Womens Issues

3 Pages 864 Words

You put on your traditional women’s clothing, as you prepare for your daily walk in your small south Asian village. You see three boys and two girls playing in front of a house. You ask the man standing there how many children he has, he says “I have three children”. You say “I see three boys, and two girls”, the man says, “Oh but they are girls; they will belong to someone else’s family the moment I marry them off”.

This example shows how females are not regarded as equals in some societies; they are not even regarded as part of one’s family. Females are considered a liability since their family must pay a dowry to the husband when the female is married off. When they are married off, women are chosen by men to be their wives like a piece of meat being purchased at a store.

I’m not here today to mock or criticize anyone’s religion, country, or faith, but inform you about unfair treatment of women around the world, and to give my opinion on what should be done to eliminate it.

In Islam, a man can have as many as four wives and the wife simply has to accept it. Each wife must be treated exactly the same materially, emotionally, and physically. A Muslim woman can’t divorce her husband because of polygamy; there must be another reason to want a divorce. A man can divorce his wife any time, anywhere by saying the word “Talaq” three times. If a woman wants a divorce, she must aquire one through court in a long process. Once they are divorced, the woman can’t have any contact with males who aren't relatives, so that if she becomes pregnant, they know who the baby belongs to. In many countries, women must wear a burqah, which is a long loose garment covering the entire body with mesh slits left for the eyes. Wearing it restricts women from mixing with men.

In my perfect world, Women would also be allowed to have four husbands, and they would be able to break off a marriage whenever they please, a...