Brait, Response paper 3

Political Involvement and Women’s Rights

What I found most interesting in our discussion on this topic was the discrepancy between culture and the legal system in developing countries. In many countries, there are laws in place protecting the rights of women and there are changes being made to the legal system to improve the lives of women in developing countries. However, the culture of these societies prevents these laws from being carried out. We discussed the necessity of cultural change for affective change to take place at legislative level. I think that for changes to be widespread and truly affective, the culture must change, however this does not necessarily have to come first for changes in legislation to take effect. Even if a law criminalizing honor killings may not stop every honor killing, the law is there and will be effective in preventing some and making those aware of the laws think twice before committing the act. Is this good enough? Of course not. However, it is a step in the right direction and this is what can help cultural changes to move forward. Laws which promote gender equality set in motion the idea that women should be equal to men and that some practices within a society are not right and should be changed. Laws cannot effect total change in a society, because culture is engrained in the minds of citizens and it is what they believe in. However, the steps taken through changes in legislation are necessary to effect the cultural change that is required to change cultural practices.

We also discussed women in politics and the effect that it had on the governing body and on the society as a whole. I was surprised to find that a few of the articles which we read talked about changes brought about by women in politics with reference to changes in the way that the parliament was run. In South Africa, changes to the work day were made to accommodate the women in parliament and the environment of parliament was also altered. I did not expect articles to focus on this. However, thinking about it more, this is an important step to making changes overall. The way in which a governing body works is reflected in its decisions. If a parliament functions in a way which is conducive to a man’s lifestyle, then the decisions that come out of that body will be more beneficial to males. However, the changes that were made incorporated the lives and livelihoods of women, forcing the men in parliament to think a different way and work in a different atmosphere. These changes have the potential to effect change in the decisions that parliament makes which are beneficial to women and promote more gender equality.

Another point that the articles brought up was the changes in ideals that women go through upon entering parliament. Though it seemed that more women who entered parliament had a vision of gender equality and the promotion of women, the articles pointed out that not every woman parliamentarian continued to focus on the same ideals. Women were subject, just as men are, to being sucked into the world of politics, where your ideals and values can be put aside in the craze of it all. I thought that this was an important point to make, as it happens in developed countries as well. Increasing women in politics is not a surefire way to increase gender equality or women’s rights, because these women can get caught up in politics as easily as men can. One article discussed which effected the most change, women in politics or women in society pressuring the government. Though I don’t think that either would ever be completely effective, between the two groups, positive change for women can be made.

My research last week clearly showed the extreme human rights issues that come with the OCP in China, specifically issues which strongly affect women. In looking at the OCP this week, I looked at it in regard to international law. The question raised was, is the OCP a violation of human rights? When looking at the policy separate from the ways in which it is carried out, it can be argued that it is not a violation of human rights. The policy’s goal is to control the population of China, so that its citizens may live better lives and that their human rights will not be violated. The OCP is not a violation of human rights as considerations for society as a whole must come above certain human rights as laid out by the Declaration of Human Rights. The right to choose the number of children is one such right which is subject to the needs of society as a whole. However, the issue comes in when the way in which the policy is carried out are taken into consideration. This policy inherently brings about violations of human rights because of China’s views on human rights. As a whole, the Chinese legal system does not believe that there are any human rights problems in China. This view leaves the door open for the violations which follow.