Females as Targets

Picture: http://learnsomethingnewtoday.us/2008/04/20/are-men-really-so-privileged/

Discrimination against women can be traced as far back in history as 'Adam and Eve'.  I believe that this story brought on the onslaught of discrimination by pointing fingers at Eve for having 'tempted' Adam to eat the forbidden fruit after being seduced by the serpent. She was blamed for bringing the 'original sin' to the world. This probably ignited the terrible status that women in the world have been holding in societies to this day.

Despite the fact that many religious figures tried to terminate that way of life and provide women with equal rights, many of these efforts were in vane due to the return of ancient cultural values. Take for example Islam. Now, I understand that it might be difficult to fathom that the teachings of Mohammad (PBUH) were in favor of providing women with rights due to the current way women in the Arab and Islamic world are being treated. However, and as I mentioned in my post Distorted Image, he actually stopped the killings of innocent baby girls because they were thought to bring poverty and shame to their families the moment they were born. Despite Mohammad's efforts to stop the infanticide of females, this cultural, not religious, heinous act has returned in the form of Honor Killing.

Having mentioned that, Islamic countries are not the only countries who commit violent reprehensible offenses against women.In Hindu India, for example, the women there suffer from Dowry Deaths, making this a global endemic where such crimes are being continuously committed against human beings just because they were born into this world female.

Discrimination does not only refer to the killing of women but also to the fact that they suffer from unequal rights. Below are a few examples of what women in the world are discriminated against;

1.Women suffer discrimination with regards to education. When poor countries are pushed to cut down on investments in education, it is usually the females who are forced to remain at home while the males are encouraged to attend school.

2.  Women are usually paid less than men for the same kind of work. 

3. When they are married, they are considered to be under the guardianship of their husbands and therefore cannot own property.

4. Girls, more than boys, are more likely to be sold into prostitution and sexual slavery.

5.Women are discriminated against in religious teachings where they are denied the same knowledge that is provided for the men. Even though the number of women leaders might be on the rise, they are still not ordained or given high positions of leadership in most religions including the majority of Christian churches. 

Looking at all of the above makes me wonder about men in general. It is hard for me to understand those who would do such a thing to women who gave birth to them and those who would give birth to their children. After watching the below video and researching on the Internet, I was surprised to learn that discrimination towards women is not only found in the Arab or Islamic World but also in several other countries, even in Europe, North and South America and all parts of Asia. 

However, since I was brought up in Jordan, it is doubly difficult as I expect more from the country and region that I love. I mentioned in a previous post about men and women in the Arab World that a country needs both genders to develop and move forwards. It takes two hands to clap and if we expect our country to reach its full potential, then women are a core ingredient to help move us forward.

Another reason why I find it hard to understand their horrific actions is because one of the first teachings I learned in my Islamic studies was about mothers and how in the Quran it states that heaven lies beneath their feet. If this is so and it is from the teachings of the Quran, then how can men in the Arab and Islamic World treat women so terribly especially when they are held in such high regards in the Heavens?

In addition to all this, when I look back at how my father and mother treated and loved their girls it makes it harder for me to comprehend how other fathers or mothers might not feel the same way about their daughters. When I was thirteen and my mother was pregnant with my sister, my father kept hoping that they would have another girl. He always said how he wanted his girls to surround him because they bring so much joy, warmth, hugs and kisses. He was happy that he had a son but he was equally thankful that he had two girls to fill his life.

So what is WRONG with this world? Without a woman, there would be NO man and visa versa. Every family needs both genders to reproduce and contribute to the continuation of our species. So WAKE UP WORLD!