Culture

Our culture gives us our values and norms. That way we can develop a feeling for good and bad. But not all values and norms are being considered to both genders and allow to live under self-determination. This doesn't make a culture wrong or worse than another, but it shows the need of development in it.

"Cultural diffusion is the spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group of people to another. Through cultural diffusion, horizons are broadened and people become more culturally rich."

Son preference

The list of countries where girls are culled from the population — either actively or passively (through inadequate nutrition and healthcare). Under son preference you can understand the privilege of a boy in its own family in comparison to the girls.

“I can clearly feel the discrimination in my family in connection with my culture. One visible factor how we are always being made aware that the opposite gender is placed higher. For example the son gets more presents, like game console, food, etc. In the household the son is not asked to work like the daughter. Relatives also talk you down and don't take your plans and dreams seriously. In addition you always have to listen to the fact that you shouldn't do anything that would disappoint your parents or your family because people would talk about you, but sons are allowed to do everything, even things that are not allowed in our culture/religion.”

“A friend of my cousin is not allowed to go to university, because her father thinks it is unnecessary for a girl to go to university. Her brother however started studies this year and she is told that she can do anything she wants only when she is married.”

“A female friend of mine had to be home before 10PM and was not allowed to go clubs, whereas her brother stayed out late and partied all night without an issue.”

Responses from our Gender Equality Survey

An example of "Son Preference" that was even supported by society and government was in China

In 1979, the one-child policy was introduced to China and even got written into the national constitution in 1982. The final end of it happened in 2015, but left behind major outcomes that affect society even to this day. The preference for boys came with the factor that sons rather than daughters earn more money, especially in agrarian economies. Males can continue the blood line in Chinese culture. So, if you only have daughters, your own bloodline can die out. In financial terms, most of the older Chinese generation think that girls typically have no responsibility for their parents. In a lot of cultures it is seen as normal for a girl to go to the family of her husband after they got married. This way the wife can also take care of her in-laws. To make sure you have someone who takes care of you when you are old, it was preferred to have a son, because he would stay with his family. You can find this tradition under the term "marry out".

So, by looking at all the factors on how males are being preferred in families, everyone can imagine what happens in such case of a one-child policy in a country. Families want to make sure they cover up their future by having a son. But what does it help society when you just have men but no women that they can marry and make sure to get all the above named benefits. It was a brutal time in which people even decide over life and dead of their own children just based on their gender.

“At the time, ultrasound gender tests were not allowed. When I was about to give birth to your brother, your grandma put a bamboo basket in the living room and said, ‘If it’s another girl, we’ll put her in the basket and leave her in the street.’”

Zaodi Wang, midwife

A midwife was telling her story on how she can't count how many babies she delivered, but what she can remember are the sterilization and abortions she had to do because of the government policies. She counts between 50,000 and 60,000. A number that no female herself decided off.

This is the impact of the one-child policy, if a government regulates a woman’s reproductive rights. It is detrimental for the world.

Todays problems are being major issues when it comes to dating. There are not enough women for men in China. China’s most popular dating sites, had around 85 million to 126 million registered users in 2015. Women have a better chance now to pick their own husband, but the decision is still made on other factors such as how financial stable the man is.

Dating sites are not the only way to get new brides for the men in China. There is also a lot of kidnapping happening because of the gender imbalance in China. At the moment a country which is highly affected by this "bride kidnapping" is Myanmar. Girls/women were typically sold for between $3,000 to $13,000. So, it's again the women who have to suffer under the past.

You can read more about the trafficking in China and Myanmar under this link.

https://time.com/5555695/china-women-trafficking-myanmar/

Female Genital Mutilation

What is FGM? FGM is known as Female Genital Mutilation, which is in other words a practice of female genital cutting. A ritual cutting that is done to remove parts of the external female genitals. It is against any human right and usually happens with the use of a blade and in an unhygienic place. The age of the happening varies, but in most cases it happens before the age of 5.

Why and When is it done? It is founded in gender inequality and serves as tool of control over a females sexuality. It also represents purity, which is important to make sure that a woman stays untouched until the day of her marriage. It does not have any kind of health benefits. It is more the opposite. The following outcomes of such harmful particle can be outstanding extrem and horrible for the victim. Girls who undergo female genital mutilation face short-term complications such as severe pain, shock, excessive bleeding, infections, and difficulty in passing urine, as well as long-term consequences for their sexual and reproductive health and mental health. Because of all these factors it is internationally acknowledged as a violation of the human rights, the health and the integrity of girls and women.

Who does it? Surprisingly it is done by women who see it as an honor to do it and want to protect their own family members from social exclusion.

Where is it done? This practice is mostly done in Africa and the Middle East, but it's also to find in other parts of the world. You can find cases everywhere in the world. Mostly because immigrant populations who live in Europe, Western Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand ,Asia and Latin America still try to continue their tradition of FGM.

To see how much it is even spread in Europe you can have a look in the following link

https://www.endfgm.eu/female-genital-mutilation/fgm-in-europe/

FGM is a method which is done for over thousands of years. Such an established tradition is hard to get eliminated. That's why it's highly important to work together with these communities by focussing

on human right, gender equality, sexual education and the consideration of what women need.

Tip

A great autobiography by Waris Dirie about this topic is "Desert Flower". She is telling about her experience with FGM and how it affected her life. Waris Dirie is originally from Somalia and is nowadays a well known model. She also founded her own foundation to fit the crime of FGM.

If you want to have a closer look at her life and work :

https://www.desertflowerfoundation.org/en/waris-dirie.html

Early/Child Marriage

Child marriage is a union or formal wedding between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or in some cases another child. This forced institution is against the right of any human being, but it's still happening globally to 21% of young women under the age of 18. The families who organize these marriages see benefits for themselves and their family in these arrangements.

A lot of western countries try to protect young girls from this harm, but at some parts of the world it's still a commend happening. Such as in Sub-Saharan Africa, the place of the highest number of forced marriage. In this place of the world 38% of girls become child brides. Asia has a number of 30%; Latin America and the Caribbean 25%; Middle East and North Africa 17%; 11% in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

You can see the differences of the age group and areas here https://e.infogram.com/1pnjgpz02pgjxgfzkvrzeq2y7wcmgw03p7q?live?parent_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdata.unicef.org%2Ftopic%2Fchild-protection%2Fchild-marriage%2F&src=embed#async_embed

Why does child marriage happen?

In the first place it is happening because of inequalities of boys and girls, and the harmful social and gender norms. A woman's task is it to give birth and take care of her family and husband. In a lot of cases the age that these girls marry at, is in connection to their first period, because it symbols that girls ability to give birth to a child. From that point on an early pregnancy can bring a lot of harm to a young girl and child. The period of a girl comes mostly between the age of 10-16. Early pregnancy can bring harm to a girl in a physical and mental way. Young girls are seen as obedient and dowry is lower for someone who is young. The older a girl is the higher is the dowry, which makes it especially hard for poor families.

So, while families think they do something good for their child by making sure she marries young and gets under the protection of her husband, it often turns out as the opposite. Owing to unequal power relationships, girls who are married early are more likely to experience brutality, harassment and forced sexual relations. They are more vulnerable to infections transmitted by sex (including HIV).

Child marriage among boys

Child grooms often have to take over adult tasks and responsibilities, which they are not being prepared for. Not just the pressure that comes to these young grooms, but also the fact that the access to education and opportunities for these boys become smaller and smaller, such as for the girls. Without the education and participation in their communities, they will never be able to break the cycle of poverty and with this child marriage it will just go on.

What can be done?

The first step to protect these children is to make it not legally possible to proceed a child marriage in any kind of form.

“The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage….”

Article 16 (which covers the right to protection from child marriage) of The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

There is actually no specific human right that forbids early child marriage, but it falls under other rights and apexes, why it still shouldn't be done. These rights are the right to freedom of expression, the right to protection from all forms of abuse, and the right to be protected from harmful traditional practices. Therefor child marriage is a violation of human rights.

Government actions and laws are being just one tool to fight against, but it's also important to support girls and boys through education. With the education they have better chances to help their families financially and look forward on a better career path. At this points the families will need support to get through this time, which means they will need opportunities for income like getting Microfinance loans.