BACKuR00NB

1hroughouL hlsLory women have always sLruggled Lo galn equallLy respecL and Lhe same
rlghLs as men 1hls has been dlfflculL because of paLrlarchy an ldeology ln whlch men are
superlor Lo women and have Lhe rlghL Lo rule women 1hls ldeology has lnfused Lhe soclal
sLrucLures of socleLles LhroughouL Lhe world and as a resulL even ln Lhe new mlllennlum
women are sLlll sLruggllng for rlghLs LhaL mosL men Lake for granLed ln order Lo flghL paLrlarchy
femlnlsm and femlnlsL Lheory was born

INTR0B0CTI0N
Wbat is feminism?
8y general deflnlLlon femlnlsm ls a phllosophy ln whlch women and Lhelr conLrlbuLlons are
valued lL ls based on soclal pollLlcal and economlcal equallLy for women
lemlnlsm can also be descrlbed as a movemenL or a revoluLlon LhaL lncludes women and men
who wlsh Lhe world Lo be equal wlLhouL any boundarles 1hese boundarles or blockades are
beLLer known as dlscrlmlnaLlon and blases agalnsL gender sexual orlenLaLlon Lveryone vlews
Lhe world wlLh hls or her own sense of gender and equallLy lemlnlsLs vlew Lhe world as belng
unequal 1hey wlsh Lo see Lhe gender gap and Lhe ldea LhaL men are superlor Lo women
decreased or even compleLely ellmlnaLed

AvES 0F FENINISN
1here are many dlfferenL Lypes of femlnlsL Lheory each of whlch have supporLed dlfferenL
waves ln femlnlsm Slmllarly Lhere here have been Lhree dlfferenL waves of femlnlsm so far and
each has had a deep lmpacL on women and gender sLudles

irst Wave

1he llrsL Wave" of femlnlsm began ln Lhe laLe 19Lh and early 20Lh CenLury and focused malnly
on openlng up varlous opporLunlLles for women especlally Lhe rlghL Lo voLe !ohn SLuarL Mlll
along wlLh Susan 8 AnLhony and LllzabeLh Cady SLanLon were Lhe mosL lmporLanL Lhlnkers ln
Lhls early sLage of femlnlsm
econd Wave

1he Second Wave" of femlnlsm ls Lyplcally seen as sLarLlng ln Lhe 1960s and conLlnulng lnLo Lhe 1990s
and was parLlcularly connecLed Lo oLher soclal movemenLs occurrlng aL Lhe Llme such as Lhe anLl
vleLnam proLesLs and Lhe clvll rlghLs movemenL llgures llke Slmone de 8eauvolr Clorla SLelnem and
8eLLy lrledan are Lhe mosL promlnenL members of Lhls wave of femlnlsm
Tbird Wave

1h|rdwave fem|n|sm whose exacL boundarles ln Lhe hlsLorlography of femlnlsm are a sub[ecL
of debaLe buL ofLen marked as beglnnlng ln Lhe 1990s and conLlnulng Lo Lhe presenL Lhe
movemenL arose as a response Lo Lhe percelved fallures of and backlash agalnsL lnlLlaLlves and
movemenLs creaLed by secondwave femlnlsm

S00RCES 0F uENBER BISCRININATI0N
As Lhe scope of Lhls reporL ls llmlLed Lo Lhe second wave only Lherefore Lhe sources of gender
dlscrlmlnaLlon as ldenLlfled by Slmone de 8eauvolr are
eligion

ChrlsLlanlLy blames Lve for maklng a mlsLake ln Lhe heaven and noL llsLenlng Lo Cod's warnlng
alLhough Adam was equally lnvolved ln Lhe mlsLake buL Lhe punlshmenL was only glven Lo Lve
"l wi// qreot/y mu/tip/y thy sorrow ond thy conception in sorrow thou sho// brinq forth
chi/dren ond thy desire sho// be to thy husbond ond he wi// ru/e over thee"
1hls accordlng Lo Slmone de 8eauvolr ls Lhe momenL where gender dlscrlmlnaLlon sLarLed
where woman was suppressed and man en[oyed belng a superlor gender Lven Lhe punlshmenL
clearly reveals LhaL women wlll be domlnaLed by men and LhaL whaL ls happenlng ln Loday's
world
istory

MosL of Lhe famous and auLhenLlc hlsLorlans have been males 1herefore hlsLory as well has
played a greaL role ln dlscrlmlnaLlng women as belng a weaker parL of Lhe socleLy ln many
hlsLorlcal evenLs women have been blamed for belng Lhe source of Lhe problem and males have
been glven Lhe prlvllege of havlng a beLLer gender
Slmone de 8eauvolr says because mosL of Lhe hlsLory Lellers have been men LhaL ls Lhe reason
behlnd Lhe blased LhoughL of Lhe hlsLorlans A greaL example from hlsLory could be Lhe #1ro[an
War"
bilosopby

Slmllar Lo hlsLory Lhe greaLesL phllosophers have also dlscrlmlnaLed women lnLenLlonally or
unlnLenLlonally 8ecause Lhese phllosophers have a very sLrong lnfluence on Lhe socleLy and
Lhelr vlews abouL women have surely desLroyed Lhe overall lmage of females Some examples
of greaL phllosophers from hlsLory and Lhelr percepLlon are
"kinq wou/d be rotiono/ women ore emotiono/"_______________________________P/oteou
"women ore ho/f humon ond ho/f onimo/"___________________________________ 4ristot/e
"lemo/es ore more donqerous thon poison"______________________________5t 4uqustine
"women ore sti// cots ond doqs"___________________________________________Niettsche
Accordlng Lo Slmone de 8eauvolr Lhese percepLlons of Lhe greaL phllosophers have been one of
Lhe greaLesL sources of gender dlscrlmlnaLlon as Lhese people were noL only phllosophers buL
lnfluencers as well
edia

Medla helps creaLe and relnforce a gender duallLy based on LradlLlonal vlews of men and
women CfLen females and males are porLrayed dlfferenLly ln Lelevlslon and fllm accordlng Lo
sLereoLypes 8oys and men are ofLen porLrayed as acLlve aggresslve and sexually aggresslve
persons whlle women are porLrayed as qualnL passlve preLLy and lncompeLenL belngs Cne
way of porLraylng Lhe man ls ln Lhls machoman lmage 1he machoman lmage relles on a man
dlsrespecLlng a female ln order Lo show and prove hls manllness lL ls also rare Lo see men dolng
any Lype of housework or carlng for chlldren ln Lhe medla Women are shown as belng helpless
and wanLlng guldance
Magazlnes caLer Lo whaL Lhey declde or belleve women wanL 1hey glve advlce on how Lo
please men how Lo cook for Lhem how Lo look aLLracLlve by loss of welghL and care for
famllles
anguage

ulscusslon of Lhe problem of Cod ls Lhe besL example of Lhe problem of language ln gender
dlscrlmlnaLlon 1he concepL of a male Cod has been [udged by every ma[or femlnlsL Lhlnker
lncludlng Slmon de 8eauvolr lemlnlsL auLhors argue LhaL lL ls noL convlnclng slmply Lo refer
Cod as a male alLhough havlng no gender Whlle referrlng Cod as 'PL' Lhls slmply empowers
Lhe male gender and creaLes dlscrlmlnaLlon
AnoLher greaL example of dlscrlmlnaLlon ln language are Lhe Lwo words fema|e and woman
whlch agaln explalns LhaL women are lncompleLe wlLhouL men

ducation

1he llLeracy raLes and school enrollmenL raLes for glrls and women ls ofLen much lower Lhan for
boys and men Clrls are ofLen forced Lo sLay home and do Lhe housekeeplng whlch ln many
counLrles ls hard labor ln laLer llfe when a glrl ls allowed Lo Lake a [ob lL wlll be a subsLandard
one because of her low level of educaLlon She wlll also be expecLed Lo conLlnue Lo do Lhe
housekeeplng


Some types of gender d|scr|m|nat|on
1 D|scr|m|nat|on |n fam||y |aw
ArLlcle 16 of Lhe unlversal ueclaraLlon ls abouL Lhe equallLy ln marrlage
Men and women of full age wlLhouL any llmlLaLlon due Lo race naLlonallLy or rellglon have
Lhe rlghL Lo marry and Lo found a famlly 1hey are enLlLled Lo equal rlghLs as Lo marrlage durlng
marrlage and aL lLs dlssoluLlon Marrlage shall be enLered lnLo only wlLh Lhe free and full
consenL of Lhe lnLendlng spouses"
ln many culLures arranged or forced marrlages are sLlll very common ofLen resulLlng ln sexual
abuse Women ofLen do noL have Lhe same rlghLs regardlng dlvorce or lnherlLance olygamy ls
also a cause of dlscrlmlnaLlon
D|scr|m|nat|on at work
ArLlcle 23 glves everyone wlLhouL any dlscrlmlnaLlon Lhe rlghL Lo equal pay for equal work buL
even ln lndusLrlallzed counLrles Lhere ls salary dlscrlmlnaLlon (see Lhe graph below) and Lhere
are promoLlon obsLacles for women ln developlng counLrles Lhls dlscrlmlnaLlon ls even worse

ln some counLrles Lhe cholce of work ls resLrlcLed for women de lure buL also de facLo
because of culLural menLallLles or educaLlonal dlscrlmlnaLlon CfLen women are noL allowed Lo
work aL all and are conflned Lo house keeplng whlch obvlously llmlLs Lhelr developmenL
opporLunlLles
3 D|scr|m|nat|on |n educat|on
1he llLeracy raLes and school enrollmenL raLes for glrls and women ls ofLen much lower Lhan for
boys and men Clrls are ofLen forced Lo sLay home and do Lhe housekeeplng whlch ln many
counLrles ls hard labor ln laLer llfe when a glrl ls allowed Lo Lake a [ob lL wlll be a subsLandard
one because of her low level of educaLlon She wlll also be expecLed Lo conLlnue Lo do Lhe
housekeeplng
(see anoLher posL)
4 hys|ca| abuse
8ecause of Lhe anaLomy of Lhelr bodles and Lhelr relaLlve physlcal weakness compared Lo men
women are ofLen Lhe vlcLlm of rape female genlLal muLllaLlon or oLher klnds of sexual abuses
(such as Lhe sex lndusLry)
Some causes of gender d|scr|m|nat|on
1he causes vary wldely and lnclude
ellglous LradlLlons and sacred LexLs lL seems LhaL especlally Lhe Musllm rellglon
conLalns many dlscrlmlnaLory ln[uncLlons whlch moreover are ofLen lnLerpreLed very
llLerally
CusLom and culLure CulLure shapes Lhe way Lhlngs are done" and Lhe Lhlnklng of
people who belleve LhaL Lhlngs should be done ln a cerLaln way ln many culLures we sLlll
wlLness male mlsogyny and machlsmo

LducaLlon and upbrlnglng MoLhers (buL also faLhers) ofLen perpeLuaLe lnvolunLarlly Lhe
lnferlor soclal poslLlon of Lhelr daughLers by ralslng Lhem accordlng Lo LradlLlonal gender
roles
aw 1he law ofLen relnforces oLher causes of dlscrlmlnaLlon
D|fferent k|nds of gender d|scr|m|nat|on promote each other
ln many counLrles Lhe blrLh of a boy ls a reason Lo celebraLe whereas Lhe blrLh of a glrl ls a
dlsasLer SelecLlve aborLlons of female feLuses and female lnfanLlclde are no excepLlon
resulLlng ln unnaLural gender raLlos ln some counLrles such as Chlna Lhe slLuaLlon ls made
worse by governmenL pollcy ln 1997 Lhe World PealLh CrganlzaLlon declared more Lhan 30
mllllon women were esLlmaLed Lo be 'mlsslng' ln Chlna because of Lhe lnsLlLuLlonallzed kllllng
and neglecL of glrls due Lo 8el[lng's populaLlon conLrol program"
1hls negaLlve aLLlLude Lowards glrls ls noL Lhe slmple resulL of male mlsogyny 1he local law
ofLen sLlpulaLes LhaL a son lnherlLs hls faLher's properLy Soclal and legal condlLlons may also
make lL easler for a man Lo geL a [ob Lo help supporL Lhe famlly Cne klnd of dlscrlmlnaLlon may
Lherefore promoLe anoLher
1he mlsglvlngs LhaL are creaLed by Lhe blrLh of a glrl are ofLen caused by Lhe dowry sysLem
uowry ls goods and money a brlde's famlly has Lo pay Lo Lhe husband's famlly noL only ls lL
more dlfflculL for a glrl Lo brlng ln money lnLo Lhe famlly when she marrles she wlll become a
flnanclal burden SomeLlmes dowrles represenL years' worLh of wages
abellng glrls as second raLe from Lhe momenL Lhey are born obvlously creaLes feellngs of low
selfesLeem whlch wlll make lL harder Lo break ouL of Lhe vlclous clrcle When Lhese glrls grow
up Lhey wlll lnevlLably Lranspose Lhese feellngs Lo Lhelr daughLers and so on
AnoLher case ln whlch one Lype of dlscrlmlnaLlon promoLes anoLher women fall more
frequenLly vlcLlm Lo sexual abuse Lhan men ln some socleLles Lhe sLlgma aLLached Lo Lhls klnd
of abuse ofLen forces women Lo conLlnue Lo endure Lhelr sufferlng Moreover famlly law can
make lL dlfflculL for Lhem Lo dlvorce Lhelr abuslng husband Lven Lhe mere facL of allowlng Lhe
sexual abuse Lo be exposed can have harmful consequences for Lhe woman ln quesLlon
Lxposure means dlshonor for Lhe famlly whlch wlll Lhen punlsh Lhe vlcLlm Some famllles even
commlL honor kllllngs" Lo salvage Lhelr repuLaLlon ln cerLaln socleLles all responslblllLy for
sexual mlsconducL resLs by deflnlLlon wlLh women
A lasL example A lower level of educaLlon resulLs ln a subsLandard [ob whlch ln Lurn resulLs ln
poverLy and dependence on men 1hls dependence wlll convlnce men of Lhe lnferlorlLy of
women Women who lack educaLlon also lack Lhe Lools Lo lmprove Lhelr slLuaLlon and combaL
dlscrlmlnaLlon
D few facts
lrom Lhe Canadlan lnLernaLlonal uevelopmenL Agency
More Lhan 80 percenL of Lhe world's 33 mllllon refugees are women and chlldren
More Lhan 110 mllllon of Lhe world's chlldren LwoLhlrds of Lhem glrls are noL ln
school
AL leasL one ln every Lhree women ls a survlvor of some form of genderbased vlolence
frequenLly lnfllcLed by a famlly member
Women represenL on average less Lhan 10 percenL of Lhe seaLs ln naLlonal parllamenLs
and
ln subSaharan Afrlca 38 percenL of persons lnfecLed wlLh Plv/AluS are women
ountry rank|ng on gender equa||ty