Women's Suffrage March of 1913 to 2013

Throughout this past semester my blogs have solely focused on the rights and equality of women around the world primarily on the country of India. In the beginning I found it fairly difficult to find current events that focused only on women around the world, but also realized that that the information was there I just had to dig a little bit deeper into it all. As I was doing some research I ran into several feminist websites that focused on topics of equality and rights for all women.  On these sights other women can get together and fight their cause. Through my analysis I wanted to find a sort of connect issues that all women were having around the world including in the United States.

Ironically just yesterday in my Black Women in America class we talked had a discussion about an important point in American history in which there was a massive suffrage March that occurred in March 1913 in which women from all over the world came together to  join hands and fight for the right to vote and women’s rights. One day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. Organized by Alice Paul for the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the parade, calling for a constitutional amendment, featured 8,000 marchers, including nine bands, four mounted brigades, 20 floats, and an allegorical performance near the Treasury Building. Though the parade began late, it appeared to be off to a good start until the route along Pennsylvania Avenue became choked with tens of thousands of spectators mostly men in town for the inauguration. Marchers were jostled and ridiculed by many in the crowd. Some were tripped, others assaulted. Policemen appeared to be either indifferent to the struggling parades, or sympathetic to the mob. Before the day was out, one hundred marchers had been hospitalized. The mistreatment of the marchers amplified the event and the cause into a major news story and led to congressional hearings, where the D.C. superintendent of police lost his job. What began in 1913 took another seven years to make it through Congress. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment secured the vote for women.

It is now the year 2013 and yes we have come a long way in fighting for the rights of women and yet women are still not treated as they should be. In March of this year Delta Sigma Theta, a Greek sorority had a reenactment of this March in Washington D.C for their 100^th year anniversary. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority retraced the footsteps of their founders who participated in the Women's Suffrage March of 1913. There several thousand of the sorority's members commemorated the 100th anniversary of the march and the role the organization's 22 founders played, marching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, diverting their route from the Mall to walk past the White House. The march was preceded by a rally that included D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier as one of the speakers.  Although the disenfranchisement and oppression of women have been taking place since the begging of time, these two events in history mark a time in which women came together from all over the world, no matter the race/ethnicity, religion, size or shape unified and stood for what they believed in.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Delta-Sigma-Theta-Reenacts-Womens-Suffrage-March-194671181.html

“How it feels to be a woman in India”

For blogs in the past I covered cases of women and children in New Delhi, India. The first story was about a young woman gang raped and killed by a group of men on her way from the movie theater, and the other covered the cases of sexually abused children in New Delhi, India. Although both posts addressed different social issues seen in New Delhi among its women and children the underlining problem was the refined rights for both women and children. As I continue to analyze these current events on “Women current events around the world”, I can’t help but notice the commonality of lack of women’s rights for women, particularly in In many cities in India.  

Many are concerned for the well-being of the women in New Delhi. The crimes against women are sky high and often go unnoticed. Women are vulnerable to sexual harassment from men on a day-to-day activities. It is not uncommon for a woman to groped in public or even raped. Women typically are not allowed to voice their opinions with the men in their homes and certainly don’t have the right to “say no” in the streets of India. The chances of sexual assaults are so high for a woman that it is almost natural for a woman to take precautions before going out for drinks or even going to the grocery store.  Shreyasi Singh, the writer of “How it feels to be a woman in India”, states that she wouldn't dare walk the few hundred feet to the nearby coffee shop near her home after 8 p.m. “Even though there are wide, well-paved roads, it isn't a pleasant walk at any time of the day” she says. Too often, she doesn't feel like she can stand at a crossing in Delhi and hail a cab without hunching her shoulders in hopes that her chest will be a little less obvious. And almost reflexively when on public transport, invisible antennae go up all over her body ready to sense the slightest unwanted touch or sign of harassment.

The threat of harassment is so serious that she gets calls from her family every five minutes if she is not back at home after 10.p.m. Sadly, such experiences had become so much of a threat to woman’s daily lives there that many of them had stopped questioning the unfairness of how unsafe most of New Delhi’s cities are for them.

Delhi, for example, has been dubbed the rape capital of India, with 17 percent of reported cases taking place here in 2011 according to official numbers that are believed to grossly underestimate the problem). New Delhi is the world’s largest democracy, yet tens of millions of us are treated like second class citizens – last year, the World Economic Forum ranked India 105^th in the world in terms of economic opportunities and education for women. According to India’s most recent census, the literacy rate among women is about 65 percent, compared with more than 80 percent for men. New Delhi is a patriarchal society in which the man is the dominant power and women are powerless and constantly taken advantage of. 

Article Written By:Shreyasi Singh :

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/04/how-it-feels-to-be-a-woman-in-india/

For the past week we have been discussing the demographics of the world, analyzing countries like Japan and the United State and its relation one key concept in demography related to the growth and decline of population: the dependency ratio - a measure showing the number of dependents (aged 0-14 and over the age of 65) to the total population (aged 15-64). All of demography can be reduced to this very simple formula: (Births-Deaths) +/- ((In-Migration)-(Out Migration))=Population Change. Currently both Japan and the U.S are both experiencing an issue of low birth rates within their countries. Japan’s government placed regulations on how many children can be born to a family in order to control the issue the country is having with over population. The regulations placed on its people seemed to have worked well, but now Japan is working to come up with incentives that encourage the people of Japan to date, find love, and have children. No relationships equal no love in which mean any babies, or youngsters to grow create a young, vibrant, Japan. The U.S is seeing a similar problem; they aren’t producing enough children to later sustain the elders of the country. There is talk about changes being made to the SSI Act. The U.S government has mentioned expanded the SSI Act age range. With so few young people in this country it is becoming hard to support the elders or in other words, it is becoming harder and harder for Senior citizens to get their Social Security checks.

As  I was conducting research on this week’s current events I ran across a numerous amount of articles written on the rising Brazil’s issue of low birth rates. The news about Brazil’s plummeting fertility rate is amazing.  According to an article written by World Geography, the a few decades ago, the rate was 5.3 children per woman; today, it is about 1.9. Experts predict the rate will be 1.5 children per woman by 2030. From the previous discussions that we have had in class and the information that we have talked about I know that the possible results of this issue will not be good in the end and will need possible solutions. If Brazil keeps going at the rate that’s its going with is low birth rates can go down the same road that Japan is going down. That is that the birth rates are so low that there aren’t any young people to continue to run Japan’s society, now they paying their citizens to have children because they are who are going to save Japans government. Or they can be like the U.S not has enough young people in its society to support the elderly.

 But unlike Japan the U.S Brazils’s reasons for its low birth rates have much to do with the women of the country. According to the article there a combination of causes that have led women of all social classes to challenge tradition and limit the size of their families. Brazil’s booming economy is key to this development. Women have more opportunities for careers in the growing cities, where families don’t need numerous children to work as farmhands. Improved health care assures women they don’t need to have more babies to replace those that die. Advances in Brazil’s pension system assure parents they don’t have to depend on additional children to support them in their old age. Brazil’s women also have plenty of role models to inspire them to move away from the traditional role of motherhood and toward more independence. Brazil’s newly elected president is a woman, there are high-ranking female officers in the military, and special police stations are run for and by women.

 http://hmcurrentevents.com/brazilian-womens-power-leads-to-falling-birth-rate/

Women Saudi Aurabia

For blogs in the past I covered cases of women and children in New Delhi, India. The first story was about a young woman gang raped and killed by a group of men on her way from the movie theater, and the other covered the cases of sexually abused children in New Delhi, India. Although both posts addressed different social issues seen in New Delhi amongst its women and children the underlining problem was the refined rights for both women and children. Both situations occurred due to the negligence of refined laws for women and children. However this neglaciance of the basic rights for women and children not only occur in New Delhi, India but all around the world. Today I will be analyzing an article written by Rima Maktabi and Schams Elwazer in whom works for CNN. Samar Badawi, a 30-year-old mother of one, served seven months in jail, for disobeying he father. According to the article Badawi, 30, fell foul of Saudi Arabia's guardianship laws, which require women to gain permission from their father, husband or even adult son for many daily activities. This is a common practice among the men and women of Saudi Arabia. Like New Delhi, India many of the countries in Saudi Arabia are patriarchal societies, in which the men have the “upper hand” in the day to day activities. In many countries like this the women have no say in government or in their households; it is the man that dictates many of the decisions of the household. In many cases like Badwi’s women who do decide to go dispute with the men in their families are usually beaten, public punished, or placed in jail. CNN states that n a case that was highlighted by Human Rights Watch, Badawi was physically abused by her father from the age of 14 after her mother died of cancer. At the age of 25, she decided to "stand up for herself" and ran away to a women's shelter. She was jailed for seven months after her father brought a "disobedience" case against her and she refused to return to his home. Badawi stated that before she went to jail she was “broken woman” and when she was released she came out “victorious and was very proud of myself that I was able to handle those seven months. It wasn't easy." There are many women like Badawi whom in which suffer from the harsh ways men treat that women in countries similar to India and Saudi Arabia.  

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/14/world/meast/saudi-women-disagree-rights

Legal Marriage for Women in Rwanda

The article talks about the women of Rwanda are speaking out for their legal marriage rights. The impoverished, socially exclude women of Rwanda are not given their legal marriage rights in which grant them economic security, family stability and community status. Most of these women have been married to their “husbands” for years and have children. Being married ensures these women domestic protection, the right to own property, and they achieve marriage status. Without that title many women are prone to be known has concubines or mistresses. Many men usually refuse marry women legally as a resistance to deny women their freedom.

Interestingly enough this is similar to the situation of the acceptance of bi racial marriages in the 50s and 60s, and the acceptance of gay marriage now in the U.S. In America during the 50s and 60s there was controversy involving the case of a black female and white\ male wanting to marry legally. This was during the times of Jim Crow and it was unheard of for a black female and white male to marry, yet marry legally. One night while the couple was asleep the raided their house and cuffed and arrested the white male husband and took him to jail, eventually bi radial marriages became legal in America but it took work ad time. Some of the sane issues can be seen with the “legalize gay marriage movement”. Like the issue with legalizing bi racial marriages, the legalization of gay marriages in America has had its twists and turns. In many states of the U.S many gays are not allowed to marry, because they are gay.

Like the impoverished women in Rwanda, black women of the 50s and 60s, and, and gay and lesbian communities now the common issue here is discrimination and the unequal treatment and an inadequate form of social, civil, and gay rights.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-sherman/legal-marriage_b_2080914.html

 

 

 

                   

Women and Children, New Dehli, India

About two weeks ago I ran across an article about the rape and murder a young woman in New Dehli, India. The article discussed the situation and the women in New Dehli’s outrage toward the crime. I am aware of the mass number of rape case in New Dehli, however didn’t realize that there were as many rape cases reported for children as there for adult women. Unlike the sexual violence that gets reported against women in New Dehli, the sexual acts committed toward children get brushed under the rug or if a report is filed, children being reported face extreme  humiliation as they undergo a number of tests with police officers who don’t believe their accounts anyway.  Today a report was released on the number of child sexual abuse cases in India and how the government failed to do their job by protecting and treating Indian innocent children. The report said sexual violence was "common" in many households, schools and orphanages in India. The Indian government did not give the public reaction to the report as contrary to their policy. A government study in 2007 reported that two out of three children in India gets physical violence and that 53% of the nearly 12,300 children surveyed reported one or two sexual violence. Another report said that more than 7,200 children, including a toddler, raped every year in India. Child protection activists believe there are many cases that go unreported. According to activists in India, the children sexually abused from relatives, neighbors and schools and many cases that evaporated as the traditional Indian system, parents and relatives fear the report will lead to social stigma. The report was also said to have asked the Indian government to improve protection for children from sexual abuse as part of broader reform efforts. It also states the government efforts to tackle the problem, including new legislation to protect children from sexual abuse, would also fail unless protection mechanisms were properly implemented and the justice system reformed to ensure that abuse is reported and fully prosecuted.  As the Dhruva Jaishankar, writer of the article “Child sex victims often ignored, humiliated in India: report” interviewed several peoples opinion on the topic and many of them feel that the reason why the India’s efforts to protect children from sexual violence failed because the government mechanisms fail to provide adequate protection for the children. As of now the dignities and livelihoods of these women and children are at  the hands of India’s Patriarchal government.

Delhi India Gender Ineqaulity

Delhi is the Nation Capitol of India and is the second most populous and largest city in India. With a population of 16.3 million, 8 million being men and 7 million of them being women, the issue of rape and the sexual harassment of women has become a major social problem. According to the article “India Tragedy seen as Transitional Moment” by Holly Kearl, Delhi has a high rate of street harassment and rape. Delhi is considered “Rape Capitol” with rapes being reported every eighteen hours and in the year 2011, there were 24,000 reported rape cases. On January 10, 2013 “WMC Features” published the article “India Tragedy Seen as a Trasitional Moment”, written  by journalist Holly Kearl. Holly talks about the death of a 23-year old Indian women who was gang raped by six men who assaulted her with a pipe and then later killed while she was on her way home from the movies after watching “Life of Pi” with her male friend . Although accounts of public rapes and sexual harassment are very common for Delhi, this particular case surged an up roar amongst its people. Thousands of people gathered together to protest and to express their fury and rage over the incident. After news, her death on December 8, 2012 the issue went global and people around the world were furious. This puzzled journalist Holly Kearl, why were the people of Delhi just now responding to this ongoing issue. As I read and did research on this article, I too wandered why the people of Delhi are now reacting to this issue, more importantly the women of Dehli. Why have they been quiet for so long until now? To get the answers to her questions Holly Kearl talked to some of the women at the protests to get some of their opinions. She stated that she had gotten the answer that she needed when she spoke to Ambitabh Kumar, a learder of the campaign “I Stand for Safe Delhi” these were her thoughts, “young India is sick of the hypocritical approach of blaming the victim…This time we were not going to let this happen.” He continued, referring to the spontaneous nature of the demonstrations, “Also, there was no ‘leader,' hence the common girls and boys felt empowered to speak out loud, to stand against this injustice.”

Ambitah Kumar’s comments on the rape issue were very interesting to me but what stood out the most was her comment about how “Young India is sick of the hypocritical approach of blaming the victim. As a sociologist in the making, my studies have taught me to analyze this situation from a macro perspective this is a matter of Conflict Theory in the division of gender in which produces the Feminist Theory. In this case, it would be gender inequality. As I was doing some research on the excessive amounts of rape and sexual harassment cases, I came across a link that discussed a term called “Eve Teasing”. “Eve Teasing” is a term that justifies the deviant act of men being able to publically sexually, and verbally harass women. This term uses the word “Eve” in reference to the biblical Eve, the first woman. This implies that woman in most cases act in very provocative manners to pursue men, almost had Eve did in order to get Adam to eat the forbidden fruits. Men think that this justifies there inappropriate behavior. With terms like “Eve Teasing” that view women as sexual, provocative, immoral creatures how are we to change this concurring event. But, Delhi is not alone the Unites States as made an attempt to assist women in the what seems almost impossible act of fighting for women’s rights. In  the years 2000 and 2001 the U.S and Delhi came together to create a program called(CREA) “Creating Resources for Empowerment and Action”. The program focuses on the promotion of women’s human and sexual rights. They focus in increasing accesses to information and resources providing leadership and training and advocating for social and policy changes in the Global South. However, it is now the year 2013, the program was created 12 years ago, and yet we still see an increase for sexual assaults on women and no results in the advocacy in women’s rights. How many more gang rape cases like the 23-year old young Indian woman will it take before the world opens their eyes and does something about this issue? Or was this the case?

http://www.womensmediacenter.com/feature/entry/india-tragedy-seen-as-transitional-moment

http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2012/12/29/gang-rape-victim-tragedy-a-tipping-point-for-india/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_teasing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creating_Resources_for_Empowerment_in_Action