By using articles of various writers, I ill investigate the role of women in politics, effects of the recession, developmental changes for women and an overall outlook (R. Griffiths). Women In a Developing World Women in developing countries are confronted with many issues that need attention and resolution. Education and childbirth and mortality are specific areas where the need is being identified and slowing, some women are experiencing a difference In their lives. Women In lower developed countries (LDCs) are, for the most part, oppressed, treated unfairly, and are short of the many opportunities we enjoy in he West.
As citizens of this country, we have basic privileges and rights. Women and girls in LDCs are faced with policies that do not allow them an education. Often, women and girls are exposed to gender discrimination and exclusion (Levine, 2010). That exclusion comes In the form of being required to help out around the house creating less time for school (Levine, 2010). When girls do get the opportunity to sign up for school, they usually face gender-based discrimination and not enough educational resources (Levine 2010).
Faced with those obstacles, most of the girls ither drop out at the onset of puberty and menstruation due to lack of available bathrooms, running water and or privacy (Levine 2010). According to a large body of evidence, if girls are allowed to get an education the experience positively serves, the local community, the government and the country. The benefits indicate when girls do attend school. their children even become more educated, girls Increase the social and economic value of their country, they become an active force in the labor industry, children gain from educated mothers, and the cycle of poverty can be broken (Levine, 2010).Educated women are more likely to contribute to their families, more likely to keep their daughters way from genital mutilation and are more likely to avoid contracting AIDS (Griffiths, 2010).
However, the process will take some time. According to Transparency International's Africa Education Watch Report (Kavuma & Ford, 2010), schools in seven African countries report there is little accountability between grammar schools and parents, parents are rarely Involved In the running of schools, financial records are not maintained and schools are Inadequately managed (Kavuma & Ford, 2010).To get a real sense of the problems facing education in Africa, 1 OFA teachers and parents. Additional results found that many of the school systems were affected by corruption, including embezzlement of public funds (Ford & Kavuma, 2010).
In parts of sub-Sahara Africa, only I-in-5 girls gets an education at all (Alter, Although school enrollment has increased in several countries in Africa, 2008). parents were made to pay registration fees even though attending school is free of charge. Fees charged to parents ranged anywhere from 9-40% (United Press International, 2010).Latin American countries are not faring better than Africa. A study by the Inter-American Development Bank revealed that one in three young people obtain a secondary education (Portillo, 1999), however, in Asia, the number is 80 percent (Portillo, 1999).
Due to a decline in school age children, Latin American and the Caribbean are actually reducing the teaching force. In Lima, Peru and some other Latin American countries, including Colombia and El Salvador, education is lagging behind other regions (Portillo, 1999).This is mainly because many of the students work in lieu of attending school (Portillo, 1999). While they periodically attend school, the quality of education is poor (Portillo, 1999). A Peruvian expert, Hugo Diaz, affirms that "a high percentage of school drop outs "have not mastered the basic concepts of mathematics and other sciences, including the use of language, nor do they have access to the basic training indispensable to successfully face the challenges of the modern labor market. In addition to that issue, teachers in public school are paid low wages, there are fewer class hours and resources are lacking which all contribute to a low quality education (Portillo, 1999).
The need for education reform in the Middle East is urgent. Due to Islamic law and its resistance to modern ways, the issue of education for girls is difficult to achieve. In some cases in Afghanistan, the teachers are beheaded in extreme cases for trying to teach girls (Levine, 2010).Reproductive health and childbirth and mortality rates are staggering for many of the developing countries. Notably, trends in the sub-Sahara in Africa indicate that infant mortality is higher due to unskilled care and that for each woman that dies, there are 30 more that incur injuries, infection and disabilities (Maternal Mortality, 2010).
Statistics show women will die in pregnancy or during childbirth in the following areas: in sub- Saharan Africa, I-in-35, in Latin America/Caribbean, I-in-160, and in the Middle East/ North Africa, I-in-55 (Maternal Mortality, 2010).The ten countries with the highest risk of maternal death are Niger, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Chad, Angola, Liberia, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau and Mali (Boseley, 2009). For all the issues facing women in LDCs, the political arena has the influence of women that may assist in the effort of development for women. In Africa, Ellen John- Sirleaf was elected as the President of Liberia. She is the first female head of state in Africa (Sherr & Thompson 2009).In the Middle East, women are making little progress in obtaining political positions so there few ways to affect real and lasting change.
In Latin America, women are being empowered by a political organization, NSM, new social movement. The movement spearheads political, economic and social rights for women (Handelman, 2009). According to research, Women in the Middle East are experiencing more advances in education, family planning and entering the work orce, however, they still face gender inequality issues, divorce laws that favor 2009).In Iran, women are conscious of and concerned about their rights (Keddie, 2008), and through the printed word of Zanan, a magazine that discussed gender- equality issues, forbidden subjects and included articles from reformists clerics, women were able to share and support their ideas with each other. There was a crackdown on the magazine in 2001 (Kettle, 2008).
Additionally, in Iran, establishing rights for women has been curtailed in light of the danger associated with any ampaign against the government.We know that the recession has had devastating effects in the United States, however, in LDCs, including, Asia, Pakistan, and Africa, the fallout has been even worse. The International Labor Organization predicts that 22 million out of 51 million women will lose their Jobs this year (Ward, 2009). Those Jobs consist mostly of cleaning Jobs and retail/caf© positions; positions typically held by women (Ward, 2009). Because women earn so little money to start with, when times get more difficult, they have much less to fall back on. As a result, omen are compelled to turn to prostitution, smuggling drugs and other crime- related activities.
In some instances they are lead into the hands of international traffickers (Ward, 2009). Men can also play a diabolical role by abusing women in the home when they are frustrated about lack of money or about not being able to contribute to the home as well. As organizations, designed to assist women in LDCs, receive less aid and humanitarian funding, programs that invest in education and healthcare are slashed and women are continuously a target for sexual attack. The outlook for women in LDCs has a few things on the horizon it can look toward.Unions are trying to assist by training teachers and other organizations are organizing and investing in helping women acquiring land to produce food to sell and sustain their families.
Other organizations offer temporary educational projects designed to stimulate community economy by electricity-producing products and water-cleaning projects. Conclusions Women desire to be free, healthy and provide for their children. If women can get consistent aid, education and support from their government, we can see changes hat will surpass what women are able to achieve all over the world.What I discovered while researching the facts in this paper is that men, in and out of government, tend to be a major instigator of holding women back.
From birth, women are not considered important, thus, many times the future has already been written for them. With the backing of public, political, and world policies, the development of women and girls can become a reality. Many of the organizations created to tackle education, reproductive health, and development have started to address those issues. Although the current outcomes identify problems with some of the outcomes, the issues are on the table.
