Importance of empowering women in society
Discuss about the Reflections On Work In The Criminological Field.
The women play the most important role in the society. Right from the beginning of a person’s life, the roles played by women shapes the life of not just the person but also the society as a whole. The immense contributions of the women are not reciprocated positively. The women are subjected to suppression and are denied the opportunities to become self-dependent. The women also face the worst abuse and domestic violence at the homes, the rape cases registered against the women whose age range from infants till the elderly women, reveals the fact that women are not safe anywhere, not even in the homes. The women are also abused in the workplaces. Despite the progress made by women in the last century, a lot needs to be done in order to fully realize the potential of the other half of the potential. The report analyzes the work done by the Southall Black Sisters Organization and the contribution they make in improving the lives of the women in Southall. The population of Southall being diverse with many Asian and Black communities residing in it, it becomes important for the staffs of Southall Black Sisters Organization to be aware as social citizens about the cultural norms of the different cultures.
The Black Sisters of Southall or SBS as they are commonly referred to is an organization which is made up of the group of black and minority women who have the backing of vast experience in dealing with the issues of women’s rights and human rights issues in the United Kingdom. The Organization even though based in Southall has a presence all over the United Kingdom. The Southall Black Sisters was established with a non-profit motive and upholds the ideals of secularism and inclusive development within the organization as well as outside, as its core principles. The Southall Black Sisters was established in 1979 and its focus was on addressing the problems faced by the Black women who hailed from Africa and Asia (Dominic 2014). The main issues, which are addressed by the organization, are highlighting the challenges faced by women and empowering the women to exercise control over their own lives and not being subjected to male domination. The children who are victims of violence at home and face discrimination and abuse are also assisted by the organization (Williams 2014). The organization has been serving the people for more than three decades and has done pioneering work in cases dealing with domestic violence against women. The organization has also campaigned for spreading awareness regarding the need to make women and children live a dignified life and avoid being victimized in violent relationships. The organization also has an advocacy and resource centre which is located in West London and serves the women, who are suffering from domestic abuse and inequality, by giving them advice and suggestions to overcome their ordeals. The advocacy centre offers advice in many community languages, which also includes the South Asian languages. The organization helps and assists any woman who needs help; irrespective of the fact as to whichever community, the woman may belong to (Sisters 2018). Even if the organization focuses on improving the lives of the Black women and the women belonging from the minority communities in Southall, still it does not discriminate against any woman who needs help and assistance.
Overview of Southall Black Sisters Organization
The role offered to me was that of a counselor. Being a fresh graduate in Social Work, the organization was best suited for me to understand the issues faced by women coming from diverse social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and how they are victimized by the social inequalities, which are present in the society due to the ill effects of the patriarchal norms (Colón 2015). The women are subjected to the worst possible forms of abuse and violence and it is observed that not only does the woman suffer in her ordeal, but the children are also victimized as they are already in a very vulnerable position due to their age and innocence. The impact of violence and abuse on the women as well as the children is immense (Klasen 2017). The job as well the role taught me about the laws and rights which every citizen is entitled to. Being a fresher, the job was a learning avenue for gaining information about the various laws and rights, which are guaranteed to every woman in the world. The United Nations’ Charter has explicitly mentioned in the Article 1 that the United Nations strives to work for the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedom of all the human beings irrespective of the sex, language, race or religion (Bajaj,Cislaghi and Mackie 2016). The Article 13 of the charter also strives to prohibit discrimination based on sex and to uphold the universal human rights at all times (Watson 2014). The decade of 1975-1985 was designated as the United Nations Decade for Women. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio during 1992 was also ratified by the leaders of all the participating nations and the leaders agreed to renew the political and social commitment towards a more sustainable and equal development of all the human beings irrespective of gender, race or religion (Women 2015). The International Monetary Fund also aspires to develop and promote the inclusion of women in the work force of an economy. The International Monetary Fund’s Chief Christine Lagarde stated that women’s participation increases the production of an economy and promoting equality in the workforce leads to the realization of the true potential of an economy (To Boost Growth: Employ More Women 2018). The participation of women also accelerates the growth of an economy and makes the economy grow faster compared to that growth wherein the women are excluded from working in the workforce (Callahan 2016). Being assigned as a counselor made me aware about the different problems faced by women who came from different ethnic and social backgrounds. Southall being a city, which has a diverse population, the majority of people in Southall, trace their originality to the Asian countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh (Rachida 2015). The problems faced by the women from these backgrounds made me realize about the issues of patriarchy, dowry and importance given to marriage and family. Family plays an important role in the lives of these women and marriage is considered a sacred institution even if relationship with the husband is not in the ideal of situation. The importance attached to the sanctity of marriage and family is immense in these women (Aune 2015). The job also required to have a profound understanding of the different laws, which safeguards the rights and freedom of women and children as well as having a calming nature because the job’s main requirement was to provide support and assistance to the women who were afflicted by trauma and discrimination.
Focus on addressing minorities and victims of domestic violence
The Organization being active and vocal about the rights of the women faces a number of challenges from groups, communities and individuals who are opposed to the ideal of women emancipation and freedom of women. There is vested interest working against the principle of providing equal opportunities for women because men occupy the top positions of majority of the organizations. The representation of women in the top level managerial position is minimal therefore it becomes problematic to raise awareness about the importance of providing equal opportunities for women in the workplace. The Population of Southall, comprising mostly of Asian families follows the patriarchal family setup. Raising voices against the elders who generally are the males in the family, becomes a very difficult situation for the women in the households (Alliance 2014). The women also are denied rights to pursue higher studies and opt for a lucrative career where the growth opportunities are immense. The women are married off at an early age and dowry plays an important part in the marriages. The inability to pay dowry often leads to the violence and discrimination against the women. The Black women are also discriminated against and denied rights because of certain factors ranging from race and color (Grayson 2017). The organization therefore faces the challenge of infuriating the established order and going against the status quo. Sometimes, it is observed that the governments of certain countries are also encouraging the fringe elements to target the minority communities and create disharmony in the society (Durand & Zeitlin 2015). Raising voices against such government’s action results in the political ramification for the organization. The violence against women in the Southeast Asian countries have been highlighted and protested by the Southall Black Sisters organization. Therefore, the organization faces obstruction and protest by the members of the political parties of the concerned countries. This results in a number of unfavorable political fallouts such as the disallowing of funds and prohibition from holding seminars and helping the victims. The political issues are also crucial as the organization supports the inclusive development of all the members of the society irrespective of the class, gender and ethnicity of the members of the society and discrimination against the softer sections of the society are against the very principles of the organization. The highlighting of the atrocities committed by the members of the political parties results in the organization getting unfavorable responses from the political parties, which often leads to the stopping of funds and violence against the activists and members of the organization. The government also makes certain cuts in the funding of the organization, which results in the constraints in the budget. The organization in all its potential aims to serve the people, especially the women and the children in getting the respect and freedom, which they deserve, and for these activities, the organization needs finance and money. Any cuts in the allocation of money can result in serious complication for the organization. The organization actively raises its concerns over the rising number of rape cases and violence against women, which occur not just in Southall but all over the world. Women are denied the basic rights of education and women in Asia and Africa are not able to access safe drinking water, are denied access to education and employment, denied the right to choose their partner and are married off at an early age (Rousso 2015). The organization fights for the women’s rights causes in these countries by organizing campaigns and publishing reports. The campaigns play an important part in making the issue of discrimination against the women gain public attention (Wakefield 2017). The campaigns highlight the circumstances and occurrence of a single issue of highlights the larger issues of public interest with emphasis on justice and promoting equality.
Advocacy and resource centre catering to diverse communities
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it is clear that the Black Sisters of Southall performs an important role of making the women aware about the rights and privileges, which they are entitled to. The job was made easier for me because the other staffs in the organization were women and was coming from different social and ethnic backgrounds. The knowledge gained from their interactive sessions was immense. Women centric issues had always been my concern, I always aspired towards helping the cause of women emancipation, and equal rights of all the women, therefore there was no difficulty in adjusting to the work environment of the new job. The profound influence of the other experienced staffs of the organization motivated me to help and assist the victims of domestic violence to the best of my potential. I was able to understand the different types of problems, which were faced by women across different social backgrounds and ethnicity. The level of intellectual information which are required for the employees to possess also plays an important role in the ability to perform in this organization because the responsibilities and duties of a women activist are immense. The victims look up to us for assistance, therefore we have to be aware of all the laws and legislations, which are passed in the favor of women.
References
Alliance, U.K.N.G.O.C.S.W., 2014. UK Women: Rights & Progress.
Aune, K., 2015. Representations of Religion on the British Feminist Webzine The F Word. Religion and Gender, 5(2), pp.165-187.
Bajaj, M., Cislaghi, B. and Mackie, G., 2016. Advancing transformative human rights education. Brown G, editor. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the 21st Century. Cambridge: OPB.
Callahan, J.L., 2016. Women in a” combat, masculine-warrior” culture: The performance of emotion work. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 1(2).
Colón, Y., 2015. Pain Advocacy: A Social Work Perspective.
Dominic, L., 2014. Grants Committee. Agenda, 11, p.00.
Durand, R. and Zeitlin, M., 2016. Women Against Fundamentalism: Stories of Dissent and Solidarity. Feminist Dissent, (1), pp.132-135.
Grayson, D., 2017. A Generation Without Hate.
IMF Blog. 2018. To Boost Growth: Employ More Women. [online] Available at: https://blogs.imf.org/2016/09/14/to-boost-growth-employ-more-women/ [Accessed 15 May 2018].
Klasen, S., 2017. Gender, institutions, and economic development. Mimeo, University of Göttingen.
Rachida, P.Y., 2016. Ethnicity Differences in Britain: Integrated Indians and Segregated Pakistanis (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oran).
Rousso, H., 2015. Education for All: a gender and disability perspective.
Sisters, S. 2018. About us | Southall Black Sisters. Retrieved from https://www.southallblacksisters.org.uk/about/about-us
Wakefield, S., 2017. Transformative and Feminist Leadership for Women’s Rights.
Watson, E., 2014. Gender equality is your issue too. Speech by UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson at a Special Event for the HeForShe Campaign, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 20.
Women, U. N. 2015. Ending violence against women. Focusing on Prevention to Stop the Violence: https://www. unwomen. org/en/what-we-do/ending-violenceagainstwomen/prevention.
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