Why women's health is fundamental for equality

Improving women’s health is fundamental in reaching the eventual goal of equality. Without proper access to health care that deals directly with the issues pertaining to health problems related to females, women can be severely and unfairly disadvantaged within society, hindering them from
overcoming further hurdles to the path of reaching gender equity. Education is an essential tool in bringing about this valuable change and improvement to women’s health globally.

For developing nations, in many countries, due to lower levels of access to health care services, maternal health, and disease can be large problems that pose an ongoing threat to women. However, these nations can benefit greatly from investing in education.

In reducing fertility rates, education for girls has been an important part in increasing female participation in school and thus decreasing birth rates. In particular, engagement in secondary and further study for women in Mali leads to an average fertility rate of 3 as compared to those without
access to education, with an average fertility rate of 7. This discrepancy highlights the great potential for education to be used as a manner in which we can aim to reduce fertility rates. This reduction is important as young women of high school or middle school age account for 1 in 7 deaths due to childbirth. Also, adolescents who give birth are up to 5 times more likely to suffer complications as a result. Thus, limiting the amount of potential births and delaying them is key in improving women’s health.

Additionally, higher levels of education for women directly correlate to a delay and spacing out of pregnancies as well as a seeking out of health care and support. This means that increasing access to education directly improves maternal health. In Burkina Faso, compared to those who have not had an education, mothers who have completed secondary school are two times as likely to give birth in health facilities, and so give birth in a safer environment. In all, around 2 maternal deaths are avoided in every 1000 women with one additional year of education.

In terms of the prevalence of HIV/aids in women, education can assist in increasing access to treatment, combating stigma and limiting discrimination. Women with post-primary education are 5 times as likely to be educated on the topic of HIV/aids, with HIV having the capability to spread twice as fast amongst girls without an education in Zambia, showing that education is the best way we can reduce the impact of health problems for women.

With generally greater access to health facilities and contraception, and more widespread knowledge about family planning and pharmaceutical services, in developed nations, the most pressing matters for women’s health can be quite different. Mental health issues, such as eating disorders, and depression have been increasing in prevalence over the years, especially amongst girls of primary and secondary schooling age. This provides a massive obstacle for change, as without an empowered, engaged and able collective of young women pioneers for gender equality, a truly just society will be difficult to attain. However, within the context of developed nations as well, education focused around women’s health can provide an important platform to facilitate assistance, raise awareness and transfer information. Undeniably, knowledge of these health problems and de-stigmatisation of such mental illnesses can have a tangible impact, allowing those who suffer from them to identify more easily if they should seek help.

Education, ultimately increases opportunities for women to access pathways to attain health care. It is a key component of working towards gender equality, that assists in reducing the barriers that limit female participation within society.

** Much of the information regarding the impact education can have in developing nations for women can be found in more detail at this link: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001902/190214e.pdf

Equality - Difference - Unity

The issue of gender inequality undoubtedly is a huge and complex one. Therefore, a solution, on a large scale, is equally as complicated. In light of this, two key ideals have emerged and have been proposed as the best methods of female empowerment. This has culminated in a common debate amongst feminist theorists. That is, the debate between equality and difference.

The notion of equality involves women aiming to conform to typically masculine economic, social and political structures, therefore adopting them as their own and gaining equal power to men within them. On the other hand, embracing difference involves women accepting and celebrating their fundamental differences to men and being granted choice in decisions relating to their individual preference for compliance or defiance within patriarchal structures.

Equality is often criticised for its implied acceptance of the rational tendencies of male practices as being superior to the perceived irrational tendencies of women. By simply wishing to immerse themselves in structures that have been established by and for men, it can be argued that the female fight for “equality” with men elevates and promotes the masculine role as being superior within society. Simultaneously, the desire to disassociate from traditionally feminine practises implicitly denounces their value, necessity and importance within society.

Likewise, the acceptance of essential differences between men and women is also often criticised for a number of reasons. It is often said that the “free choice” that this method of empowerment claims to offer is not in fact necessarily free. This is because every decision that is made is always influenced by the social structures that surround everyone within a community. Given that modern society is patriarchal, these decisions will almost definitely be tainted, either consciously or subconsciously, by ideas of male superiority.

Thus it can be seen that both of the fundamental driving solutions within circles dedicated to battling gender inequality seem inherently flawed. So, can we ever reach gender equality? Will it ever be possible with the current structures of our global society?

These are both difficult questions, because whilst we should always remain optimistic, looking forward to our goal of reaching total gender equality, the path ahead seems increasingly tough. However, I think the key idea to take away from all this is that reaching gender equality is an uphill battle that will require the desire to change from all members of society.

It will require the recognition of structural power that some hold, and the subsequent relinquishment of that power because inequalities always stem from an imbalance of opportunity and influence. That is why campaigns such as #heforshe [1] become so important. They allow us to discuss openly the need for the entire international community to be supportive of gender equality in order to move forward and make improvements. So for me, the only real solution here is unity. This involves all members of our society looking within themselves to find how they unintentionally contribute to gender inequality, and cultivating a desire to not only change as individuals, but instigate a change within society.

[1] http://www.heforshe.org/en