PERSPECTIVES ON GENDER, HEALTH, AND HUMAN RIGHTS
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Changing the world one girl at a time

1/21/2020

9 Comments

 
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*Note: This is from my personal journal from the first week of my Women's Global Health and Human rights class at the University of Washington-Bothell.

Ever since I was a little girl I never really understood or cared about politics or laws because I had never needed to. Now that I’m older and I work at a non-profit organization named LETI, which is focused on promoting equity for minority groups and especially women through education, it’s important to understand the laws and politics that affect our work. That is one of the reasons that I was interested in taking this class!

One of the first things I did when getting access to this class was watch the film, “Girl Rising” which was one of the most eye-opening films that I have ever seen. I laid in my bed at night watching the film while my husband slept and cried. I cried because being a young woman in the United States that I am I had never realized how lucky I was to live in a country where I had rights and some level of protection. How I had the option to get an education without having to struggle the way other girls did and to be with who I wanted because my parents had been able to raise me, so I didn’t have to be given away to a man that I didn’t know. I had so much and yet it had always felt like so little, until now. I had cried myself to sleep and thought about my luck, how if I had been born somewhere on the other side of the world my life would be different, my mind wandered throughout the night and thought about all those what ifs until I drifted into my sleep.

The day after I watched the film I passionately talked to my husband during our car drive to my parents’ house about all my thoughts on the film and how I didn’t understand why these other countries didn’t allow girls to be free and to get the education they deserved and he responded simply with “Well it’s because their culture has never changed and you cannot change their beliefs, only they can do that”. I simply nodded, but deep down I still felt like there was something that should be done for these girls. That is why when I read this quote by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in our module 1.3 reading, I was more than exited, I was filled with inspiration. The quote goes like this, “Culture does not make people. People make culture. So, if it is in fact true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we must make it our culture”. That quote resonated with me and it made me think deeply in how we as humans tend to blame society for everything that goes wrong in our everyday lives, but are we not society? If so, then to make change we must begin with ourselves because if we cannot help ourselves than we cannot help others.
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Knowledge is the one thing that can never get taken for us and that is why I continue to pursue my education because I know that it is the only thing that is mine and mine only. It is also why I see the importance of understanding laws that influence the world, especially human rights. After reading Chapter 1; Human Rights Development: Provenance, Ambit, and Effect by Winton Higgins I saw the sad truth of the modern society. The opening quote in this chapter from The Marquis de Condorcet, July 1790 “Either no individual in mankind has true rights, or all have the same ones; and whoever votes against the rights of another, whatever be his religion, his color, or his sex, has from that moment abjured his own rights” (p 55). If someone in 1790 thought this way, why was it until 1948 that we established human rights to include everyone? Even though the concept of human rights has always existed it had been twisted to be used however those in power at the time saw fit. Even though we were all human, if you didn’t fit their concept then you were not worthy of the rights you had been naturally born with. It’s a disappointing truth that I hope one day all individuals in the world will know that they have the right to live a healthy life and be who they want to be and that will only be achieved through education. I understand a little more than I did a week ago and I hope to understand more and more every day because educating a girl and anyone in general has effects that will affect the lives of many which can change the world.

Refrence List:
  1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (n.d.). 1.3 How Do We Make "Full Humanity and Rights for Women" Our Culture? Retrieved from Canvas
  2. Girl Rising. Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://washington.kanopy.com/video/girl-rising
  3. Higgins, W. (2012). Human Rights Development: Provenance, Ambit, and Effect. In Dudlety et al. Mental Health & Human Rights (pp 55-66). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
  4. Picture from google search labeled for reuse.


By: Marisol Lizbeth Bejarano

9 Comments
Dr. Early link
1/22/2020 09:38:56 pm

Marisol, thank you for sharing such thoughts and passion for this topic. It was inspiring to me to read that what you are reading and watching in this class are giving you new perspectives and motivations. I look forward to seeing you continue to stretch and learn more throughout the quarter, but also to witness how you will apply your learning in your role at LETI and within the community..

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Honey
1/22/2020 10:17:08 pm

Hi Marisol, I enjoy reading your post, and thank you for sharing. Even though I did not watch "Girl Rising," I felt like I read about myself, my friends, and women from my country after reading your post. My late mother told me that she wasn't allowed to go to school because she was a girl in the family. Also, there are certain rules women or girls need to follow. As you said, I am also so lucky to be in this country, while many of my friends still facing those hardships and discrimination. I pray and hope that women's rights will expand all over the world.

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Samantha Sinclair
1/24/2020 11:45:58 am

I had similar reactions to the film, Girl Rising. I was brought to tears multiple times. Gender is a health and human rights issue for many reasons. I learned of several from the assigned readings and from the film. Countries, especially those influenced by dowries, will impose harm on females, some more direct than others. The most obvious is the act of infanticide. Other indirect ways would be depriving female children nutrition, immunizations or proper healthcare thus leading to death. I think the film did an excellent job emphasizing that education for girls is the key for a better future which includes improving health and economics and reducing mortality.

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Dolma Sherpa
1/24/2020 02:46:16 pm

Long before I entered higher education, I had the opportunity to go to Nepal and volunteer for Maiti Nepal, a non-profit organization that wants to create a society free of human trafficking. I met a girl around my age at Maiti Nepal and her story was heartbreaking. Her father sold her away for cash because she is a "burden" to her family. Fortunately, she was rescued by Maiti Nepal and received enormous help and education so she can reintegrate into society. I met her again after a very long time and now she has become an independent and strong woman currently pursuing her bachelor's. She is actively projecting her voice about gender inequality in Nepal. The power of education is simply amazing.

"When a child of a house becomes educated ... then his house, his family, his parents, and his future generations ... all their life changes forever."- Unknown.

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Haley barton
1/25/2020 01:42:06 pm

Thank you for sharing your story. I agree that Girl Rising was an extremely emotional video. It really made me appreciate everything we have here in this country. With everything going on in politics right now its been easy to feel embarrassed about our country and who leads us but watching something like really made me feel grateful to be here. I feel that it is important for people like us to understand how different life is for women across the globe so we can help advocate for equal rights for women everywhere.

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Allie Boyer
1/25/2020 03:00:29 pm

Hi Marisol!
I truly enjoyed reading your blog post, I could feel the passion you have for this topic. Your statement, "I had so much and yet it had always felt like so little, until now" resonated with me because I too have felt this way, that I could always have nicer things or more stuff, etc. The truth is while reading through our course materials each week, it has made me take a step back and appreciate what I have. It makes me sad that other cultures around the world do not have much opportunity to change their way of life. Advocating for human rights on a global scale is essential for the health of our people and bettering our societies. Thank you for sharing!

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Jaya
1/25/2020 04:54:57 pm

Hi Marisol!

Thank you so much for your post. It was really nice reading your blog post and getting your perspective. I relate to you when you said you were never into politics when you were younger. Even to this day i have to force myself to listen to the news and I think it stems from being so sheltered at a young age, I fear bad news. I am grateful for this class because it does give the big picture reality that there are millions of girls and women around the world that do not even have half of the privileges we get. Your post was a good reminder that having knowledge is power.

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Christine Nguyen
1/26/2020 07:19:09 pm

Hi Marisol!

Thank your sharing you insights about the movie, Girl Rising. I recently just watched the movie for this week's class assignment's and I too understand and grateful for being able to live in a country that allows me to become educated and pushed me to excess in education at a university. It shook me to know that there are so many girls that are underage and are being force to marry when they don't know any better especially when the young girls are illiterate. I hope this film will also be reached out to other educational facilities so that it can be acknowledged and hopeful something will be done in the countries to promote education and human rights for the female adolescence.

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Raiye Abunie
1/30/2020 01:29:34 pm

Hello Marisol,

I really enjoyed reading your insights and how you dove well into the topic of diversity and being able to grasp and promote education. By being able to have the opportunity to promote equity within minority groups is such a critical role. I myself have volunteered and worked with youths whom want to pursue a better education and gain the necessary resources for bettering opportunities. As you mentioned "knowledge is the one thing that can never get taken for us and that is why I continue to pursue my education because I know that it is the only thing that is mine and mine only," I highly support and resonate with this statement as I feel a person's knowledge, self right, respect and humanity are things which others do not have the right to take. This is why I continue to support and engage with youths and families within my community to participate in more cultural and educational enriching opportunities.

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