How can our world protect the human rights of women and children in countries where they are frequently denied?

Parminder Saroe

Amnesty Essay

In the world today women and children are being frequently denied their human rights, which every human being is entitled to.

In the past and in the present woman have been discriminated against due to their gender difference and have been deprived of education, healthcare and freedom and have been subjected to attacks against their human right, simply for no other reason but they are women. In parts of the world such as Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Rwanda women are constantly raped and beaten to astounding rates. In the Ukraine, Moldova, Nigeria, and Thailand women are brought and sold and forced to work in prostitution. In Guatemala, South Africa and Mexico women are unable to work or stay in a workforce as they are obstructed by private employers who use the women’s reproductive status to exclude them from work by discriminately employment laws or an enforcement of law. All this is done to women to obstruct their human right and the governments in these countries do nothing. They refuse to intervene and help these women and punish the people who are discriminating. Governments may not be able to help as they are all less economically developed countries (that not being an excuse) but discrimination in woman happens in even the most developed and modern countries and societies. In the U.S.A women are attacked and subjected to abuse because they are lesbian, bi-sexual or trans-gendered.

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All these are terrible and appalling crimes against women and all as un-justice as each other. But one of the main and most common discriminations against women is violence. Not matter what part of the world you live or what social background you have, violence against women is an occurrence and is a very frequent occurrence. In both public and private lives, women are subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Statistics show that 21% of women have experienced violence at the hands of their partners. Of women who reported being raped and/or physically assaulted since the age of 18, three quarters (76%) were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabitating partner, date or boyfriend. This is all very sad to see in our world, and even sadder that women don’t stand up to their abusers. These events occur everyday all over the world but the female victims report only small proportions to officials. Why this is may be due to a numbers of factors. In some countries a woman’s evidence does not have the same weight as a mans and women receive harsher penalties them men, even when they have committed the same offence. These women are not being listened to and are unable to voice their opinion. They know this and therefore keep closed-lipped.

As the question suggests it is not only the women who are being frequently denied in our world. Children around the world also suffer appalling abuses. In many countries like Leone soldiers carrying guns, sometimes for no reason at all, kill innocent children on the streets. If the children are not shot dead, they are kidnapped by these soldiers and trained in the usage of weapons so they too can grow up to be soldiers and shoot weapons on the streets. If these children are not killed or abducted by soldiers, they are forced to work under impossible conditions often as labourers of in prostitution. Some children are put into jail cells at very young ages with adults who often abuse them physically and sexually. All these acts are un-just and are acts of discrimination against the child’s human rights. Children are discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity. Children who are orphaned or otherwise affected by HIV/AIDS are discriminated. In Africa many children carry the Aid’s disease and are left by their parents and carers to fend for themselves on the streets, not a safe place to be. They are forced to work and not given their right of compulsory education. This is happening every second of everyday in our world and it is up to large organisation and governments to help them.

I have now explained how women and children have been denied in our world, but what can we do to help these people and give these peoples their human rights.

First of all governments in countries where woman and children are being denied the most must realise that the human rights of women and children are universal and indivisible. They must realise that their country cannot treat women and children the way they do. They must realise they cannot rape and abuse women and make them feel inferior and they cannot abuse children and turn them into weapons of war without their consent.

Once they have realised this they can take action by eradicating discrimination that denies women and children their rights. The governments should ensure that women and children are treated equally in law. A woman’s evidence should have the same weight as a man and women should not receive harsher penalties then a man.

Governments can support the work of relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations. They should publicly state their commitment to human rights groups such as the UN Commission On Human Rights, Amnesty International, and many other groups. By showing their support for these people these groups will be able access women and children much easier and provide them with the help that they need faster and more reliably.

Governments can also promote these groups through official programs and training. They could ensure that all law enforcement personnel receive adequate training on national and international standards that protect the human rights of all people and how to enforce them properly.

All this can help women and children to gain their human rights in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries where they are constantly denied. Women are raped, beaten and abused physically and mentally everyday, just because they are of a different gender to men. Children are also abused, forced into labour, and abducted and put into military school so they can fight wars and kill. This must stop and these people must be giving their respectful human rights, something every person, no matter what gender, age or race, is untitled to. Pressure groups like Amnesty International are helping them and changes have been made to help women and children. The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights that once read, “All men are born free and equal in dignity and rights” now reads “all human beings are born free and equal to rights.” Afghanistan women celebrated Women’s Day for the 1st time in 11 years not so long ago. This is a day where women enjoy their rights to education, the workplace, healthcare and a life free from violence, discrimination and sexual abuse. This shows step are being taken to protect the rights of women and children around the world, but we still have a long way to go.