By: Juan Jaime Márquez Acosta

Code: 200055674

According to the nationalist Mahatma Gandhi, “Of all the evils for which man has made himself
responsible, none is so degrading, so shocking or so brutal as his abuse of the better half of
humanity: the female sex” (Quotes About Women's Rights, 1921). So, many people in the history
have dedicated their life to defend the women of people who think they are inferior than men.
Physical and psychological abuse is a consequence of the threatening against women’s integrity.
Nowadays around the world, many countries promote laws in favor to the rights of female
population. Thinking about “inferiority of women” can be a catalyst of insults and abuses that
people have to avoid in order to respect the female sex.

The context of inferiority related to the women can be defined by the inability witch many people
suppose according to their characteristics. If a woman would be unstable and/or irrational, for
example, her capacity to be mother, teacher or another profession could be dubious.
Nevertheless, if this affirmation was not true, when many people think that, it could be true. In
that way they are creating a stereotype, which it can be present on commercials, for example,
offering a weak vision of women (Lukas, as cited in Wolska, 2009). Nowadays, there are many
stereotypes about women like they are helpless, scatterbrain, unstable and irrational (Sex
stereotyping, 2009).

Because of the sex inequality, around the world many entities is trying to defend the women
against abuses. As the time pass, the women’s rights in the society tends to be stronger. According
to ideas of equality, respect, tolerance, etc., many people are trying to guarantee the women’s
rights. United Nations (UN), for example, is an international institute in favor to defend the rights
of women (United Nations, n.d). So, although nowadays there are many cases of abuses against
women, there are many people against these bad actions too.

According to the human rights, we have to guarantee the equality between both men and women.
Equality is one of the basis for laws and moral in the occidental culture, so we cannot deny to
anyone. According to the UN, the article 1 of its Charter is “To achieve international co-operation
… in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all
without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion” (United Nations, n.d). In that way they
have to assure education and other rights that can help to have a good life to everybody. This can
generate good life conditions in a country to everybody and their next generations.

Defending the women of stereotypes is a mission that many people think is difficult when other
women are the cause of their own problem. On T.V., for example, there are many commercials
which show women in roles like a housewife, an advertiser of cosmetics or a healthy lifestyle
person (Wolska, 2011). According to that, the sellers try to sell a product or another thing with
standards that sometimes can have negative effects (Wolska, 2011). In this way, many female
receivers can create themselves complexes which cause repudiation and disrespect. However, to
guarantee rights, in countries like Colombia the people demand equality and respect by debates or
mobilizations because they still believe in respect and good treatment (Universidad del Norte, n.
d).

The women are an important part in our society and they deserve respect regardless of their
physical characteristics or the way of being. Their quality of different make them each one special
but forgetting the discrimination. It is necessary that everybody foment a peaceful and calm place.
We have to forget our differences to join us like a society where we respect the qualities and
customs of others. Finally, according to Muhammad Ali “I wish people would love everybody else
the way they love me. It would be a better world” (Better World Quotes, n.d).

References
Quotes About Women's Rights. (1921). Retrieved from goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/women-s-rights

Sex stereotyping. (2009). Retrieved from Pyschalive: http://www.psychalive.org/sexual-

stereotyping/

Better World Quotes. (n.d). Retrieved from Brainy Quote:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/better_world.html

United Nations. (n.d). Women. Retrieved from United Nations Web site:
http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/women/

Universidad del Norte. (n. d). Equality: LGBTI rights in Colombia. In Intercultural communication.
Barranquilla.

Wolska, M. (2011). Gender, Stereotypes and Commercials. Retrieved from A case study: analysis of
the gender stereotyping phenomenon in TV commercials: http:/krytyka.org/gender-
stereotypes-in-mass-media-case-study-analysis-of-the-gender-stereotyping-phenomenon-
in-tv-commercials/