Our friend Analyzer posted a comment the other day saying:
"A discussion you may find interesting: Is the U.S. the Best Place in the World to Be a Woman?"
I immediately headed over there to check it out. Here's a little of what the "Freaks" (wink) had to say:
This new United Nations report makes it clear that in many countries around the world, being a woman is dangerous to your health, to say nothing of your future prospects or pursuit of happiness. From the executive summary: “The roots of violence against women lie in historically unequal power relations between men and women and pervasive discrimination against women in both the public and private spheres. Patriarchal disparities of power, discriminatory cultural norms and economic inequalities serve to deny women’s human rights and perpetuate violence. Violence against women is one of the key means through which male control over women’s agency and sexuality is maintained.”
Here is the UN's In-Depth Study on All Forms of Violence Against Women.
What are your thoughts? Is the U.S. the best place to be a woman?
Comments (3)
This is a subject close to my heart. I sponsor two women from war torn countries, through Women For Women International, where women are subject to this kind of discrimination. One is from S. Africa, the other Iraq. It's so dangerous for my Iraq "sister" to be a sponsee that I can't have a picture of her, we aren't able to write letters to one another, I can't know her last name, or where she lives.
My African sister and I are able to share pictures, write letters, I get updates on her progress, and I know a litte bit about her life and history.
Anyway, I for one celebrate how BLESSED I am to be a woman that was fortunate enough to have been born in America. I'm sure there may be other places in the world where it's great to be a female citizen. I'm just grateful to be living in one of them, in my case it's America.
Posted by Debbie | November 4, 2006 4:00 PM
Posted on November 4, 2006 16:00
Interesting article...
I'd like to think the US is the best place to be...man or woman. Then again, I've never tried to LIVE in another country, so any other opinion is pure speculation based on what I've seen/read in the media.
Posted by Single Ma | November 4, 2006 6:29 PM
Posted on November 4, 2006 18:29
Actually, the United Nations has a report out about the global "gender gap," and that report concluded that the US is just #17 overall in the gender gap rankings (Sweden was #1). Google "UN global gender gap" and a PDF of the whole report pops up in the top results.
That said, if you look at our opportunities for education, careers, and financial freedom, the US ranks quite high as a great place for women. It's when you factor in things like our lack of universal health insurance that the US starts to slip in the overall ratings.
Posted by fiat lux | November 4, 2006 6:40 PM
Posted on November 4, 2006 18:40