By Annika Adamski Zurich International School June 4, 2013

Most people have never thought about women's rights because they think that it doesnt concern their country, because they live in a democracy and everyone should be treated equally - they are wrong. Woman's rights are an issue that affects the whole world, sometimes it is a bigger problem or a smaller problem it depending on the country. Why do women not have the same rights as men do? What makes men better? I do not wish them *women+ to have power over men; but over themselves.(Wollstonecraft). The fight for equal rights for women and men has been around since centuries but equality has not been reached and this has to change. Equality between men and women has never completely been accomplished, womens rights have been taken so they have no chance to vote, have an education or get the same wage for the same job as a man. Imagine waking up and not going to school, not because you dont want to but because you arent allowed to. In UNICEFs annual State of the World's Children report, they said 121 million children worldwide do not attend school. From these 121 million children estimated 65 million girls are being denied basic education, increasing the likelihood that they will live in poverty or die young (UNICEF). Does this seem right? These women/ girls are not even given the chance of having a better future. Instead of going to school they have to work and help earn money to provide for their families from a young age on. Another reason why girls arent allowed to go to school is that they are married off at a young age(Child marriage). Often they become pregnant and have to take over the household and there would be no more time for education. Last girls love to learn and go to school especially in the poorer countries but often end up being scared to go to school since they

get bullied and teased for being a girl. They get discriminated and put down even in school. All their rights are violated and some of the examples of violence include: rape, sexual harassment, physical and psychological intimidation, teasing and threats. This is one of the most common reasons why girls drop out of school next to getting married. (Right to Education Project) This should not be the case. Girls should be happy to go to school and not scared. Wages and employment have a great effect on womens rights and they show discrimination. In general women get a lower wage than men even when they have the exact same job. This occurs all around the world even in Europe and America. Referring to the Census Bureau in 2007 female secretaries earned only 83.4% of the salary of a male one. In male dominated fields the gap is even bigger: female truck drivers earn just 76.5% of the weekly salary of a male driver. A study of the University of Chicago examined the salary change of people who underwent a sex change the result was that men who changed their sex to become a woman earned 32% less after the surgery, women who became men earned 1.5% more. This verifies that the quality and amount of work is not the matter for the difference it is just the discrimination because of the gender. This discrimination has to be eliminated. There is no reason why women should earn less than men. A possibility could be to keep the gender hidden during the application for a job. If every applicant for a job would turn in a piece of work to the employer, which does not give a hint on the gender of the applicant, then the employer would only choose the best work and pay accordingly. For example a study from the year 2000 found, that after symphony orchestras introduced blind auditions, which required that the musicians performed behind a screen, women became more likely to get the job (Time U.S.) This could be a first step to equality. Voting has always been a big point in womens right. In some places as Switzerland women only got the right to vote in 1971 in the Kanton Appenzell Innerhoden the women only gained the right to vote in elections on the level of the Kanton in November 1990! That is only 23 years ago. In some places such as Saudi Arabia or even Vatican City women are still not allowed to vote. The main reason why women werent allowed to vote was that they were seen as second class people. They were expected to stay at home and clean and cook. Men thought that women didnt understand politics and had no position in it. ( Why

were women not allowed to vote?) Some men considered women unable to make the correct decisions in order to vote. The first country that gave women the right to vote was New Zealand in 1883 (although it was a British colony at that stage). The first independent country to give women the right to vote in national elections was Australia in 1902. The next big step was made when the first female Prime minister was elected in 1960. Her name was Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike. She was a Sri Lankan politician and the modern world's first female head of government. She served as Prime Minister of Ceylon and Sri Lanka three times, 196065, 197077 and 19942000, and was a long-time leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Wikipedia). This was a big change in the history of womens rights. There is still a long way to equality but we have been able to make the first steps. Now it is your turn to make a change. The organization Chime for Change fights for womens rights and raises money for projects to support women and girls in the areas of education, health and justice. On June 1, 2013 Beyonc, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez held a charity concert in London to collect money for a campaign, called Chime for Change, to empower girls and women around the world. Beyonce, Salma Hayek, Frida Gainnini and the company Gucci are the main founders of the organization (Chime for Change). The concert collected around 4.3 Million pounds in London to help women and girls all around the world with different projects and to raise awareness to this topic (CBS News). Some of the current projects are: Skills Training for Human Trafficking Survivors in Asia and Pacific, Cultivating the Leadership of Girls in Haiti in Latin America and the Caribbean and Help Syrian Redugees Access Health Care in Middle East and North Africa (Chime for Change). There are other organizations that support womens rights, including: education, the right to vote and wages. I think that women should have the same rights and the same status as men do because what makes us different? We are all human and we are all equal. Some people just have to realize this and to make this happen we raise awareness.

Works Cited

"Beyonce Headlines London Concert for Women's Rights." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 1 June 2013. Web. 03 June 2013. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_16257587220/beyonce-headlines-london-concert-for-womens-rights/. "Child Marriage." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 May 2013. Web. 24 May 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage. "Chime for Change About." Chime for Change About. Gucci, n.d. Web. 03 June 2013. http://www.chimeforchange.org/about. Fitzpatrick, Laura. "Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men?" Time U.S. CNN, 20 Apr. 2010. Web. 3 June 2013. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1983185,00.html. "Gender Equality." About Gender Equality and UNICEF. UNICEF, 29 Dec. 2010. Web. 21 May 2013. http://www.unicef.org/gender/gender_57317.html. "Sirimavo Bandaranaike." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Apr. 2013. Web. 28 May 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirimavo_Bandaranaike. "Why Aren't Girls in Schools?" Why Aren't Girls in Schools? Right to Education Project, 2008. Web. 22 May 2013. http://www.right-to-education.org/node/192. "Why Were Women Not Allowed to Vote?" WikiAnswers. Answers, n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_were_women_not_allowed_to_vote. Wollstonecraft, Mary. "Quotes About Women S Rights." Quotes About Women S Rights. GoodReads, n.d. Web. 21 May 2013. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/women-srights. .