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 International Women'sDay1997
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 MENU Main Page Special Event: Q&A Teacher’s Notes Why Women’s Day? How It Happened The Issues Links |
Special Event Question and Answer with UN Women Questions for Comfort Lamptey (Who is she?)
Recently, I have been reading numerous accounts of women in the
Middle East... I was confused as to the position of women in
Parliament... for example, Pakistan and India. In a country from
which comes many horrific descripitions on the treatment of women
by their male counterparts, I find it interesting how some women
have risen to such high positions in parliament, while others are
restricted by either force or moral and ethic codes.
Is it the individual courage of the women themselves that puts
them into such postitions, or the situations from which they
emerge that enables them to propel themselves both politically
and emotionally to the forefront of their country's affairs?Susan Jehne Year 11 Brisbane Girls Grammar School AUSTRALIA
I believe it is a combination of the two (courage of women and
the situations from which they emerge) that propels them to the
forefront of political life. In a world where women, for the most
part, have to fight to get a voice and a say in decision-making
processes which affect their lives, any woman who stands up to
challenge the prevailing systems needs courage. Such courage very
often breeds fruitful gains if she is operating with the support
of other women within her community/
Women's struggles in oppressive situations also benefit
greatly if they have links with international women's networks
since the latter can provide a support base and also act as a
channel for bringing their problems to the attention of the
international community.
How many cases do you know of when women who live in typically
male dominated countries stand up for their rights? What happens
in such cases?Lucinda Petroeschevsky-Mayer
Most countries will fall under the category of male-dominated
societies (the extent of the domination varies, of course). The
fact that women have succeeded in reversing this situation in
some countries is testimony to the fact that standing up for your
rights does pay off. Often though, this is a very long process
which requires a change in attitude on the part of both men and
women (some women, either for customary or religious reasons, do
not want to oppose the status quo). Women who pioneer such
processes often have a hard time at the beginning, but once
people's attitudes soften, cahnge is much easier to come by. I
think this is true for most countries in the world where women
have/are struggling for equal rights.
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