The Troubles of Living in this World as a Woman
- themidnightmagazin
- Apr 30, 2021
- 2 min read
By Justine Santos
FGM, and economic inequality are pains women deal with worldwide, just because of their gender.
We often look at life through rose coloured glasses, attempting to focus on the positive aspects of being a woman, or as the French say, la vie en rose. Today, I will be talking about the hard truth of being a woman more specifically FGM (female genital mutation) and not seeing enough representation in positions of power.
According to the UN (United Nations), about 200 million women and girls have experienced some sort of FGM. People are forced or told to undergo FGM because of religious beliefs and/or misconceptions about hygiene and sexuality. Although it is illegal to undergo FGM in many countries, it still occurs due to the beliefs that many people hold; that it makes a woman more pure, clean, and suitable for marriage.
Graduate, get a job, get married and have kids. Growing up, I was always hearing things like, “You’ll understand when you have your own kids'' and “Wait till you have your own kids” as if it was certain. The statements ultimately allude to the fact that that’s all women are good for, to make children. This contributes to the lack of women in decision making positions, as women are not usually encouraged to go into the fields of politics, business, or any type of leadership position. Stereotypes also contribute to the prejudice women face when they are trying to get into powerful positions. As Dr. Therese Huston said, “a far too common perception is that when women are stressed, they become emotional and fall apart, but when men are stressed, they remain calm and clear headed.” When people have this in their mind, they will not want to place women in any important positions of power.
It’s incredibly hard to make change, because many individuals have different views and opinions. Educating and correcting any misconceptions that people around you have, educating yourself about what you can do to put more women in positions of power, and learning what you can do to stop FGM are just a few ways you can contribute to making the world a better place.
Comments