Human of Rights
Guaranteed by the Constitution and being inalienable since the birth of an individual, human rights still remain on the global agenda (Hessler 2). The concept of a Human of Rights introduced by Foucault in 1950s, and also referred to as humanity is traditionally defined as a “floating signifier” (Douzinas 4) and is related directly to the idea of human rights.
The specified definition of the concept, however, is rather loose, as the notion embraces the issues such as the provision of human rights, the basic principles of equality, etc. (Douzinas 5).
Gender and Human Rights
Connecting the subject matter to gender, one must admit that the concept of the human of rights cannot be applied to women in its entirety yet (Davidson 58). Due to the bigoted laws and the prejudices that persist in the society despite numerous awareness campaigns, women’s rights are infringed on a regular basis due to imperfect laws and the biased regulations.
The lack of equality can be observed even in the countries that have progressed significantly in terms of promotion of human rights to all denizens of the population (Cook 39).
Defined Right
More importantly, the challenges, which women are forced to fight because of the flaws of the current legal system, are predetermined by social prejudices to a considerable extent. Researches show that the “politics surrounding women’s human rights” (Steans 75) are, in fact, enhanced by the stereotype of women as housewives (Cook 20) and result in women being labeled as unauthorized for “bodily autonomy and control over sexuality and reproductive choice specifically” (Steans 75).
At this point, the issue of a defined right deserves to be mentioned. It is assumed that a right becomes defined once the corresponding law is issued, and the required changes are made to the legislation so that the current regulations should promote freedoms to all citizens and that a specific stratum of the population should be provided with equal opportunities. The integration of a defined right into the framework of a particular society, however, is likely to take a significant amount of time.
Defined Right and Culture
The problem in question can be spotted in gender relations easily. Although it is guaranteed constitutionally that women are entitled to the same set of rights that men are, the latter still enjoy more privileges, especially when the lack of equity between men and women is predetermined by the predominant philosophical principles of the society or its religious postulates.
Particularly, in some states, women are completely deprived of their basic human rights, which clearly is an issue of major concern. The life of Muslim women is a graphic example of the phenomenon in question; although Muslim women are supposed to have the same rights as men do, “In the name of Islam, women are subjected to cruel and horrible practices” (Ali 2).
Even though the basic principles of equity were established quite a while on a global level, women still experience much more social pressure and injustice based on prejudice than men. Hence, the gender issue is yet to be resolved in the contemporary society. To be more exact, women have to be provided with their rights to be equal; these rights concern not only the political choices, such as the right to vote but also the need to be accepted in the society as an equal member thereof.
Works Cited
Ali, Ayaan Hirshi. The Caged Virgin. London, UK: CBS Company, 2006. Print.
Cook, Rebecca J. Human Rights of Women: National and International Perspectives. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. Print.
Davidson, Judy. “Sporting Homonationalisms: Sexual Exceptionalism, Queer Privilege, and the 21st Century International Lesbian and Gay Sport Movement.” Sociology of Sport Journal 30.1(2013): 57-83. Print.
Douzinas, Costas. “The Many Faces of Humanitarianism.” Parrhesia 2.1 (2007): 1–28. Print.
Hessler, Kristen 2010, Political Legitimacy and Women’s Human Rights. Web.
Steans, Jill. “Body Politics: Gender, Sexuality and Rights.” Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction into International Relations. Ed. Laura J. Sheperd. New York City, New York: Routledge, 2010. 74–84. Print.