Do women only belong in the kitchen? Do women deserve abuse? Do women matter less than men?
For many centuries women have been treated as dolls and seen as only people who wear aprons and carry around feather dusters with them.
I believe women are mistreated, stereotyped wrongly and deserve to be treated as equal to men.
One gender stereotype relates to women in the work force. Many people would say women should stay home as they are not capable of paying the bills, unlike men who are supposed to have a paying job and are in charge of providing for the family. Ironically a statistic on the New Zealand Government site shows there are more unemployed men than women from the years 1988 to 2001 in New Zealand. The highest rate for men being 11.4 in the year 1992, while for women the highest rate was 9.8 in the year 1991. This shows that not only there were more women employed than men, but also the rate of unemployment for men increased between the years 1988 to 2001. This corrects the stereotype of women not being capable of having a job.
In addition to the issue of stereotyping, domestic violence in New Zealand is another major problem for women. A New Zealand Government organisation that fights against domestic violence in New Zealand reports 76% of family violence incidents are not reported to the Police. From years 2009 to 2012, an average of 10 men, 9 children and 13 women were killed each year as a result of family violence. In addition 24% women have experienced sexual assault in their lifetime. The organisation also states 1 in 3 women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. Furthermore, disabled women are about twice as likely to be victims of violence or abuse compared to other women. This shows the widespread mistreatment of women in New Zealand and how many women it affects.
UN Women is a national committee in New Zealand that helps areas that are fundamental to women's equality. The committee's primary focus is violence against women, leadership and participation and economic empowerment. UN Women works with countries to formulate laws and policies to eliminate gender discrimination and promote gender equality. This organisation works in areas such as land and inheritance rights, decent work for women and ending violence against women. It also aims to strengthen the voice of women's rights advocates and to change harmful discriminatory practices in society. This helps women for those who cannot make a stand by themselves. The academy award winning actress, Emma Watson, was appointed the Women UN Goodwill Ambassador in 2014. She dedicates her efforts towards the empowerment of young women and will serve as an advocate for the campaign ‘HeForShe’ promoting gender equality. The committee does not just fight for one woman’s right to work, but for a global revolution in terms of women’s rights.
There are many ways to support the UN Women’s committee such as donating to one of the many fundraisers, volunteering to help with the events or fundraising, supporting or attending an event held or becoming a member and standing for equal gender rights in New Zealand. Do you want to continue in a world where only men are praised while women are looked down upon? Do you want your future generation following a path where only one gender has power?
Women do not deserve to be mistreated and continuously stereotyped wrongly, and women deserve to be treated equal to men.
