We Have a Dream to Change the World free essay sample

Although I was taught that these women were a huge importance to the community, in Africa, men are still considered dominant. Women are inadequately served when it comes to education, health and even legal rights. One of the main reasons why these countries are still struggling economically is due to the lack of importance on educating women. These women have the power to create great change for these third world countries, so in order to reduce gender inequality and build the soci-economic status of these third world countries; we must promote the evolution of women empowerment. Education for girls, mostly in third world countries, has been extremely hard to access. A conference known as the Beijing conference held in 1995 had a strong concern for the female child. They took statistics from 1990 where 130 million children worldwide had no access to primary education, 81 million of which were girls. An even higher number of girls had no access to secondary education. We will write a custom essay sample on We Have a Dream to Change the World or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The UN then realized that they needed to one; â€Å"increase girls’ access to both primary and secondary education,† two; â€Å"alter representations of women and girls in the curriculum† and three; â€Å"increase the number of female teachers worldwide† (United Nations). By realizing this, they have also unknowingly brought up the realization that gender equality and economic development go hand-in-hand. In the poorest countries only 5. 4% of adult women have some sort of secondary education compared to 14. 6% of adult males, where as the richer countries 50. 8% of women and 57. % of males. When we compare the poorer countries to the richer countries with how many women have secondary education, we can be inclined to think that these countries are more developed because of the high percentage of educated women. Blocking these women from participation in educational activities can adversely affect the whole society and country, in a negative way. Health ca re for women in third world countries is even harder to come by. I learned that female circumcision, which is the cutting off of the clitoris, in Africa is mandatory, even though illegal. Female circumcision was created by men and is still practiced today with razors, knives, glass and even sharp rocks. They do it in unsanitary places, like behind bushes so the police do not catch them. The reason why women are forced into doing this is so that sex no longer pleasurable, so in return the women will not cheat on their husbands. The lack of training in these surgeries, the use of unsterile and unsuitable equipment, and the fact that the girl may struggle during surgery, all suggest that it is difficult to be precise and safe in an excision, which can then cause birth complications and other infections. But because this ritual is illegal, when these infections happen it is unlikely the women will be allowed to visit a hospital to receive treatment and medicine. Thus resulting in the dominance of male’s thoughts over females. Legal rights for women in Africa almost do not even exist. Forced/arranged marriages are a huge part of African culture. If a man finds a specific woman attractive or is aware that her family is wealthy, he will proceed to tell his parents who will than plan it with the families or guardians of the woman concerned. In arranged marriages women are treated as things or possessions. They are traded for money, food, animals and even property. Females do not have a say when it comes to arranged marriages, they are forced to marry for the well being of the family, instead of for love. Most women in Africa are not even allowed to get jobs to help out with the families’ income. They are forced to take care of the children, walk around 4 kilometers to the nearest water source, cook, clean etc. Although females do most of the work for the family, they are still considered inferior to males. Education, health and legal rights are things that women do not have much access to in Africa. Women have been discriminated against and thought less of by men for centuries. They are being denied the right to education at a time when these women have the potential to transform their lives and the world around them, so in order for third world countries to rise economically gender inequality must diminish.