Violence against Women as an Indicator of Unequal Citizenship - Essay Example

? Violence against Women as an Indicator of Unequal Citizenship Violence against women and violation of women’s right is still very common despite the persistent push and fight for gender equality and this indeed portrays unequal citizenship. From a narrower perspective, violence is defined as physical abuse or sexual assault and most women globally fall victims of different forms of violence.1Domestic violence, sexual and physical abuses are some of the common forms that affect women in the contemporary world. This paper presents a very thoughtful argument as to why and how violence against women is an indicator of unequal citizenship. It explores the aspect of gender violence as a whole providing particular forms of violence affecting women, locations where these forms of violence take place, role of government in eliminating violence, and the key political values and forms of citizenship linked either directly or indirectly to the increased widespread of gender violence. Indeed, violence against women can be seen as an indicator of unequal citizenship in that from ancient times; women have been perceived as having no value in the society and considered as a man’s property. They were mandated to be submissive to their husbands and not perform industrial activities; they were forced to early marriage, and practiced female genital mutilations as well as mistreating widows like inciting them to commit suicide.2 In addition, with all these, there is no equal citizenship because men always dominate and abuse women but a few or no perpetrators are brought to justice. For instance, there have been claims that death sentence as a rape case charge does not end violence but failure to prosecute rapists does not eliminate violence either. Today, feminist movements have addressed the issue of violence and discrimination aggressively as a criminal act so as to ensure that there is equality and elimination of gender discrimination because women need to be treated fairly equally as men. Additionally, violence against women serves, as a perfect example of unequal citizenship in that, the fact that women are not equally given chance to occupy some offices is a sign of inequality and as a result, women feel left out. Even though most women in the contemporary world are offered different job opportunities and others are even designated some tasks that are usually performed by men, they are still discriminated in some sectors. This to some extent can be seen as an indicator of unequal citizenship. Furthermore, existences of forms of violence that affect women across a variety of location like battering, domestic violence, sexual violence among others, and the fact that responsible bodies cannot aggressively address them confirms gender imbalance and unequal citizenship. For instance, most societal members especially men believe that wife battering not a big issue and it is something that must be done as a way of ‘disciplining women’. More so, violence against women shows unequal citizenship since it has been noted that popular form of violence against women globally is intimate partner violence commonly referred to as domestic violence. This is what has been happening and is still happening but the government cannot work on this to offer complete protection of women. Psychological violence where a man dominates a woman and literally forcing her to be submissive to him as well as exploiting her economically,3 persists. Indeed, this confirms that violence against women is a manifestation of unequal citizenship in our societies. Truly, violence against women indicates unequal citizenship because men usually abuse women in other ways like sex working, child abuse and trafficking and yet, just like men they are supposed to be protected.4 As a result, only few perpetrators are held accountable of their inhuman acts and it has been confirmed that some police officers threaten the victims to never say a word. This for sure can be seen as lack of protection of women and no one can actually claim that such women can boldly claim that they have equal citizenship like men. Arguably, some women are being battered to death and this indeed is a very sad issue as addressed by feminist movements in order to protect other women from being the victim too. It is undoubtedly obvious that other traditional practices like forced and early marriage, and female genital mutilation among others violates women’s right.5This would not have been the case if there were equal citizenship; therefore, it is true that such violence and discriminations reflect unequal citizenship. Violence against women within the family occurs when they experience battering, dowry- related violence among others.6 Following the fact that many constitutions clearly state that every citizen is entitled to right to protection, in a situation where violence and discrimination against women persist, there is no equal citizenship offered. Violence against women takes place anywhere such as work places, schools, and families, implying that, this is a very critical issue that needs attention and be tackled aggressively but this has never been the case. A report by the Amnesty International shows that many crimes or violence against women are under reported meaning that violence against women are not really taken serious. Most women are sexually harassed at workplace, and are discriminated when it comes to available job opportunities. However, this should not be the case because everyone should be able to grab available job opportunities disregard of gender. Violence against women has increased in the United States with rape cases being reported quite often but those found guilty serve a six-month jail term. Women are also discriminated in the political arena whereby, they are generally seen as weak and they are believed to be weak in leadership. Men claim that women are not powerful enough to handle politics effectively. Additionally, women are verbally abused in that their freedom to participate in political activities and other democratic processes is violated.7More so, in some states, women are discriminated when it comes to education. For a long time, women have been perceived as caretakers and once they reach a certain age, they are expected to be married not to continue with the studies as this is seen as a man’s responsibility. In fact, some men do brag that there will never be gender equality because they will never be the same as men. All these acts confirm why violence against women reflects unequal citizenship. The government plays a significant role in ensuring that violence against women is eliminated from the society, therefore, the role played by the government is of much importance and should be equally considered. Fighting violence against women is the only way the government can fight for every individual’s right equally without any sign or act of discrimination. The government ensures that those found guilty of violating women in any way are prosecuted and punished accordingly. It is the government’s mandate to offer equal citizenship to all; it should therefore be keen on eliminating violence against women, as this will reflect unequal citizenship. More so, the government can eliminate violence against women by offering equal educational rights disregard of the gender and appoint government officials based on meritocracy so that men are offered equal chances with women. Additionally, the government can enforce and implement school-based programs in order to educate and sensitize individuals the dangers of violence. The UN General Assembly has been very determined to eliminate gender-based violence; the individuals charged with rape case should be prosecuted as criminals.8 Social and political rights as potential sources of protection against violence highly contribute to the quest for violence eradication. Socially, every societal member is entitled to social and personal well-being without any external influence or abuse. Women, just like men claim to be powerful, should be allowed to express their opinions and participate in all community developmental activities. According to the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, violence and discrimination against women is a reflection of historically power and gender inequality with men dominating and discriminating women, and this indicates unequal citizenship.9 On the other hand, violence against women can yield equal citizenship especially when various stakeholders join to address violence against women with the aim of eliminating this act. According to Levy, feminist social workers seek help from psychologists and health professionals in order to deal with effects of violence by advising and encouraging the victims.10 Women should also be motivated to develop a sense of control in order to make independent decisions and have a full control of their own life hence avoiding the wrath of being dominated by men. For example, some have been encouraged to join police forces and be aggressive to address violence in order to eliminate it. They have been taught to know the problem, face it and try solving it and this strategy has been proved effective when solving all types of problems. Moreover, women, just as other citizens are entitled to political rights like freedom of expression, right to vote and participate in democratic activities and governance process. Failure to do so, there will be unequal citizenship, and this in turn will create good governance, which can address issues affecting women including discrimination and violence against them. “Transformative equality in political field and other public sectors need real transformation of public and political organizations as well as the society.”11 Indeed, this will facilitate elimination of gender discrimination and increased women participation in politics. Moreover, trying to protect women against violence from cultural perspective can be very tricky in that, as much as people focus much on preventing violence against women, there should be no overgeneralizations, and stereotyping violence. However, this should not undermine the search for equality and elimination of gender based violence because major forms of violence against women based on cultural activities like forced marriage.12 Due to cultural diversity, the perception of violence against women vary therefore, social workers should address violence against women as a violation of human rights and this will enable them to eliminate violence.13 Every woman experiences violence in one way or another and the deprivation of their rights leads to psychological violence, physical violence among others.14 This shows unequal citizenship, therefore, government intervention will therefore be very necessary in offering protection to women against violence. Actually, violence can be traumatizing because the victims are exposed to pregnancy and infections when raped. Studies shows that most victims always feel depressed, attempt to commit suicides while others even become alcohol addicts as a way of solving issues affecting them. Therefore, the victims should be offered emotional, social, special attention and assistance to overcome acts of violence.15 Key political values and forms of citizenship include equality, liberty, democracy, unity and diversity. However, those political values linked to widespread of violence against women can be pointed out as inequality, lack of democracy, restricted liberty, disunity and lack of diversity. Everyone should be guaranteed all these key political values in order to stop widespread violence against women. Politicians always like to exploit their citizens and mostly male politicians really discriminate and disrespect women. The government can permit violence against women by failing to prosecute those found guilty of rape cases or any other form of violence against women, leaving these acts unsolved thereby encouraging violence instead. This indeed will confirm the claim that violence and discrimination against women indicates unequal citizenship. Again, whenever the government does not ensure that high quality education is offered to all without any consideration of gender, there is no fight for women’s educational right here. More so, there have also been cases where male politicians stop women from contesting parliamentary seats. In conclusion, violence against women is inevitable even in today’s globalized world reflected by persistent forms of violence against them. Truly, violence against women reflects unequal citizenship because everyone needs protection against all forms of violence. Domestic violence, and domination of men, and some of the traditional practices like female genital mutilation form part of the violence against women and it is undeniable that violence against women can take place in any sector or place. Politically, women are discriminated as they are seen as subordinates and lack leadership skills and power to handle political matters like their male counterparts. Accordingly, women are still discriminated and are deprived their right to access quality education in various parts of the world. It is indeed clear that all these indicate unequal citizenship since women should be protected against all these. The government can play a role in ensuring that violence against women is eradicated by formulating appropriate policies to aggressively address discrimination against women and enhance gender equality. Violence against women can be seen as an indicator of unequal citizenship therefore, the state should work hard to ensure that violence against women is eliminated and women are able to equally access available opportunities just like men. Bibliography DeKeseredy, Walter S. Violence against women: myths, facts, controversies. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.2011.  Freeman, Marsha A., and C.M. Chinkin. The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: a commentary.Oxford [etc.]: Oxford University Press.2012.  Higonnetetelle. "My Heart is Cut": Sexual Violence by Rebels and Pro-government Forces in Cote D'Ivoire. Volume 11; Volume 19 of Human Rights Watch Short Reports, Sub-Saharan Africa. Volume 19, Issue 11 of Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch.2007. Levy Barrie. Feminist Practice in the 21st Century. Violence against Women.United States of America: Wolf Publications. 1995. Lombard, Nancy, and Lesley McMillan.Violence against women: current theory and practice in domestic abuse, sexual violence, and exploitation.London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.2013.  Nakray,Keerty, Devaney John, and LazenbattAnne.Gender-Based Violence And Public Health: International Perspectives On Budgets And Policies. Routledge Studies in Public Health.Routledge.2013. Prasad, Narendra. Women and development.New Delhi: A P H Publishing Corp.2007.  Renzetti, Claire M., Jeffrey L. Edleson, and Raquel Kennedy Bergen.Sourcebook on violence against women.Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.2011.  United Nations.Ending violence against women: from words to action.[New York]: United Nations.2007.  Read More