By Talia Carner
On November 25, the U.N. again
commemorated International
Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon again urged nations “to help end this pandemic of violence… [in order
to] have a more just, peaceful and equitable world.”
What has changed since 1993
when the U.N. General Assembly adopted resolution 48/104?
In 2011, across the globe, women are not only subject to violence, but are still
positioned as far inferior to men in every public sphere—political, religious,
legal and economic.
No country is free of “a
woman’s problem,” be it full legal rights, maternity care, religious
representation, political leadership, education opportunities, or pay equality.
In
And what happens in
third-world nations stuck in the seventeenth century?
In the film, The Stoning of Soraya, a man in
contemporary
A child-bride forced into
sexual slavery in the Middle East, Asia or
The atrocities visited upon
women are highlighted in mass rape used as a tool of war. From East Timor to
Then there is the burning of
brides in
What is the answer for this
bleak state of global gender discrimination that results in female misery and
death?
Education.
When women are educated, they
delay marriage age, have fewer children, seek to educate them, present role
models for their daughters and a fresh view of women for their sons.
When women are educated, their
earning capacity increases, they are more likely to start their own business
ventures, and have a better chance to pull out of poverty.
When women are educated, they
help better other women’s and children’s lives, seek leadership roles and run
for political offices. They use the Internet to reach beyond their narrow world
and begin to resist extreme forms of religious fundamentalism.
Women are not the problem, but
rather than solution. Had society heeded the 1993’s resolutions of eliminating
violence against women, women, one-half the world’s population would have
helped society double its forward move toward development and prosperity.
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Author Talia Carner’s most recent award-winning novels often deal with social
issues and the plights of women and children. Please check www.TaliaCarner.com .
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