GNED 10 “Gender And Society”

GENDER STREOTYPES (International)

1. Belarus: Where women can’t become truck drivers

It’s a question most kids get asked at some point: what do you want to be when you
grow up? For little girls in Belarus, they had better not aspire to one day be a truck
driver. That’s because it’s one of 181 occupations that are banned for women.

The sexist laws have their roots in the country’s Soviet past, and were initially
introduced to protect women from jobs that were deemed to be too dangerous or
strenuous. But over 80 years later, and even as technology has lightened the burden
of many of these roles, there are still some people who defend the laws.

“There are certain jobs that a woman just shouldn’t do, because she has her children
and family to worry about. There are plenty of less demanding occupations out
there for women,” Aleksander Zaitsev, chief technical inspector with the country’s
largest pro-government trade union, told Open Democracy.

Reaction:
For me, responsibility is not an enough reason to limit what a woman can
do. They’re not allowing women to become truck driver because they have a child to
take care of? But how about the other girls who only want to help their parents
financially and those who are passion is being a truck driver? It’s good that their
protecting the women on some dangerous work but they must give chance to girls
to try those jobs if it’s really their heart desire. Truck driver is one of the jobs that
pay well so it really an admirable job for those seeking for high salary.

2. United States: Where rapists can claim parental rights

It takes a brave person to follow through with a pregnancy that resulted from rape.
And yet as difficult as that decision is, it’s estimated that of the 17,000-32,000
women who are raped and impregnated in the US each year, around 32% to 50% of
them keep the babies.

If any of those women are unlucky enough to live in Maryland, Alabama, Mississippi,
Minnesota, North Dakota, Wyoming or New Mexico, they might find themselves in a
custody battle with their attacker. That’s because unlike the rest of the US, these
seven states have no laws blocking rapists from claiming parental rights.

The issue made headlines again in April when Maryland failed to pass a law that
would have protected rape victims who decided to keep their babies.

Reaction:
 GNED 10 “Gender And Society”

Biological parents have rights to claim their parental rights to their children
but do they consider the feelings of the mother? Being raped and the rapist come
out claiming for the right is unacceptable. He has the rights but a woman has the
rights too to file a case on that man for raping her. Every woman that treated badly
like being rape and has a baby has a right to decide whether they want to give rights
to the man raped them, it’s their choices if they are willing to forgive him for the
sake of baby or raise their own child without a father. I know it really matter to have
a complete and happy family but not in a person who raped others for their
satisfaction.

3. India: Where husbands can rape their wives, with no consequences

Can rape ever be justified? The answer should be an emphatic “no”. Except that in
India, along with approximately 49 other countries, there is an exception: when the
perpetrator is married to the victim.

Two years ago, the United Nations recommended the country criminalize marital
rape. The government responded by arguing that such a law was incompatible with
the understanding of marriage in the country.

“The concept of marital rape, as understood internationally, cannot be suitably

applied in the Indian context due to various factors, such as levels of
education/illiteracy, poverty, myriad social customs and values, religious beliefs and
mindset of the society to treat the marriage as a sacrament,” the
government explained in a press release at the time. A survey by the Hindustan
Times revealed that most Indians don’t agree with this stance.

Reaction:

Men should not force their wives to have sex without their permission
because women have the rights to refuse and protect their selves from being
abused. I know that becoming a wife has the obligation to fulfill your husband needs
but for me it’s not acceptable to rape your wives and doing this with no
consequences? Their government really favored the men for implementing this kind
of policy. Marriage is a sacred ritual for husband and wife, but having this kind of
policy will give men an advantages of marrying someone in able to rape them.
Although most of the Indians can stand with this stance I think Indian women
should complain and fights for their rights.

PHILIPPINES GENDER INEQUALITY

 GNED 10 “Gender And Society”

Professionals Obstacle

“Women are paid 18 to 22 percent less for their counterparts of the same exact position and
work that they do,” says Audrey Pe, founder of Women in Tech, and also one of the youth
ambassadors. “Instead of waiting for the gap in tech to close itself, instead of shifting into a
different field, I decided I wanted to do something about it. I saw the potential of tech to be
used to make a difference.”

Audrey Pe, another youth ambassador, also seeks to disrupt the existing gendered
expectations in the workplace of her chosen field: technology. She started Women in Tech
(WiTech), an organization that hosts the first women in tech conference organized by
students and for students in the country, as well as outreach programs where they teach
students in far flung areas the basics of computer programming.

Through Edukasyon’s campaign, Pe believes that their role is primarily in informing

Filipinas that there are fields they can pursue which they may not be aware of yet or are too
afraid to be a part of. She adds that there is value in feeling represented, much as how she
was inspired to build her organization after meeting female leaders in tech.

“[Back then], I couldn't think what my future in tech would be like because I couldn't think
of any role models in the field,” she says. “Every time people talked about tech, it was always
Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates, so I couldn't really see myself in them when I looked at the
news and saw articles about them.”

Before creating WiTech, Pe Googled women who worked in the tech industry, reached out
to them, interviewed them, and put them on her blog. The many interactions she had with
women in tech all the more empowered her into believing that, indeed, she can thrive in this
field. Her advocacy was all the more fortified after knowing the gender pay gap in tech jobs.

Violence
 GNED 10 “Gender And Society”

Children make up 77 percent of rape survivors in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic

country, and the crime occurs at a rate of two every minute. Midyear 2015 data released by
the national police showed rape cases surging 63.5 percent to 8,288 from 5,069 recorded in
the first six months of 2014. The Center for Women's Resources, said the yearend figure
would zoom past the 10,000 mark gathered the previous year.

The research group said 2014 data was double the incident rate of 2010, the year President
Benigno Aquino took power in the world’s only country that still bans divorce.
Cases of criminal abuses against women and their children also rose by 200 percent over
the same period.

Police attribute the increase to improved reporting. Women's groups have also campaigned
to break the culture of silence surrounding physical and sexual abuse of women. But Emmie
de Jesus, a legislator of the Gabriela party for women, said official statistics don't reflect the
true breadth of the crisis.

Only three of 10 survivors of sexual abuse seek help to stop the attacks, De Jesus told
ucanews.com, citing government statistics from 2013. Almost 40 percent suffer in silence;
27 percent share the experience but back out from seeking aid. That only 7,416 rape
suspects are in jail shows how elusive justice is for women in a country that won top
education and health marks in a World Economic Forum study on narrowing the gender
gap.
 GNED 10 “Gender And Society”

Reference:

Thompson, S., (08, May 2017). 8 sexist laws you won’t believe still exist
Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/8-sexist-laws-you-won-t-believe-still-exist

Ladrido, S., (29, August 2019). Does 'gender equality' exist in the Philippines?
Retrieved from https://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2018/08/29/young-pinays.html

Varona, I.E., (03, March 2016).Philippine women, children trapped in cycles of abuse
Retrieved from https://www.ucanews.com/news/philippine-women-children-trapped-in-cycles-of-
abuse/75379