Women and Development

Why has the empowerment of women been so much less successful in some countries than others?

To start, women in developing countries as a whole do not enjoy the same rights or freedoms and are not valued nearly as much as women in the AICs. While progress is still to be made in the developed countries, the women in our class alone can attest to the far superior circumstances they live in when compared with that of a woman from, say, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Here in America, women are active participants in our democracy. This past election cycle saw the first female Speaker of the House elected in Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton became the first woman to have a legitimate shot at the White House. Equal pay for equal work in the form of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, a common sense rallying cry for women's rights, is of such importance in our nation as to be the first bill President Obama has signed into law (Jones, 2009). Again, while there is certainly still work to be done here in the United States, we can all agree that women in this country are privy to many rights which women around the world can not claim for numerous reasons.

The idea of women's rights is relatively new, owing much of our progress to the women's movement of the last hundred or so years. In a nation such as ours where social and cultural progress is a function of our democratic ideals coupled with the freedoms written into our Constitution, it's inevitable that women's rights would eventually be a main concern for those whom it affects, that is, women. That said, it's also important to recognize that women's rights have a huge impact on the society as a whole. Whereas women are the primary caregivers and, in much of the world, the primary food/water source, it would only follow that their impact on the entire social structure would be immense. While this may be true, the reality is far from the ideal. Equality is more of a dream for most women rather than a daily occurrence. In nation's where equality is almost non-existent, it's instructive to look at the causes of inequality, the potential remedies, and the obvious benefits from striving towards that end.

Socially, most of the world views women through the same lens, although culture will influence where that view begins. Women's general physical inferiority is wrongly translated as mental and emotional inferiority as well. Combining this with the thousands of years of social oppression and the relegation to the status of property has left women in a position of having to fight against a male-dominated, male-oriented, male-centered society. This is a global phenomenon, one in which differing cultural norms have contributed to the overall successes or failures of individual nations. Again, the America and the West has seen the rising education levels and standards of living drive women's rights to the forefront of social development needs. When women are enfranchised and empowered, a whole new segment of the population is free to contribute to the progression of that society, and everyone is better off because of it. As a simple analogy, I would rather have five men and five women working towards a common end than only five men attempting to solve a problem. It's simple common sense.

Still, the primary motivator in first accepting and then implementing women's rights is education. Ruth Levine's "Educating Girls, Unlocking Development" is the simple answer to this inequality. When women are given access to education, it's a simple cause and effect situation. There are numerous benefits derived from educating girls, to include increased presence and therefore contribution to the workforce and society as a whole. Next, as women's education increases, their level of fertility decreases which translates obviously to less children and thus less restraint from the limiting burdens of childcare. The absence of proper contraceptive access, to include education of use, is another factor in the success or failure of women of a particular nation. Of paramount importance is the battle for a woman's control over her own body which, again, I think we in America can forget is far from the norm we experience today. Instead, women are still relegated to object status, a possession to be bought, sold, or traded much as a farm animal or crop would be regarded.

It's important to remember that the key to success hinges on a basic recognition of woman as equal. Are women different than men? Of course. Men and women were created to serve different functions in a family, the basic unit of civilization. Different by no means implies either superiority or inferiority, and the obvious value and benefit of woman's contributions attest to this fact. Sure, women in general are physically capable than men; most, but by no means all. That does not, however, provide any sort of final basis for the subjugation of women. Might certainly does not make right when dealing with rational players. Again, I think the plight of women in most Arab countries is a telling sign of that culture's deficiencies which, as we can expect these to remain unchanged, limit the potential of the entire nation. Likewise, those African, Asian, and any other cultures which prevent women from enjoying the full range of social and cultural acceptance/freedoms will also suffer. Only when we acknowledge our differences as merely physical, not mental or otherwise, and embrace the positive role women have on society, from the ground up, will progress be forthcoming and sustained.

Works Cited

Jones, Athena. "Obama Signs Equal Pay Law." firstread.msnbc.msn.com. 29 Jan 2009. MSNBC. 4 Feb 2009 http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/01/29/1772326.aspx.