Women Need to be Given Resources

to Succeed
Maya Blaisdell
Dai Manju was in sixth grade when her parents said, Were going to pull you out of school because the
thirteen-dollar school fees are too much for us. Youre going to be spending the rest of your life in the rice
paddies. Why would we waste this money on you? This is what happens to girls in remote
areas. (Sheryl WuDunn).
Fifty-seven percent of the seventy two million primary school aged children who do not attend school are
females, according to a demographic and health survey study of twenty four low income countries, thirty
four percent of girls in the poorest households complete primary school, and seventy two percent of girls
in the richest households complete primary school (Levin Institute). Education and health care are the two
main reasons women are able to rise above oppression. Without education women do not have the
resources in order to gain power.
When women are not given access to education they do not have as much power as the other people in
their communities and even countries who have received an education. In a lot of countries, making sure
men have education is the priority over women getting education. This is because men are considered
stronger and more important than women. If the governments are run by men who believe in this ideal,
women will not be given the resources they need. There are seventy two million children who do not
receive an education, and fifty seven percent of those children are females (Levin Institute). Women have
not been given the tools they need in order to rise above oppression.
When women receive an adequate education, they are able to overcome the oppression that they have
been facing for so many years. Without this education, women would not have the tools to stand up for
their rights. Girls who complete primary and secondary education are likely to earn income, have fewer
unwanted pregnancies and break the cycle of poverty. (World Bank Group 2015). There are many factors
to how women gain power, but the tools they need to gain that power is rooted in education.
HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death worldwide for women aged fifteen to forty four years. Globally,
adolescent girls and young women aged fifteen to twenty four years are twice as likely to be at risk of
HIV infection than boys and young men in the same age group. (Deborah Derrick). Women and girls are
not always considered the top priority for receiving health care and other services because women are not
considered as important as men, and therefore are not always given priority because men are considered
more important. This is really damaging to women, because they are being barred from achieving their
full potential.
Access to health care is imperative for women to gain more power because women are disproportionately
affected by diseases like HIV, since they are not considered the priority. In order for a society to work and
be balanced, all different people need to be able to make a contribution. The contributions women give to
their communities needs to be recognized and celebrated. Women give a lot to their communities, and
keeping them from accessing these services is damaging to women, and their communities.
Women face a lot of barriers keeping them from getting education and health care, including their
governments, traditions, and economy. Their governments are keeping them from accessing the resources
they need. Some countries do not have a required amount of education, and this can be very damaging for
women because they may not receive any education. Traditions can keep women from gaining power
because some traditions have certain ideas about women that are oppressive. For example, in a lot of

cultures women are supposed to stay in the home and take care of their husbands and children. Their other
strengths are not always valued. The people who are part of the cultures dont necessarily understand that
they are being oppressive, and this can be even more damaging because people in these cultures may not
realize that they are keeping women from reaching their full potential. Finally, the economy of a country
greatly affects whether women will be educated or receive health care, because a lot of the time the males
in the family will be prioritized compared to the females in the family. This is the case when a family
cannot afford to send the girls to school, they will prioritize the males, and the females will not have as
much opportunity.
Women cannot always find the education and health care they need, and it is important for people who do
have resources to assist the people who dont. We need to raise awareness about this issue, and by doing
that we will be able to create more resources for these women. It is very hard for a lot of women to access
resources, and by making this easier we are assisting them with gaining more power so that they can rise
above oppression. It is incredibly important to assist these women in rise to their full potential, while also
respecting the cultures and traditions they come from. All cultures are different, and it is important to
recognize that as we try to help these women.
Education and health care incredibly important for success in our world. If women are given access to
education and health care they will have the resources they need to rise above oppression, and gain power.
Education gives women more knowledge about her culture and community so that she can recognize
possible oppression she is facing. Health care gives women more power because it enables women to
have more control over their bodies, so that they dont have to always focus on illness, or possible
children.

Works Cited
Derrick, Deborah. Empowering women and girls: the impact of gender equality on public
health. The Lancet Global Health Blog. Elsevier Limited, 8 August 2014. http://
globalhealth.thelancet.com/. 1 March 2016. <http://globalhealth.thelancet.com/2014/08/08/empoweringwomen-and-girls-impact-gender-equality-public-health>.
Dr Nafsiah Mboi
Girls Education. The World Bank. The World Bank Group, 3 December 2015. http://
www.worldbank.org/. 1 March 2016. <http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/brief/girlseducation>.

2016.

Our Centuries Greatest Injustice. Sheryl WuDunn. TED Global, 2010. TED. Web. 12 February

Women and Globalization. Globalization 101. Levin Institute. http://

www.globalization101.org/. 17 February 2016. < http://www.globalization101.org/uploads/File/Women/
Women.pdf>.