Table of Contents
Introduction
In this research paper, the main aim was to investigate sexism. By definition, sexism is giving preferential treatment to a specific gender. Specifically, GCC countries are limiting the opportunities of women to a great extent. The social issue, sexism is interesting because it is quite common in our daily lives as men have more freedom than women. People strongly believe that sexism should come to an end, as it affects the rights of one gender. Sexism goes all the way back to the beginning where women were treated like objects and were not allowed to express their opinions. There is less sexism than there was before but there are still sexist laws that exist today. For example, North American women until now earn one third less salary on average.
Before starting this research it was clear there were many sexist laws out there but the specifics were unclear. The aim was to existing sexist GCC laws. In addition, the internet, books and a survey was helpful in terms of collecting information. It was found that this issue barely affects the people in Bahrain, as Bahrain has laws which are equally fair to both genders compared to other GCC countries.
Primary Research
While conducting the survey, the main focus was on students and teachers as it is a school project. Therefore it was urgent to see how the staff and the students of IKNS feel about sexism. Upon conducting the survey many logistics were gained which helped a lot in terms of understanding the research topic. Equally important, 87 percent of the respondents think that men and women should be treated equally.
Furthermore, 50 percent of the respondents have suffered from sexism and all of them were women. In fact, 75 percent of the respondents claim that sexism mainly happens to women. This straightforwardly connects to the research question’s focus, as it shows that sexism mainly occurs to women.
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25 percent of the respondents think that hiring people of a certain gender for a specific job should be allowed. Some of the responses were surprising, only 87 percent of the responses think that men and women should be treated equally. Personally, it was expected to be agreed on by all the respondents.
Secondary Research
While conducting the research the demographics were aimed mostly on websites and books as the internet and books have a reliable answer. Emma Haughton’s book about sexism had exceptionally useful information that answered the research question. This book includes all the types of sexism present in the world, for example, sexism in sports, workplace, etc. This book proves to have a closer look into the lives of victims of sexism. Haughton had conducted an adequate study to gather this information. To this very day, sexist laws and stereotypical portrayals of women still exist in GCC countries.
Speaking of GCC countries, these are a list of them, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman (Britannica, 2019). For instance, in the United Arab Emirates, women are unable to work in bars and at any job that involves handling a variety of chemical substances (Werft, 2017). Today, Kuwaiti women still do not have a state in who administers them, they must have a male guardian to make the decisions for them (Haughton,1997). In reference to other GCC countries, Bahraini women are obliged to seek permission from their husbands to get a divorce. (Friedmann, 2018).
According to Haughton, the most common stereotypes that are heard regularly are about women, that is to say, their place is at home (Haughton,1997). The fact that there are many existing sexist laws was surprising. Haughton portrayed sexism in a way that shows it is indeed a serious issue. Being an activist, we are able to trust what she said is true, because she has lots of experience as she is a victim of sexism herself.
Solutions
One of the best solutions to sexism is to cancel all these laws and to defend any sexist remarks made by anyone. With that said, all sexist stereotypes must be abolished, through education, stating facts, and perspective-taking. Women should be independent without relying on someone’s consent to do anything. People should have faith in women and accept both genders. Women deserve more rights in terms of passports and financial. Giving women more fair rights will allow the world to be a better place. “As a society, we can stop sexism by protesting to have equal pay for both genders” (Garcia, 2018). For this reason, it will also allow women to receive more opportunities in the workplace, traveling, bank accounts and in their everyday lives.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, GCC countries are limiting the opportunities of women to a great extent. Many disagree with the fact that women and men should be treated equally. This was seen by the high percentage of the respondents that answered the survey. This research can be used as an example of protests or petitions against these sexist laws. Feminists can go abroad and research every sexist law that exists all over the world and not only in the GCC countries. From a personal perspective, this research made me realize the hardships women faces are due to sexism and are forbidden from doing many things without a man’s consent. To conclude, sexism must come to an end in order to create better policies, fair treatment, and equal opportunities for both genders.
Works Cited
- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Gulf Cooperation Council.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Gulf-Cooperation-Council.
- Friedmann, Sarah. “13 Shocking Sexist Laws That Exist In 2018 (If You Can Believe It).” Bustle, Bustle, 17 Dec. 2018, www.bustle.com/p/13-shocking-sexist-laws-that-exist-in-2018-if-you-can-believe-it-7985945.
- Garcia, Amara. “Solutions to Sexism.” Prezi.com, 9 May 2018, https://prezi.com/vips8nhtrqqv/solutions-to-sexism/ .
- Haughton, Emma. Viewpoints equality of the sexes?. Franklin Watts, 1997, 32.
- Werft, Meghan. “These 7 Sexist Laws Prevent Women From ‘Dangerous’ Jobs.” Global Citizen, Global Citizen, 3 Apr. 2017, www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/7-sexist-laws-prevent-women-dangerousjobs/.
