April 2012, attended by over 600 countries, to consider applying GNH as a model of national growth in place of a narrow, purely commercial benchmark. What if we, in India also look at gender parity through a similar lens? Can we change the framework to measure whether women are as happy as men in place of measuring whether they are earning as much as men? In one such study (the Global Attitudes Survey done across 44 countries & 38000 interviews-http://tinyurl.com/bluusju) by Pew Research Center it was discovered that women, whatever be their position in the corporate hierarchy are much happier than men, at least in Japan, India, the Philippines, Pakistan and Argentina! Doesn’t that say it all? At least women are evolved enough to realise that happiness is not about landing the best-paying jobs!