Discuss_the_Link_Between_Gender_Poverty_and_Discrimination

DISCUSS THE LINK BETWEEN GENDER POVERTY AND DISCRIMINATION A TERM PAPER SUBMITTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE GENDER POVERTY AND DISCRIMINATION Introduction In this article the author is going to explore the definition of gender, poverty and discrimination. A discussion on the link between gender poverty and discrimination will be explored. Gender Gender is the socially constructed attributes that are ascribed to people based on their biological sex differences. The word gender is used to describe the characteristics, roles and responsibilities of women and men, boys and girls, which are socially constructed. (WHO Gender and Health: technical paper 1998) Gender is related to how we are perceived and expected to think and act as women and men because of the way society is organized, not because of our biological differences. Gender dynamics react to environmental changes in negative and positive ways. Poverty Poverty describes a wide range of circumstances associated with need, hardship and lack of resources. Poverty can be defined as the lack of those things which are required by the human being to survive. The poverty definition can also be stretched to an extent and saying that it is the lack of resources when required or something which is not there but it is required the most. In many countries, including India, poverty is quite a big problem and it also gives an idea about the economy of the country. ‘James Gustave Speth-1998 Journal’ describes poverty as a denial of human rights. Discrimination Discrimination refers to the treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favour of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. The Link between gender poverty and discrimination. In this discussion we will explore the different kinds of gender discrimination and their effects in the economics of this world. We will discuss who is most affected by poverty because of gender discrimination and gender inequality Gender and Poverty Poverty affects men, women, boys, and girls, but it is experienced differently by people of different ages, ethnicities, family roles and sex. Many studies show that women are mostly affected by poverty as in many societies they are discriminated against. In some countries in Asia a female child born is seen as a slave born to the family therefore does not get education and the illiteracy leads to poverty as they are unable to get decent employment. According to UNDP Six out of ten of the world’s poorest people are women bringing into cogniscence the issues surrounding gender and its link to poverty. Gender, Poverty and Discrimination Due to women’s biology, their social and cultural gender roles, and culturally constructed roles, they face disadvantaged conditions which accumulate and intensify the already numerous effects of poverty. Manuel Castells (1978 p177-8) notes that governments rely heavily on women’s unpaid reproductive work in the city. This observation on its own brings to light the fact that women are heavily relied upon by governments to reproduce, provide free labour and to maintain households yet in most under developed countries women are not empowered enough to be able to contribute more in their given societies or economies. In the developing world a lot of women are not given the opportunity to become educated making it difficult to end the cycle of poverty. UNIFEM statistics indicate that women are more likely to be poor and at risk of hunger because of the systematic discrimination they face in education, healthcare, employment and control of assets. Education Education is a tool to break gender discrimination. An uneducated person is likely to become poor and it has shown that the longer a person stays in school the more likely they are to get a job and then education becomes a vehicle to stop gender discrimination and help the fight against poverty. Discriminating children in terms of education plays a role in the increase of poverty in a given society. If parents choose to educate on child over the other because of gender then this poses a big problem on the uneducated child. In some African or Asian societies, educating a boy child over a girl child is usually the case as it is believed that a girl child will marry into another family and the educated boy is likely to be a benefit to the family. This puts the girl child at a bigger risk of living in poverty. It is important that we minimise discrimination and the chances of poverty by pulling down barriers that keep children out of school. Studies also show that educated women marry later in life and have children at a more convenient time when they can afford it and this stops the cycle of poverty. The Zimbabwe Human Development Report 2003 p 40 says,” Women by virtue of their economic and cultural status as well as gender roles, constitute the larger proportion of those infected and affected by the epidemic. It is becoming more evident that a development path which does not take into account the role of women is not sustainable.” As the majority of the population is female, if they are not empowered and are discriminated against and not given opportunities to get education, work and get proper health care it becomes difficult for proper development to take place making poverty a problem that has its strongholds in society. Discrimination against girls and women in the developing world is a devastating reality. It results in millions of individual tragedies, which add up to lost potential for entire countries. Studies show there is a direct link between a country's attitude toward women and its progress socially and economically. The status of women is central to the health of a society. If one part suffers, so does the whole. (Julie Mullins Children in Need Inc.) One argument is that women who head households are worthy of special attention because they are triply disadvantaged: they experience the burdens of poverty, gender discrimination and absence of support as heads of household. (Mayra Buvnic and Geeta Rao Gupta). David Dollar and Roberta Gatti (World Bank Development Research,May 1999) say, ”Gender differentials in education and health are not an efficient economic choice. Societies that under invest in women pay a price for it in terms of slower growth and lower income. Furthermore, gender inequality can be explained to a significant extent by religious preference, regional factors, and civil freedom.” Feminization of Poverty Feminization of poverty describes a phenomenon in which women represent disproportionate percentages of the world’s poor. UNIFEM has described it as the burden of poverty borne by women especially in developing countries. This concept is not only a consequence of lack of income but a result of the deprivation and gender biases present in both societies and governments. In most of these developing countries, women may not be given the same opportunities as that of men. An example is that a family may choose to educate a boy child instead of a girl child as it is believed that it is more profitable for the family to have the boy educated as the girl will eventually marry into another family. If then this uneducated woman’s husband who will be the breadwinner dies she will be unable to fend for her family. This household is then called a lone mother household. These households are at the highest risk of poverty for women due to lack of income and resources. There is an increase in lone mother households around the world which results in higher percentages of women in poverty. Lone mothers are the poorest women in society and their children tend to be disadvantaged in comparison to their peers. Female headed households are most susceptible to poverty as they usually have fewer income earners to provide financial support within the household. According to a case study in Zimbabwe, households headed by widows have an income of approximately half that of male headed households. Lone mother households relate to gender inequality issues as women are more susceptible to poverty and lack essential life needs in comparison to men. In conclusion we have explored the different spheres of gender discrimination and its effects on development. We have seen that where a society does not include or invest in women and girls, the eradication of poverty becomes next to impossible. When all are given equal opportunities in education, health and general societal living then development is a goal that we are likely to achieve.