Women’s Rights Still an Issue Today
Women do not have the same rights as men. We have come so far, but we just are not fully equal. Whether it is in the workplace, at home or in a social setting, men and women never have the same treatment. Women are paid less than men, do not have the same political representation and are more at risk of domestic violence and rape. Women’s rights are very important to me because as a woman I experience these injustices and things need to change as soon as possible. It is mind boggling that the world has advanced dramatically in technology, education, and much more but today women are still getting paid less, experiencing harassment and rape, and are not included in the constitution. There is no equal playing field for men and women.
The first article is “And still we rise: the global struggle for women’s rights” by Tamara Gausi from the Equal Times News Desk website. The author, Tamara Gausi is co-editor of Equal Times and has written for Time Out London and has been contributing editor for Time Out Lagos and editor-in-chief of The Bulletin (Brussels). The rhetorical situation is that the author wants to let everyone know what is really going on with women’s rights. She wants to share the truth and have everyone understand that women are still not equal to men in today’s day and age after so much has been discovered and we have advanced in every way possible: [“Humans have mastered flight, walked on the moon and created the internet but women still can’t be trusted to make autonomous decisions about their own bodies, be guaranteed freedom from violence or harassment or get paid the same amount as men for doing the same damn work.” (Gausi, Paragraph 1). The audience is the world. Women in the United States and all over the world are being discriminated against just for being women and everyone needs to know about this. Gausi writes about many situations where women were attacked or hurt for trying to stand up against discrimination so they could change their women’s lives.
The purpose of this article is to raise awareness of the injustices between men and women and expose the cruel things that are occurring. She wants to bring people’s attention to the frightening but very real things that women face because of inequality and how it’s being mostly disregarded. Gausi includes articles throughout that go more into depth about specific events and situations around the world. “Yousafzai was shot and almost killed by the Taliban, simply for going to school and encouraging other girls to do the same; Franco was executed by still-unidentified gunmen on her way home from an empowerment event for young black women”. (Gausi, Paragraph 3). Guasi’s tone is very serious, urgent and direct, she wants something to be done as soon as possible and needs everyone to know this is real and its affecting people negatively. Gausi’s stance is that she’s an advocate for changing all the negative and unjust things happening to women. She wants equality for everyone all over the world, and she provides all the information she can to create change. The medium is a journal on a website. She’s providing information on this topic along with factual information and research she has done from other articles and journals. The genre is a journal, Gausi writes about the injustices for women and shares real life examples and experiences. The language Gausi uses are metaphors and imagery to have the audience get into the shoes of the women that are suffering because of this inequality. The author is credible because she is a writer that has written various articles on women’s rights and has gathered a substantial amount of information from other articles and events that circulate around women’s rights.
The second article is “18 Ways Women Still Aren’t Equal to Men” by Megan Friedman, Jenny Hollander, and Ineye Komonibo from Marie Claire magazine. The authors are all women that work for this Marie Claire magazine. The rhetorical situation is that men are always treated differently from women, no matter how big or small the differences are, there are differences that shouldn’t exist. The audience is anyone who wants to know the differences between men and women in the present day. The purpose of this article is to share the inequalities between men and women when they should be equal in every way shape and form and provide a better understanding of what feminism is: [“Somehow, “feminism” remains a controversial word, even though the definition of feminism is impossible to argue with—an effort to make sure every woman and every individual has rights equal to that of a cis white man, no matter their race, religion, gender identification, sexual preference, or anything else.”(Paragraph 1)
The authors tones are serious, empowering, sympathetic and formal. They empower the audience to fight for women’s rights and advocate for feminism because feminism represents equality for both men and women:[“Feminism is the hard work that both men and women have to do to level the playing field.” (Paragraph 3). The language used by the authors are metaphors and, symbolism. They use this to have the audience understand the seriousness and injustice there is between men and women. The genre is a journal because these women are listing their thoughts and findings about how men and women are different. The medium is an online magazine, where there are many other articles about women, and women’s rights. Their stance is that they are advocates and want to see something be done so women can be equal and free like men.
The third article is “What do men get that women don’t? Here are a few things” by Alia E. Dastagir. The author is a woman who writes many different articles for USA today. The rhetorical situation is the injustices and struggles women face over and over again just for being women, and someone needs to inform others of this so something can change. The rhetorical situation is to create change and educate people on women’s rights. Dastagir is providing people with information so they can make a change and act accordingly. The audience is everybody. Being that this is a newspaper article online everyone can see it and search for it. It is public for everyone to see and be informed and make a difference. The purpose is to like the other articles: inform people and make sure they know what is happening so there can be a change. There are things that shouldn’t even have to be addressed because they should not be happening at all. Women should have control over their bodies, and women should have the right to healthcare regardless of their situation: [ “The women asked for affordable childcare, equal pay for equal work and that the federal government fund abortions for women who could not afford the procedure. They stressed the importance of national healthcare. They called for an end to discriminatory rape laws. They demanded the nation stop deporting immigrant mothers of American-born children.” (Paragraph 3). Dastagir’s tone is serious, empowering, honest, straightforward and formal. She is empowering not only women but, anyone who wants to make a difference for women. By writing this article she is sharing the struggles of women that people need to start supporting and changing. She is bringing down all the facts and is serious about the topic.
The author uses language such as metaphors and imagery to create an image in the readers mind of everything she is writes about and to make her message powerful to compel the reader. The medium is a web article. It’s an article published online for everyone to access. The genre is persuasive writing the author wants the audience to see things from her viewpoint and understand where her points. Dastagir’s stance is she’s an advocate and she want to make a difference regardless of anything. She supports women and, is providing the correct information for people to act and do something.
The fourth article is “Demanding Women” by Laura Flanders. The author is a woman who is an English broadcast journalist that works for The Nation and Yes magazine. The rhetorical situation is providing people with information that they need and information that is usually hidden from the public and people are usually uneducated when it comes to women’s rights and discrimination based on gender. The audience is again, everyone. This article is meant for everybody to read and notify every one of the unacceptable things that are happening to women. Because we are women these things are done to us, just because we are seen as less than men when there is no real difference between us. The purpose is again to spread awareness, influence people and air out the truth that is hidden. The authors tone is serious, honest, demanding, passionate and empowering. She is providing all of the information she can so there can be a revolution in women’s rights. Women just want to be comfortable everywhere they go, want to have proper healthcare and childcare but unfortunately the government seems to not see the importance in any of this. The language she uses is imagery, and metaphors to accentuate the importance of change and the circumstances that exist. The genre is expository writing, she is exposing a lot of valuable information that needs to be shared to advise people of this discrimination. The medium is a newspaper article that is shared online for easy access. Flanders stance is being an advocate for a difference and dramatic change in discrimination based on sex. She wrote this so people can wake up and fight for what is right.
All my articles come together and support that there needs to be a positive change in women’s rights. The use of rhetoric is very compelling in each article because the authors are credible, provide factual information that support what they are writing, and the language used clearly conveys that. They are all credible being that they are women, and many close have experiences with women’s rights and the inequalities women face. They also have done research and have gotten information from other reliable sources for their articles. Discrimination based on sex needs to end and what these articles are doing is spreading awareness and, advocating for the end of this inequality.
Work Cited
News Paper;
DASTAGIR ALIA D. “What do men get that women don’t? Here are a few things.” USA TODAY. Web. March 23, 2017.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/01/2017-womens-history-month/98247518/
Magazine;
FRIEDMAN MEGAN, HOLLANDER JENNY, KOMONIBO MEGAN. “18 Ways Women Still Aren’t Equal to Men” Marie Claire. Web. August 9, 2019.
https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/news/a15652/gender-inequality-stats/
Scholarly Article;
LAURA FLANDERS, “Demanding Women” The Nation. Web. February 18, 2013.
Website;
TAMARA GAUSI, “And still we rise: the global struggle for women’s rights.” EQUAL TIMES. Web. September 8, 2018.
https://www.equaltimes.org/and-still-we-rise-the-global#.Xkdfci3Myu7
