Haroon Ikram

Senior, Soldan High School

            In the articles discussed in this paper, there are many similarities and differences in the way that women and children are treated. Women and children in different countries are abused and people don’t really care much for them. Children are left and they get involved in illegal things.

 In Nepal, the acts of gender inequality seem to be based on the poverty in the region, as well as tradition that allowed the daughters to be sold for money. But in Iraq, it seemed that the unequal treatment of women and children was based on religious and cultural practices rather than due to poverty. Females in both societies, however, were treated as inferior people. In Nepal, the girls were sold at a young age and were brainwashed to think that when they were sold they would be moving into a better life for both themselves and their family.  This is because the money was equal to one third of their annual wages and they were unable to provide for their daughters otherwise. The families were also told that the daughters would be given an education but that was most often a lie. What is worse, the girls that were sold were treated as slaves, overworked, and often raped and abused. They were forced to cook and clean and take care of the families with nothing in return.

In Iraq, the religious influence over the society was dominant force that was hurting the women. Because the women in Iraq were not used to working outside of the home, they had a hard time finding jobs to provide for their families when their husbands were killed or put in jail. They had to resort to selling themselves. The children in Iraq are force to get married at a very young age. When a young girl is married she can’t go to school or anything. She will be forced to stay home and take care of the kids and clean the house.

After the U. S invasion, it seemed to have a positive impact on the women as they were able to find jobs as interpreters and had some level of freedom. But shortly after, there were more restrictions because the government that came to power was religious and forced more restrictions on the women including the use of headscarves. They were forced to dress and act conservatively. The women in power made the women dress and act in a certain way.  Their place in the home was also abusive. All they could do was cook, clean, and do what their husbands said. Husbands were also allowed to beat their wives as long as they did not leave a noticeable mark.

Compared to the United States, the women in these two countries have almost no rights. In the United States women are held as equal to men and any abuse can be taken to court. Women in the U.S. have the opportunity to go to school to become educated. Women here are allowed to become whatever they want to be. Most importantly, women in the U.S. are not property. They cannot be bought and sold. Furthermore, women are allowed to express themselves, find jobs, and dress in any way they like. It is unfortunate to see that females in other countries are not given the same freedoms as they are here because we are all the same people. 

In conclusion, I think that women should be treated as equal to men as we can do the same work and have the same capacity to learn as men do. It is upsetting to see the abuse that occurs to women in these countries and that there is nothing being done to help them. Even if there are some people trying to help, there isn’t much permanent effect as the circumstance keeps returning to the same abusive situations. Instead of the U.S. attacking Iraq and Afghanistan, they should be putting the billions of dollars of aid to help these causes as well as the other impoverished nations of the third world.

 

  Hope Bretscher

 

Pulitzer Center Essay Contest for Spring 2009

Though separated by continents and oceans, millions of women and children struggle for inherent rights in Iran, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nepal, and even in St Louis.

In Nepal, girls as young as six are often sold by their impoverished families for around $75.00—about a third of the annual income—and must work as indentured servants. These girls, called “kalmaris,” baby-sit or keep house for families in higher castes, and grow up bereft of a family and an education. Sadly, some are beaten or raped. The Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation is trying to help, offering a goat or a pig and an education for the girls, to parents who promise not to sell their daughter. Unfortunately, this very successful service only operates in a few areas, so girls continue to be sold as kalmaris in many regions.

Women in the Congo also face many perils. During the decade-long war, soldiers from warring rebel groups and the Congolese army frequently rape women. Many of these women are then thrown out of their homes. Additionally, children born from rape are often shunned or abandoned. Women and children end up in refugee camps, with no opportunities for school. The government provides little help: although laws against rape exist, the dysfunctional courts rarely punish rapists. Aid organizations like Synergy for Women offer a home for orphans and provide women with medical treatment and counseling, as well as teaching them trades, so they can survive on their own. The situation is improving and stigmas toward raped women are changing, but without a stop to the war, the problems will continue.

Similar to the Congo, violence plagues Iraq, where the problem isn’t finding good schools; it’s finding a safe way for children to travel to schools. Women are also targets of the violence and typically face heavy discrimination. They are considered second-class citizens and often are not permitted to hold a job. So in households where the husband has been killed or imprisoned, children must leave school and find work to support their families. Currently seeing little improvement, the situation will decline when the US withdraws troops. Violence and restrictions will likely increase—and the problems will only worsen.

In the United States, women and children have more freedoms than in these other countries, but still face problems. Domestic violence leaves many children and women at risk. Fortunately, agencies like the St Louis Crisis Nursery help families work through their problems and provide safe environments for children. In the US women can more easily file for a divorce or obtain restraining orders, as a way to escape abusive relationships. Divorce helps but can lead to other social problems. Single-mother households are much more likely to live in poverty, which causes many problems. Children in low-income areas seek security and identity in gangs, which ironically have many parallels to warring rebel groups in Congo. Additionally, when single-parents are frequently absent emotionally or physically from the home, children receive much less encouragement to achieve academically. The only schools available to low-income children are often failing schools, which trap children in a poor education/poverty cycle.

Across the globe women face restrictions and hardships, and children are often deprived of a quality education. Hopefully if we and people across the world work together, the problems can be remedied.