Class 12 English Unit 20 Power and Politics

(Note: Consonant clusters are groups of consonants without a vowel between them. Here are the sentences for practice:)

“The oppression of women knows no ethnic or racial boundaries.” Yes, I completely agree with this profound statement.

Women have historically fought to be treated equally for many years and deserve the exact same pay, respect, and rights as men. In many societies worldwide, men receive better treatment, jobs, and better pay than women, which clearly shows systemic discrimination against them. Women continue to bravely fight against this discrimination worldwide. The oppression of women getting denied equality creates a universal form of intolerance. Women not having the rights they inherently deserve can lead to psychological uncertainty and marginalization within oneself.

In global history, women did not have fundamental equality rights, which connects to why many still face sexist discrimination from men today. Despite the tremendous progressive strides made in the struggle for gender equality, women everywhere still face domestic violence, systemic discrimination, and rigid institutional barriers to equal participation in society. Women are treated as less than men because of ingrained gender inequality; this shows how women are not looked upon on the same social status level. It should be equal pay for equal work, but unfortunately, women are often valued less than men in the workplace.

Furthermore, many countries do not give women the basic right to education because they rigidly believe women should not be educated or independent. Many poor women cannot afford to pay for education, effectively limiting them from receiving it. Many times it is not an option because conservative governments physically or legally prevent women from achieving their goal of education. Thus, due to all these compounding global issues, women have been suffering a lot. Their oppression knows no ethnic, cultural, and racial boundaries, and they have been the mutual victims of patriarchy for ages.

It is crucially important to question our own beliefs and values because it builds strong character, intellectual honesty, compassion, social acceptance, and moral strength. People usually tend to defensively avoid questioning their own core beliefs because they incorrectly assume that it will diminish or weaken their beliefs. If we think this way, it’s often because we already subconsciously doubt the veracity of our claims, and we are being intellectually dishonest with ourselves.

Questioning our beliefs through strict objectivity and observing them as a third party/person helps us to gauge not only if our beliefs are fundamentally true, but also what the logical, real-world consequences of our ideas are (both positive and negative). As soon as we question another person’s beliefs on a sensitive topic, we should equally evaluate our own internal biases. If we discover through introspection that we are wrong, this fosters deep acceptance and growth. If we discover we are wrong, successfully modify our beliefs, and boldly admit our error, this fosters incredible strength. Thus, it’s highly important to continuously question our beliefs and values rather than accepting them blindly from society or tradition.

(Here is a journalistic article on women’s status, written by Samiksha:)

The Status of Women in Nepali Society

Kathmandu: Nepal is a country of great geographic, cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity. However, across this vast diversity, the majority of communities in Nepal remain strictly patriarchal. A woman’s life is traditionally and heavily influenced by her father, husband, and eventually her son. Such ingrained patriarchal practices are further reinforced by the bureaucratic legal system. The actual status of women is determined by this patriarchal social system, outdated values, and whether women’s rights are actively preserved and protected by the state through targeted development policies.

Women’s relative social status, however, has varied significantly from one ethnic group to another. The daily economic contribution of women is incredibly substantial, but largely goes completely unnoticed because their traditional, laborious role is taken for granted as unpaid domestic duty.

The health status of Nepal’s rural people is one of the lowest in the South Asian region, and this is particularly tragic for females. Approximately one-fifth of women get married in the very early age bracket of 15-19. As a direct result of their premature pregnancy and lack of medical infrastructure, the mortality rates of young women have been occurring at a very high, alarming level.

National statistics consistently show that the women’s literacy rate hovers around 30 percent, while it is 66 percent for males. The enrollment of women in higher education is barely 24.95 percent. Women’s involvement in technical and vocational education is also drastically lower than men’s. This is directly due to the regressive social norms and culture that we still follow. As in many rural areas, young girls are erroneously considered as “paraya dhan” (others’ property meant to be married off) and they consequently don’t get the crucial opportunity to receive a proper education.

Furthermore, a large part of women’s physical work is not considered an “economic activity” in national metrics. As a result, only 45.2 per cent of women as compared to 68.2 per cent of men are officially classified as economically active. There are very few women working in high-level professional work or politics in Nepal. They may study the law or administration, but few are able to break the glass ceiling to enter the profession successfully without facing heavy prejudice.

(Note: English adjectives follow a specific order: Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin, Material, Purpose.)