Why We Still Need Feminism

Why We Need Feminism

Information and statistics gathered from Shawn Meghan Burn's text on Women Across Cultures (2004) and The Penguin Atlas of Women in The World (2008) by Joni Seager

photo found here

1) Only 15% of the world's lawmakers are women.

2) Kuwaiti women are not even able to vote, let alone run for office.

3) In many countries, baby girls are killed based on the culture's preference for sons (this includes femicide and sex-selective abortions)

4) 100 million girls are "missing" world-wide because of this son preference

5) Dowries still exist in many countries, women are literally bought and sold to other men

6) In Pakistan, a father can take his daughter to court if she marries without his permission

7) In the majority of African groups as well as some other regions, Grooms purchase their wife's hand in marriage by giving goods, money or livestock to her parents.

8) 40-70% of women killed in America, Canada, Australia and Israel are murdered by their own husbands or partners

9) In America, battery is the leading cause of injury to women with a whopping 700,000 cases reported each year

10) One third of Egyptian women report they are beaten at home, where the penalty for killing an 'adulterous wife' is one to three years in prison

11) On average, there are 2 honor killings a day occuring in Pakistan and only 20% are prosecuted

12) In America, 350 women are raped a year on college campuses with 10,000 female students

13) In America, 74 women are raped every hour

14) It is estimated that pimps control 80-95% of prostitution

15) 94% of women in Egypt believe that it is okay for a husband to beat his wife.

16) In Canada, 11% of women have been stalked in the last five years

17) In many countries it is legal to rape your wife

18) In Burma, rape is not considered a crime unless the victim is under 14 years of age

photo found here

19) In Morocco, victims families may offer rapists a chance to marry their victim in order to preserve family honor

20) 70% of the world's poor are women

21) An estimated 50,000 women are trafficked into the U.S yearly

22) In Egypt, 90% of girls who have undergone female genital mutilation were under 14 years old. 90% of female genital mutilations are performed by doctors and other trained medical personnel.

23) In Mali, 50% of girls were under five years old when they had undergone female genital mutilation

24) 42% of girls in grades 1-3 in the U.S want to be thinner

25) 81% of 10 year old girls in the U.S are afraid of being fat

26) 11.7 million cosmetic procedures were performed in 2007, which is up by 2 million from 1997. 91% of these procedures were performed on women