What a Woman Wants

Catcalls, humiliating words, and rape, how much can we take? Women are violated in every possible way, every possible day. This isn’t a trend that has recently started. Discrimination of women is something that has taken place since the beginning of time. Instead of respecting the gender that gave birth to them, men tend to take advantage of, abuse, and violate women.  It’s not only the men though, women have begun to undermine and contravene their own kind. Brainwashed by society, women have begun to think less of the gender in which they belong.  
 Discrimination is a word often used. It’s usually used for the minority, the misfits. However, discrimination is the correct term for women even though they happen to be equal or more in population than men. No matter how many women there are, if there’s a man, the man is thought to be automatically better. This is shown from the gender determined obstacles that women have to face from the day they are born. The problem begins there because if the zygote is known to be a female it is usually aborted. Many girls don’t get the chance to be discriminated later in life, as they are never given a life to live. The gender preference of the society is blatantly evident. When an elder in the family gives their blessing to a newly married couple, they will almost always say that they’re hoping they produce a male child. Even before the zygote is formed, many people are praying that their child is a male.

In the work place, generally a man is preferred over a woman. For the same work done, men get paid more than women do. Discrimination and bias is evident everywhere. Hypothetically, there is a pair of journalists. They both write about politics on the daily paper. The woman is evidently more experienced and skilled, while the man makes silly grammatical mistakes. It’s obvious that of the two, the woman is a better journalist. If this is the case, why is the man still getting the higher pay? Shouldn’t the amount of money a person makes depend on the quality of their work, instead of the gender they belong to?

What happens when the child is born as a female? Well, they’re discriminated even further. In many places in Asia, when there are more than one children of more than one gender, the male is always favored.  They are provided with the best form of education and their nutrition needs are met, no matter what the cost. However, if the child is a female, the education they may receive may not be of the best quality, as their food. If the need of the family is grave, then the girl is sold. Another example is when a girl marries a boy; the girl takes his last name. Why not the other way around? Why doesn’t the boy change is last name? A girl changing her maiden name after marriage is so common, we don’t give it a second thought. However, it is a form of discrimination.

Human trafficking is one of the biggest forms of discrimination. Have you ever heard about trafficking boys? This may take place, but it is not common. However, the trafficking of girls? That’s one of the most common places for a poverty-struck young woman to end up. When a girl is sold, she usually doesn’t know that she will end up becoming a prostitute. She usually has big dreams, dreams that will help her family abundantly. She wants to go to the big city to live a noble, respected life. She, in the changing of events, ends up in a prostitution house. There, she’s is treated not like the graceful woman she wants to be. No, she’s treated like an object. That girl becomes an object men can buy, use, and then throw. It is in such houses that an abundance of torn self-esteems, broken dreams, and the lack of humanity are seen. The girl with the big dreams ends up in a place where only nightmares flourish. That is the most disgusting irony.

Most of us are aware of the trafficking of women, yet we do nothing to create a change. We turn our heads, not seeing the nightmarish-reality that takes place right in front of us. We preach, yet we do not practice. That is the reason that trafficking still exists, the reason that these girls must go through torturous daily activities. This girls literally live a life that’s always somewhere between life and death.

Today, most countries believe in human rights. They believe that every person should be treated equally. They believe that everybody should have the same rights.  These rights include the right to life, the right to free speech, and the right to information. If these rights were practiced in respect to every human being, we’d live in a partially positive world. However, these rights are usually practiced in respect to males. Women aren’t even considered human, as they’re not given their human rights. Some females don’t have the right to live as they are aborted, as soon as they come into existence. Most females aren’t allowed to say what they think or feel, most are just scared. Females also are not given enough education to know what their right are, thus they lack the right to information. Without these basic human rights, women are no longer even considered human.  The quality of the education that a woman receives is usually not the best. Since they lack quality education, they are taken advantage of. The lack of education along with the lack of respect on the part of men, are the main reasons that violence against women exists. Women are teased, raped, and abused (emotionally and physically) on a daily basis.

 Society, even though it consists of women, is against them. A woman is told to be perfect. She must have a portioned acne-free face, shiny pearly whites, and a personality as bright as the sun. If she is missing any of this, she’s considered imperfect. She’s considered a flaw in the society, a horrible misfit. That decreases the esteem of women and increases those of men. This leads to men thinking they are better than women, and this kind of thinking results in horrible actions being taken towards women.  

  As a member of the female gender, I will not tolerate the explicit discrimination and injustice practiced against women in our society. I would like to take a stand for the women that cannot stand for themselves. I would love to make sure these women become independent, outspoken, and worthy individuals in which our gender can take pride. This is why I would love to intern or volunteer in the Alliance Against Trafficking in Women and Children in Nepal (AATWIN Nepal). This organization gives us, the people, a say and allows us to take a stand for what we believe in. As a feminist, I would love to do all I can to make this country and world a safer, more women-friendly place.  With my passion for the subject and my driven attitude, I would love to take part in this organization. This is because it’s time for a change to come. It’s time women are treated equally and respectfully.