What do you think about the relationship between Global Feminism and Human Rights?

Question

Everyday we read here people that are against feminism. My question is that feminism takes many shapes, and one of them is Global Feminism, and feminists groups like "Equality Now", focus on Human rights violations against women who for long time have been denied the attention and concern of international organizations and governments.

For example in Iran a woman's testimony is worth only half that of a man in all civil and criminal cases and her testimony must be corroborated by a man's testimony in order to prove rape, which makes prosecuting rape extremely difficult.

In Kenya, at a boarding school 300 boy attack the girls dormitory. Seventy one girls are raped. Nineteen are trampled to death..the school's vice president remarks "The boys never meant any harm against the girls. They just wanted to rape" (!!)

In Brazil, a man who confessed to stabbing his wife and her lover to death is for second time acquitted of murder by an all male jury. The acquittal is based on the argument that he acted in legitimated defense of his wronged honor.

I can go on and on.....

Of course men an boys also suffer Human rights violations and is no less pressing or important, but there is a direct pattern of gender discrimination against women and girl , there is in many places the idea they are second hand citizens and this mentality is what many groups try to educate and many are feminist groups. These groups are also, doing something against this atrocities. We could call them Global feminists if you want, but they are still feminists.

Every time I read so many angry voices against feminism, it makes me think/ask if some are against Human Rights, because this is part of very important causes that feminism is combating today.

p.s. For the record, I am NOT from the USA, I have never lived there, so my perspective is different, therefore I concentrate in Global Feminism

Thoughts?

Source: You can Google this information or go directly to www.equalitynow.org

Answer 1

Feminism and human rights are nowhere near the same thing.  Feminist fight for sexist laws and acts that discriminated against men, so putting feminism in the same category as human rights is laughable.

Answer 2

The problem with feminism is they do not know what they want to fix the abuses.

Option A: get a worthless non-binding U.N. resolution that is unenforceable

Option B: Request the world to enforce the resolution with force. The world does nothing unless the U.S. takes the lead militarily. Then they attack the U.S. for being too aggressive.

Flying, I know you are concerned about women's rights in the third world countries, but do you have a solution?.

Answer 3

I think that its great and donate as much as I can to the cause.  I wish I could do more.  The story that always gets me is that rape is normal for school girls in Kenya.  The thought that people would think that was okay is so heart breaking.  I guess that is why I get so bothered by people insulting feminist (and yes sometimes I get angry and speak from the bad place) saying that feminism is not needed and then saying something that is one of the reasons feminism exist. Feminist is needed whether it is to fight local or global human right violations against women.  No feminist I know would stop a man from fighting for men's rights or call a Men's Rights Activist a n**i.  

Answer 4

We should start Feminism's final solution & round up all men & throw them in ovens & use the ashes to fertilize flower gardens.

Then we'd have the perfect all-female society.

Except on days when Kohl's has a 1/2 off sale & it's limited only to stock on hand.

Well, I guess there were even problems in eden....

Answer 5

Thank you for the information.  It seems that even in the US, from the info from ant-fems, that the testimony of a woman raped is discounted.  Globally, the atrocities against women are huge human rights violations.  They deserve attention and care from everyone who is HUMAN.

Answer 6

Happy Friday Flyin Horse... to answer very simply I will look at the broadest spectrum and say that advocating for one gender over both genders is never the perfect answer for me, not to AT ALL cloud the fact that feminist groups have done a great deal of good for humanity.

My very simple sentiment is that advocating both genders in turn helps every human. Again, not to say I don’t agree with many feminist values/activities, but I would never claim feminism because it doesn't’t personally make sense for me to advocate for only girls when both boys and girls will have to be educated to make real change... again, this is only my opinion, pressed on no one.

I feel one could call themselves human rights activists and focus on the area that needs attention, like the plights of females listed above, by how does excluding gender affect the bigger picture?

JMHO

Answer 7

If you are addressing the rights of women internationally or wherever; put into that context.  Say what it is if you are calling it Human Rights in stead of Feminism.  That is not a term or concept that flies well in todays society.  We cant address issues in context of race or s*x anymore.  We need to address issues for what they are.

Answer 8

To me, the link between what you refer to as Global Feminism and Human Rights is a very important one, and probably the last link of credibility to Western Feminism.

Show me a country where the women are treated like chattel/cattle, and I'll show you a country full of frustrated, powerless men, who have no ability to change their lives at all, or in any way affect their quality of life.  They channel this frustration into hurting their women.  And if you are devaluing the people who birth your race, you are acting against your race.

It is true that you see the worst offenses against women in the places that put the least value on human rights/human life.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.  It is also true that, in the last century, anytime we've seen a woman's lot improve, in a 3rd world country, the standards of living for ALL people in that country improve.

For example, the guy that owns my local convenience store is from Bangladesh.  His wife wears traditional garb (no idea what it is properly called) with no veil or anything, but his daughters wear jeans and t-shirts like any other kids.  He and I chat often.  As it turns out, his family in Bangladesh is relatively well-off.  He actually lives at a lower standard, financially, here, than he did there.  So I asked him, "Why move?"  His answer?  "I don't want my daughters to grow up with those attitudes.  I want them to be doctors and lawyers and engineers.  If they want to be housewives, fine, but I want them to choose."  Further into our conversation, he reveals to me that this is the attitude of most of the men he knows, but only the wealthiest, most educated (like himself) are able to implement removing 'their women' from the culture, often bringing them back a generation later, resulting in a change of cultural attitudes over generations, much like we are seeing (albeit slowly) across the Indian peninsula.

So, to clarify or re-state, I think the attitude of global feminism, as opposed to what we see in western feminism (which seems to be, more often, a case of 'I want X and if you don't get it for me you are against me and my kind) is, at heart, a humanist mechanism, raising the standard in places that need their standards raised the most.

However, it is important to point out that, in countries where rape is normal for a schoolgirl, it is also normal for a dozen guys to roll through with a jeep and machine guns and level a whole village.  THIS is the problem in those places... no matter how you uplift a portion of a population, until you make life valuable, create a situation where a population sees possibilities, you will not really change anything.  If a people do not see any point the lives they lead, or have any hope for better, things will never change.  Like the example of the Bangladeshi shop owner, until he and his whole family achieved a level of safety, of civilization, so to speak, there was not room to worry about the choices of his daughters.  If no one expects to be able to live out their life, eat, have water, or otherwise live out what most of us would consider a 'normal' life, then no one will care for the plight of anyone, since their own personal plight is no better or worse than anyone else's.  Of course the rights of women are meaningless in those places.  EVERYONE'S rights are meaningless in those places, unless you are holding an uzi.

In every example, the conditions still go back to a genocide,  be it east, north, south, or west Africa, the Middle East, Asia, or Latin America.  In every case, the conditions were created by a genocide or genocidal attitude, kept in place by militant dictators. Violence against women IS a symptom of genocide.  When people think they have something to live for, think there is something to be accomplished BY living, these kind of atrocities wane.

Answer 9

Feminism and Human Rights work against each other because to be a Feminist you are denying equality and wanting special rights so (as has already happened) Feminism as a cause has died.

Answer 10

They are one and the same.

Answer 11

I feel sad for the many women who are abused.  It's a shame to read about that stuff.  I also feel strongly about equal rights for men and my son.  How bout we "liberate" men in Western Civ first...and then help out women worldwide?  

Otherwise we are just creating a huge National Socialistic Dictatorship based on feminism where women are deemed superior and men inferior.  

Global feminism will and does need Marines & Army to protect and die for them.  Presidents & dictators have always used foreign policies to cover up for domestic problems.    

Answer 12

I think some people believe the US is the whole world, and feminism never happened anywhere else.

Of course rights for women are part of the human rights movement - unless you disagree that women are humans.

The situation of many women worldwide is absolutely deplorable and all this wrangling over the finer points of VAWA does nothing to help them.  I can only hope anti-feminists are noble enough to put aside their local concerns in the support for global feminism, which I'm sure everyone agrees is very much necessary  :-)