Rights women have in theory but not in practice.

[Beachcomber]

Have been meaning to start a thread for a while on a subject that came up during a discussion about the need for feminism.

I find often feminists are challenged by people who say that (in the West at least) women have equal rights. Generally the vote and equal pay are cited as examples. Recently I was asked to provide a list of rights that men have that women don't, in order to back up the notion that women are oppressed by patriarchy.

This lead me to think about all the rights that women have in theory/law but do not actually have in practice - I thought it might make for an interesting thread.

So for example;

Women have the right to equal pay, but we know there is a gender pay gap.

Women have the right not to be raped by their husbands but we know that marital rape happens (and is rarely reported).

the right not to be raped full stop, and to justice if you are.

and when rape is tried, to not have your sexual history raked over in court.

until you come down heavily on those who infringe women's rights they'll never be taken seriously.

fines for companies who are found to pay men and women unequally, better prosecution of sexual assaults, more serious approach to sexual harassment and misogynistic language in the media/workplace/politics etc.

the right to affordable, accessible childcare that reflects the timings of the working world. so many rights are undermined by the non-existence of that.

no point having a right to equal pay if you can access the employment market or a proper full time job because your school has 20 after school club places for a population of 350 kids.

can't access

Good point about the free speech thing.

The right to not be trafficked and prostituted.

The right to be treated with the same respect as a man. ATM, if you voice your opinions strongly, you are aggressive, while a man is assertive. If you cry, you are emotional while a man who shouts is simply expressing himself. If you are diffident, you are ineffecitve and weak, while a man is modest and profound.

Totally agree about the right for affordable,accessible childcare.
But surely men should have this option too.
It should be for parents.
We know 2 single parent Fathers who struggle with after school childcare and other things like school plays and sports day etc.

The right to not get sacked when you get pregnant- 30,000 women a year would disagree

The right to decide how many children we have

The right to an education if we have children

The right to choose where and how we give birth

The right to not get sexually harassed at work

The right to dress how we want to without being negatively judged

Full parental rights over our children

Freedom of movement, eg streets at night

"Full parental rights over our children"

Which ones don't you have? Genuine question.

I'm right there with herbeatitude

May I also add (though it's a little off topic) how much I hate bitch, cunt, cow, whore etc as they are so gender specific and there is little that is truly equivalent for a man.

darleneconner sorry but I don't understand how we don't have the right to decide how many children we have.

Under English law the rights are pretty fair although women cannot inherit the throne if a man is ahead of them(nor Catholics for that matter) nor fight on the frnot line in quite the same way as men. It's what happens outside the law that matters. Even woman who oh just so cincidence entirely by chance certainly not sexist... as they say but of course it is - lays down her life/career for her family and husband... that's not fair. It shoudl be as likely the man will work flexitime as the woman (nor is it fair ins ome marriages that women get that option and men don't and all feminists fight for male and female rights too or ought to).

But I do think women need do to more. The second you see sexism in a relationship do something about it. You're pregnant - great. Ask him what childcare he will be arranging and how he will manage to get home in time to let the nanny go or collect from nursery etc etc.

The right for women and female children to go about their business without being casually sexually harrassed, casually sexually assaulted, flashed at, followed, wanked at and all the rest of it. The stuff that most women see as the normal background to their lives and would never dream of reporting.

Agree with all of these.

Also the right to go about our business without the constant background fear of all the nasty behaviours ISNT cites.

Plus the fear for our daughters.

I would like the right to walk down the street naked or wearing a see-through ballgown or whatever else, without being whistled or shouted at, let alone worse. In theory I have that right (although I might get arrested for the exposure thing...). In practice I don't have the right to walk down the street even wearing a coat, hat, scarf, trousers etc, without being whistled, shouted at etc.

Drives me mad.

Also the right to be believed when I report that someone has attacked me, unless there is evidence to prove that I am lying. And I mean evidence, like CCTV that says I was elsewhere.

The right to protest about porn becoming part of our day to day lives without being told I am wrong, deluded, or just plain weird.

The right to be paid the same as a man for the same job

The right to grow old gracefully without resorting to mutilation or humiliation