Editorial
| Published date | 01 July 2014 |
| Date | 01 July 2014 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/001955612014030vii |
| Subject Matter | Article |
EDITORIAL
Gender equality is an issue
of
primary importance for the welfare
and progress
of
all nations. It is fundamental to achieving people-centred
development. What humanity needs is a world that is free, fair and
equal; a world that will have no discrimination, violence, or exploitation;
a world where opportunity and prosperity are shared by
al1.
So, why is
violence against women and discrimination so widespread all over the
world? It is because discrimination begins in the minds
of
the people,
where gender-bias becomes a habit in thought and action. These have,
over centuries, developed deep-rooted cultural traditions, which regard
women as subservient, the girl-child as a liability, and discrimination as
normal. The root
of
all prejudice is ignorance. Education, greater
awareness, public policy and the media can play an important role in
eradicating such prejudices. Recent work has brought out very clearly
that women's literacy and participation
of
educated women in decision-
making within and outside family strongly influence the relative respect
and regard for women's well-being.
In
every country, whether it is new or long established, whether it is
underdeveloped or highly developed, any programme
of
economic
or
fiscal development,
of
improvement in education, health, labour and social
conditions and of reform and reconstruction in any
of
the women services
can only succeed
if
it
is supported by machinery and method established
under sound principles
of
public administration and adapted to the
circumstances
of
the country concerned.
In our opinion, the national objective
of
integrating women into the
mainstream
of
development at all levels and the constitutional guarantees
given to them require social acceptance
of
the multiple roles
of
women
as home-makers, mothers, and socially and economically productive
individuals. It is, therefore, imperative that society in general and the
state in particular, provide the necessary conditions and support to enable
women to perform their various roles efficaciously. Marriage and
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