Thesis Proposal for Opinion Editorial

Thesis:

            Everyday women battle oppression throughout several spectrums. In America, women battle equal pay for equal work, prejudice in hiring because they are mothers or are pregnant, women are underrepresented in government and corporate and are viewed as second to men in a patriarchal society. Women in the military experience unthinkable amounts of sexual harassment including thousands of cases of rape a year with minimal if any punishment to the men responsible. But my real hurt goes out to the women in countries like Somaliland, Iraq and Iran where young girls experience the most horrifying and immoral act referred to as female genital mutilation (FGM). Young girls have no say in the matter and are forced to be circumcised. There is a line of ethics and morality that cannot be crossed and when it is, those immoral and damaging practices need to be made known in order to spark change.

Reasoning:

1.      Immoral

-violation of the human rights of girls and women

-Excused as a religious and cultural practice

-The social pressure to conform to what others do and have been doing is a strong motivation to perpetuate the practice.

-Has been outlawed but laws are not enforced

-The practice also violates a person's rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death.

2.      No Health Benefits for girls and women

-Women face Infections

-can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infertility as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths.

3.      Continued oppression to women

- It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women.

-FGM is associated with cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are “clean” and "beautiful" after removal of body parts that are considered "male" or "unclean".

- FGM is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl properly, and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage.

 

Conclusions:

-In December 2012, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the elimination of female genital mutilation.

- but practicing communities themselves must decide to abandon FGM

-strengthening the health sector response: guidelines, training and policy to ensure that health professionals can provide medical care and counselling to girls and women living with FGM;

-knowledge about the causes and consequences of the practice, how to eliminate it, and how to care for those who have experienced FGM;

-increasing advocacy: developing publications and advocacy tools for international, regional and local efforts to end FGM within a generation.