torsdag 14. desember 2017

Global goal 5

Gender Equality

Global Goals have been a topic of focus in a class for a very long time now. Whenever we have a possibility, we try to relate to them in our lessons and be reminded of how important it actually is to make changes. Today, we focus specifically on goal number 5, which in our opinion, should be prioritized and taken into account as first.

Global Goal 5

"Women’s status in society has become the standard by which humanity’s progress toward civility and peace can be measured"- Mahnaz Afkhami

Everyday, woman and girls all over the world are exposed to discrimination, many forms of violence, and even harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage. None of this should be happening now in the modern world in 2017. Therefore, me and my group are focusing on specifically this goal, to take part in eliminating gender inequality, and to help provide women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes.

Even in industrialized countries, as of 2017, there is inequality between men and women. In the United States Congress, only 20.3% of the members are women, according to the Congressional Research Service. Furthermore, there are less female CEOs than there are male CEOs, women tend to be in lower-paying jobs, but the situation in the developing world is worse. From a young age, it seems that girls are less likely to get an education, many cultures practice patrilocality, which means that when a man and a woman get married, they tend to stay close to the man’s family, and the woman is considered more a member of her husband's family than her own birth family. In several cultures the property and name pass on to the male descendant, so a widow will not inherit her husband's properties, that goes directly to the son. The widow then has to rely on her son to maintain her standard of living. This increases the probability that both men and women would want a son more than a daughter. This is also a reason to why many parents seem to invest more time and money in their sons rather than their daughters.
Developing countries do not have a strong economy, and depend heavily on agriculture and other sectors that relies on physical attributes, rather than services, which require brain power and not muscle power. Physiologically speaking, men are stronger than women, and they can easily get jobs in sectors like agriculture. This results in men earning money, and women staying at home looking after the children and because the culture in developing countries tend to favorize boys getting education, the girls stay at home, so the mother’s will look after the girls and teach them to be a housewife

Therefore, spreading awareness is our main and biggest target. We will try to achieve that by writing about it, making videos, and informing others. Together with a class in New York, at Lindenhurst High School, we collaborate in order to spread the word and make a difference together.

Written by Sandra, Sondre and Leon.