A Comparative Analysis of Women's Rights, Safety and Global Concerns

This essay delves into the multifaceted challenges faced by women across different societies, with a particular focus on the issues of rights and safety. The paper highlights how women are often the primary victims of societal issues, such as HIV/AIDS and sexual violence, and examines the underlying causes, including patriarchal norms and lack of legal protection. It references specific incidents like the 2012 Delhi gang rape and the subsequent social movements that pressured the Indian government to reform laws. The essay also explores the global impact of HIV/AIDS, particularly in South Africa, and the role of globalization in exacerbating these issues, emphasizing the vulnerability of women and the importance of women's movements in combating these challenges. The essay concludes by emphasizing the global concern regarding women's condition and the need for societal changes to ensure their rights and safety.

Running head: WOMEN STUDIES
WOMEN STUDIES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors note

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This paper focuses on the notion of women condition in different countries, different
societies and under different conditions, whether it is under the situation of some diseases like
HIV/AIDS or under the situation of rape, women are the prime victim and sufferer in all such
situations. Lack of rights and lack of safety mainly due to patriarchal rules of the society
regarding the women is the main cause for ill condition of women in the society.
Following the horrific incident, which is a gang rape that has happened in Delhi in the
year 2012, has risen the urge among women regarding their safety and rights (Krishnan, 2015, p.
255). After that incident, student started a remarkable movement against the sexual violence in
the country, this movement has forced the Indian government in every aspect to change the laws
regarding gender violence. During the time when this movement was continuing, another British
organization has emerged in the name of Freedom Without Fear Platform, which has refined the
concept of solidarity (Andharia, 2007, p. 1, line. 1-3). On nineteenth of March, a Lok Sabha in
the Parliament of India has debated and passed the law regarding anti rape. It was a long journey
which was full of hurdles, as it was not at all easy to convince with proper prove to show the law
makers to change a particular law, there were opponents, who simply said that westernization is
responsible for rape, coeducational schools are responsible, some even sniggered at female
counterparts and declared stalking is a courtship. The debate was a microcosm of the male
dominated views of those rulers of India (Wright, and Fulton, 2016). The motif of the protest has
been ignored and over looked a lot many times, even at first they blatantly thrown an anti women
bill, but due to mass pressure it had to pass the required laws, but again this came up with the
condition that only boys over 18 years of age will be under the law. The activist named Kavita
Krishnan of the All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), who is centrally
involved in the crusade against the sexual violence stated that the a rapist is a rapist no matter

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what his age. Also there remained many loopholes in the law, as rape within a marriage will not
be considered as rape at all. Also there are women in the society who are forced into the world of
sex worker and they face systematic sexual violence there (Andharia, 2007, p. 1, lines. 4-18).
The condition of women regarding their rights and safety is still a huge question in the society,
which affects not only the society but also the country’s image globally (Krishnan, 2015, p. 257,
lines. 13-17).
Firstly, in terms of the HIV/AIDS, which is a pandemic that is closely related to the
South African globalization in particular, is one the most critical issue for every human being all
over the world, but certainly women and poor people are more prone this disease, simply women
are involved in because of the patriarchy or poverty which throws them in the sex workers world
(Msimang, 2003, p. 109, lines. 1-8). When the fact came up that globalization is one of the prime
basis for such diseases, many groups, such as, Treatment Action Campaign, started fighting
against this issue by making people aware about the disease more and more. On a global level,
females from the North are not found to be engaged with this disease as much as the females of
South, which is almost 22 percent, where every single week funerals of women can be noticed,
which shows that a deafening quietness over HIV/AIDS is present in the global movement of
women (Msimang, 2003, p. 109, lines. 9-12). On one hand globalisation drives towards the
system of economy, dominated by banking institution and supranational trade, increase in cross
border social technological exchange under situations of capitalism; following this, human
bodies moves from one place to another, in the search of educational and economic opportunities
or in order to live a life free from political conflict and violence (Cooper, 2011). Along with such

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factors that human carries they sometimes even carries the viruses which cause AIDS or they get
affected in the place they are going to. This shows that globalization and mobilisation of people
spreads the disease along with sexual work done by the women for survival or by force.
However, TAC who first began their movement by taking in account the cases of pregnant
women regarding this disease in which they demanded proper medication facility, which was a
great success, later they involved all people suffering from HIV/AIDS among them most were
women and the movement naturally turned into a women movement, and mainstream women
participated in it which empowered the movement. The main purpose of this movement was to
diminish AIDS (Msimang, 2003, p. 110, lines. 13-31).
Hence, in both the cases of there are a few things that are in common, for instance, the
women safety is a huge question, in both the conditions of these two different countries women
are suffering from an ill sexual life, in both the cases the women are a victim under the
patriarchal social system, and they struggle with the lack of rights. All these together shows that
women are the prime victims in almost all situations and the central cause is patriarchy.
Altogether from this work it is considered that the condition of women all the societies is a
global matter of concern.

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References:
Andharia, J., & Batliwala, S. (2007). The Dalit Women's Movement in India: Dalit Mahila
Samiti. Association of Women's Rights in Development.
Cooper, M. (2011). Preventing the gendered reproduction of citizenship: the role of social
movements in South Africa. Gender & Development, 19(3), 357-370.
Krishnan, K. (2015). Rape Culture and Sexism in Globalising India. SUR-Int'l J. on Hum
Rts., 22, 255.
Msimang, S. (2003). HIV/AIDS, globalisation and the international women's movement. Gender
& Development, 11(1), 109-113.
Wright-Smith, K., & Fulton, (2016) M. O. Old Frames, New Frames: Constructing Narratives of
Women’s Rights Movements.