There is a Chinese saying that “women hold up half of the sky”, but in much of today’s world, that is not the case. In developing and underdeveloped countries, the life of a woman is very difficult and often dangerous.
In Africa, rape is common and on the increase. It is one of the ways that armies use to control the areas they hold. In India, on average, 12 women are burned alive each day to punish those who do not bring enough dowry or to get rid of a wife so that the husband can remarry. Normally, women live longer than men and world-wide, there are more women than men. But in some countries there are many more men than women. In India, for example, there are 108 men for every 100 women. When comparing the statistics for men and women across the world, 107 million women are “missing”.
Studies of how women are treated show that girl babies are much more likely to die than boy babies–50% more likely in India. This is because they get less medical care than boys. Now that the sex of the child can be determined before birth, the rate of abortion for girl babies is much higher than for boys.
In the world of foreign aid, it is recognized that countries who treat their women most poorly are also the poorest economically. Where women are treated well, the economies are usually stronger. Now, aid organizations from the World Bank to CARE believe that the best way to fight poverty and religious extremism is to give the aid to women. Women are the solution, not the problem.
As the lives of women in South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and China have improved, so have their economies. Women have increased the labor force and helped create greater economic output. Working women usually have fewer children and that has helped slow population increase. Working conditions for women are often bad but many say that it is better to have a bad job than no job at all.
One of the “dirty secrets” of poor nations is that poor men spend less of their money on their families and more of it on alcohol and prostitutes. In poor countries, only 2% of household income is spent on education while almost 20% of household income is spent on alcohol, prostitution and junk food. This is why microfinance organizations like the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh loan more money to women than to men. When women control the family income, more is spent on nutrition, medicine and housing.
Many critics of foreign aid say that the money given to poor countries is wasted. In some ways, this is true. There is no connection between the amount of foreign aid that a country receives and its rate of economic growth. But it is now recognized that when foreign aid is spent on health, education and microfinance, the foreign aid improves the lives of people. Since women are more likely to spend money in these areas, they are now the target of foreign aid.
More foreign aid is now going into educating girls. When girls receive an equal education, the lives of their families improve. Educated women spend money more on their families and spend it more wisely. One interesting finding is that boy students perform better in classrooms with girls because they do not want to fall behind the girls in their studies.
Your Opinion, Please!
- How has the treatment of women in China affected Chinas economy?
- Why do you think women tend to spend money more wisely than men?
- Do you think that foreign aid should be directed more toward women than men? Why or why not?
Vocabulary List
abortion: The act of giving premature birth; particularly, the expulsion of the human fetus prematurely, or before it is capable of sustaining life; miscarriage. [人工流产 [ren2 gong1 liu2 chan3] (abortion)]
dowry: A gift; endowment. [婚前财产公证 [hun1 qian2 cai2 chan3 gong1 zheng4] (dowry: contract) / 陪嫁 陪嫁 [pei2 jia4] (dowry)]
nutrition: food OR In the broadest sense, a process or series of processes by which a living organism as a whole (or its component parts or organs) is maintained in its normal condition of life and growth. [营养学 [ying2 yang3 xue2] (nutrition)]
poverty: being poor OR The quality or state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence; indigence; need. [扶贫 [fu2 pin2] (poverty: alleviation) / 貧困率 贫困率 [pin2 kun4 lu:4] (poverty: rate) / 貧窮潦倒 贫穷潦倒 [pin2 qiong2 liao2 dao3] (poverty: stricken) / 貧困 贫困 [pin2 kun4] (poverty)]
prostitution: The act or practice of prostituting or offering the body to an indiscriminate intercourse with men; common lewdness of a woman. [性工作 [xing4 gong1 zuo4] (prostitution)]
remarry: To marry again. [续弦 [xu4 xian2] (remarry: of a widow ) / 拖油瓶 拖油瓶 [tuo1 you2 ping2] (remarry: of a widow, contemptuous ) / 轉嫁 转嫁 [zhuan3 jia4] (remarry: of widow ) / 復婚 复婚 [fu4 hun1] (remarry: the same person ) / 再婚 再婚 [zai4 hun1] (remarry)]
rid: throw away OR imp. & p. p. of Ride, v. i.
statistics: numbers OR The science which has to do with the collection, classification, and analysis of facts of a numerical nature regarding any topic. [统计学 [tong3 ji4 xue2] (statistics)]
Tags: ESL News, philanthropy
