Dear Directors and Presidents-Don’t admit you’re female!
Treating Women’s rights as separate from human rights makes women inferior to men and thus creates an inequality between men and women. By having women’s rights separate from human rights, women’s rights become based on societal assignments of gender characteristics as opposed to biological differences of the two sexes that make up human rights. Professor Marks defines gender as “roles that are socially constructed,” because they are learned and are changeable over time…” [1] A recent example of a woman wanting to be judged on her work alone as opposed to her identity or work being gender defined is Kathryn Bigelow. When after eighty-two years, Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar for Best Director in 2010; it was not she who claimed her prize on the behalf of women and women’s rights. Bigelow stated, “I’d love to just think of myself as a filmmaker, and I wait for the day when the modifier can be a moot point.” [2]
Some of the leading feminists, world leaders and women leading the charge for equality for women surmise that there is a greater benefit from women’s rights if they are a component of human rights as opposed to being separate rights.
Hillary Clinton received a standing ovation at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, when she passionately declared, “it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights.” Clinton continued, “human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.” [3]
Charlotte Bunch, an activist and human right’s leader and author of “Women’s Rights as Human Rights: Towards a ReVision of Human Rights” commenting with regard to women’s rights being separated from human rights posits “little benefit comes from separating them…” [1]
Major international sources also demonstrate the equality of women and men within the spectrum of equal human rights. The VDPA of 1993, “18. The Human rights of women and of the girl-child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights.” [1]
Article 2 of the UDHR states, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” [1] The UN Charter references, “the equal rights of men and women.” [1]
Championing women’s rights and protecting and respecting their biological differences and abilities does not justify separating women’s rights from human rights. One frequent argument for having women’s rights separate from human rights is based the need for women to have protection. For example, in article 25 of the UDHR it states, “Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.” [1] Instead of using this article to draw more assistance for women and the need for their rights to be separate, the article could be used to further the point that women’s rights need to be part of human rights as it should not represent women as separate from men, but rather recognize the unique attributes of one of the groups that is entitled to human rights.
CEDAW is an effective group championing women’s equality. However, the organization uses language “women’s human rights” [1], which is labeling women as a subclass of human rights, when in fact women’s rights are simply one component of human rights. By framing their argument in this way, they are in essence establishing inequality for women.
My argument is that we must first help women to change their self perception from being a sub group of human rights to being an equal group entitled to human rights while continuing to champion their unique differences and demanding respect and protection but never as a sub class or in any way less than equal to men.
Changing how women think about themselves and who and what contribute to how women develop their own self-perception is an enormous challenge. I will attempt to highlight a few key areas that I believe contribute to women thinking of themselves as a subclass to men.
Once a young girl enters school, outside her family, her strongest role model becomes her elementary school teacher with whom she spends at least six hours a day, five days a week for approximately twelve years. According to the NEA in the U.S. a typical teacher is, “white, female, married, religious, forty-three years old and over half hold a Master’s Degree. Just 25% of the U.S. teacher population are men. [4] It is fair to say that given that a vast majority of their teachers are female, there is a greater chance they will pursue a career in teaching as opposed to more stereotypical male areas of study and work such as math, science, and politics.
Second, the institution of marriage is a major contributing factor that can keep women from developing their true identity and their equality. In India there is the dowry that creates a system of male ownership over the female. As Sen stated, “men’s relative dominance connects with a number of factors, including the position of being the “breadwinner” whose economic power commands respect even within the family.” [5] Since the government does not provide health care and higher education to all U.S. citizens, women are more reliant upon their husbands for basic services that the family may need. For example in Scandinavian countries where health care and education are provided for, marriages are less prevalent. The Weekly Standard reported, “Marriage is slowly dying in Scandinavia. A majority of children in Sweden and Norway are born out of wedlock.” [6]
For change to occur, girls must be exposed to role models who demonstrate courage and lack of willingness to participate in society according to their expected gender roles. One’s own self perception plays a role in the life a women chooses to live as opposed to following what society expects of her based on gender.
In the political realms, the creation of all women Panchayats in India is an excellent example of women focusing on action to step out of their traditional gender roles.
Anna Hazare, the village patriarch declares: “Women need to forget their “womanhood.” [7]
The pursuit for human rights for women will be better served if women work to have their rights considered a component of human rights as opposed to separate rights. World leaders and activists for women would be more effective in helping future generations of women by working to establish role models for young girls who can help create a belief and self perception among young girls that they are equal and can choose they life they want to live based on who they are as opposed to what society expects from the gender they were born into. When the U.S. elects the first female President, women should hope her speech contains something like this; “and of course I’d love to just think of myself as a President, and I wait for the day when the modifier can be a moot point.”
[1] Professor Marks Lecture-Week 8, 3/23/10
[2] http://www.cinematical.com/2010/02/01/girls-on-film-kathryn-bigelow-becomes-first-female-
dga-winner/
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk3nzRt7p94&feature=related (Hillary Clinton)
[4] http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/nea__todays_teacher_issues
[5] Amartya Sen, “Development as Freedom”, p. 194
[6] http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/660zypwj.asp
[7] Bishakha Datta (ed.) And who will make the Chapatis? Calcutta: Street Publications, 2001, Introduction pg. 14-Sonali Sathaye.
© 2010, LeanneDiLorenzo. All rights reserved.
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