Women

STATUS OF WOMEN

What is the status of women in the world?

In many parts of the world the lives of women are deemed far less valuable than those of men.

In every part of the world, women are in employment ghettos where pay scales, fringe benefits, working conditions, and mobility are poor.

A women in Afghanistan who had the nerve to paint her nails on her wedding day was arrested by the Taliban and had her fingers chopped off.

In Saudi Arabia, women must cover themselves in public, are barred from many kinds of work, may only travel if accompanied by a male relative and are not allowed to drive.

In some cultures, female infants may be seen as a financial burden. If they are not the first born, or do not follow the birth of a son, their parents may kill them.

In New Delhi, if dowry demands are not met, some young married women have died as a result of a fire set by their husbands or their husband's family. These deaths are declared as suicides and the husbands are free to marry again.

In some parts of Africa, 75% of women are illiterate.

Women do 80% of the world's work but they earn only 10% of the income and own less that 1% of the world's assets.

In Sudan, human rights groups are appealing to the government to have the death sentence commuted for a young women who had a child out of wedlock.