Do government laws increase or decrease the presence or absence of discrimination?
Do government laws increase or decrease the presence or absence of discrimination? Different governments conform and at times violate human rights to certain extents; one government may be better at handling one type of discrimination as compared to another government that might be better at handling a different area of discrimination.
Depending on which part of the world you are in, the definition varies from opinion to opinion that which in many cases has been muted out by society and governments.According to the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia 2002, discrimination is any situation in which a group or individual is treated differently based on something other then individual reason, usually their membership in a socially distinct group or category. Such categories would include ethnicity, religion, age, sex or disability.
But what is discrimination anyway and who decides when it should be called discrimination?Discrimination is a result of human rights violations that obviously differ from continent to continent. To a westerner, the African women carrying a pot of water on her head (on her domestic cores) seven days a week may be considered a victim of gender discrimination although the woman and entire continent may see it the other way.
Basically, it can be argued that discrimination lies in the eyes of the beholder. Nonetheless, based on the definitions stated earlier, there is a lot of it taking place in our world today. Taking a look at nations all around the world, one can see the great amount of discrimination or violations of human rights happening today.
It is almost impossible for some one living in the world to confidently come out and say that they do not know what discrimination is! Unfavorable treatment based on prejudice is a something that at onetime or another everyone has either been a victim of or perhaps perpetrated.
Many times as human beings we are often quick to state that we have been discriminated against or look for certain scapegoats yet in many cases we too discriminate others. This disgusting offence does not necessarily require specific qualifications but can in fact be committed by anyone at anytime, knowingly or unknowingly!
Respect for human rights is something that should be cherished and nowhere on earth are they fully respected, however some countries and cultures have a far better record than others. Regardless of the type of government in power (capitalist, socialist, democratic or dictatorial) human – right violation is in every country and less is being done to eliminate it.
All in all, in most African counties women are the most effected with the situation. They fall prey to rape, myths, education denial, equality, home violence, property denial etc.At other times, it is phrased amid dire warnings of societal demise if women are trying to have ‘every thing’. The fact that men already have everything is considered irrelevant.
In fact, life at home for many women still means drudgery, even violence. Domestic violence remains common, and rape within marriage is only just being recognized as crime in a few countries. In the US, reports reveal that a woman is beaten every 18 minutes and domestic violence is the leading cause of injury among women of reproductive age.
If doing nothing (being house wife) can put women in danger, then becoming actively involved in fighting repression can seal their fate. When women stand up as lawyers, trade unionists, grassroots campaigners or human rights activists – they seem to pose a particular threat to the status quo as well as to the governments they oppose.
So what has feminism achieved? Is it dead, killed off by poverty and lack of tangible achievement? Certainly, the women’s movement has not led to a less violent world, nor has it meant much change in the way men behave.Its main impact has been the change it has brought about in female consciousness.
Wherever you look in the world, women still find themselves in impossible situations.Think about it, if you are a feminist, where would you prefer to live: Iran, Saudi Arabia, China or a country in Africa? If you were a criminal, where would you prefer to be tried and imprisoned? Turkey Mexico, China or Russia? If you are a minority; where would you prefer to live; Burundi, Albania, Malaysia or Liberia? If you were an unborn spirit condemned to live a life or poverty, but permitted to choose a country for that life, what country would you choose Chad, Romania, North Korea, Kenya or Tanzania?
About the Author
freelance journalist, district political party secretary and african cultural advocate.
Written by: Osoro P.J. Nyawangah
