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Michelle Campos

Professor Batty

English 28

01 May 2018

HOW DIFFERENT IS WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AROUND THE WORLD?

Every culture has a different approach when it comes to women’s empowerment. In

the book “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents” by Julia Alvarez we read how

women weren’t allowed to have an education, nor do they have much freedom based off the

gender norms in the Dominican Republic. An example is when Ffi began to date Manuel.

One day he caught her reading and started telling her “this is junk in your head you have better

things to do.” (pg.120) I wanted to learn more about different cultural norms, because I think it’s

important to be open minded, so I began to do research. I not only learned more about other

cultures, but I learned about how they affect women’s empowerment. There isn’t a specific

place in the world where this occurs, these issues are globally.

I read an article called “Child Marriage around the world” by Girls Not Brides. In

Niger the rate for children getting married to someone 2x their age is 76%, yet the highest

number of child marriages is in India which is 15 million! Girls as young as 13 sometimes

younger are losing the opportunity to be kids. By the age of 15 most become mothers and spend

the rest of their lives raising kids and being housewives. Young girls are forced into marriage for

different reasons, girls are given up to a man because their family thinks it would reduce family

expenses. In some communities its seen as a tradition for a girl to marry young. Due to marrying

an older man there’s a higher chance for a young girl to get a Sexually Transmitted Disease.

Girls are looked down on as a weaker sex and a burden to their family therefore are given to a
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man who will carry on that burden for them. Luckily there are organizations that help women

and young girls. They bring resources that aren’t available to them and give them the opportunity

to become empowering. With the help of USAID girls are receiving education, advice and

healthcare help.

It’s already difficult for a woman to deal with cramps and buying feminine products monthly.

Women in other countries lack access to feminine products, which makes it more difficult to

cope with their menstrual cycle. Women and girls are having to miss school/work because they

don’t have anything to use. Due to this issue, women are falling behind in their education and

careers, causing emotional distress and discomfort. With the lack of access to products it’s

teaching girls that getting their menstrual cycle is embarrassing and having them feel like it’s a

burden, when biologically it’s normal. This issue is in the states as well, homeless women don’t

have access to these products, which can cause health problems in the long run. There are

organizations like Days for Girls who help women gain access to products during their menstrual

cycle, not only is it empowering but it’s also helping them live a better and successful life.

In Africa there was a ritual that was done on women and young girls called female

castration. The clitoris and labia were removed, that was done to keep a girl from losing her

virginity before marriage and to remove the pleasure of having sex. Fiancés could observe their

wife’s bodies before marriage to make sure she has been circumcised. To get that procedure

done was risky, it could lead to many health problems later in life. That procedure was done in

certain African cultures, there had been situation where a woman wasn’t castrated, which made it

more difficult for her to get married. That had been gone on for decades, that it became

“traditional.” That not only removed part of women’s own body, but it also tells that they didn’t

have a right to have a sexuality.

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It’s important to learn about other cultures, and how women's empowerment is being

affected globally, rather than just where you live. It gives you a great perspective and makes you

appreciate what you have and might even motivate you to help those voices that have been

forced to stay silent. Being open-minded is a good skill to have even if you might not be able to

do anything other than educate yourself and others around you. When you think of women’s

empowerment what do you think? Here in the U.S woman have come together to empower one

another and use their voices. We should use those voices to spread awareness of these issues.

Let’s use the power we have and help those who don’t have it.
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Work Cited

“Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment” USAID, U.S Agency for International

Development. 19 March 2018,

https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/gender-equality-and-womens-empowerment

“A Look at Global Access to Hygiene Products” The Brief, Copyright 2018

http://monthlygift.com/blog/in-the-news/a-look-at-global-access-to-hygiene-products/

“Child Marriage Around the World” Girls Not Brides, UNICEF, State of the World’s Children,

2017; Copyright 2002 - 2018

https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/about-child-marriage/

“Why Does Child Marriage Happen?” Girls Not Brides, UNICEF, State of the World’s Children,

2017; Copyright 2002 - 2018

https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/why-does-it-happen/

“Female genital cutting” Womenhealth.gov 18 April 2017

https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/female-genital-cuttin