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Gabon and Women

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Submitted By Yellierose6590
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To be born a woman can be a serious hazard for your health. Depending on her place of birth a woman will likely face adverse health effects in numbers far higher than her male counterparts. In many nations women face a numerous amount of barriers to health. Poverty has well documented effects on health outcomes and over 70 percent of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty are women. When women are malnourished it creates a vicious cycle from her being unhealthy to her child being unhealthy and this continues as she has more children or her children have children. If a woman lives in a low income country that has an undeveloped health care system she may lack the access she needs to proper care as well. Women also often suffer a lack of independence that keeps them from being able to make their own health decisions even if they understand what needs to be done for their health. They often lack the control to make decisions when it comes to their sexual life. Often a woman’s legal status leaves her unable to take ownership of land or to divorce an abusive husband or to have control over who she marries. This lack of status contributes to the high poverty rates faced by women. Violence against women is a major cause of long term physical, mental and sexual health problems for women. To be born a woman, especially in a developing nation, increases the risk of a less healthy life. Women on average live longer lives than men, but across the board are living less healthy lives than men. The World Health Organization has made progress towards achieving the millennium goal of gender equality and empowerment for women. One major component of this process is to ensure that females are able to receive primary school education. Education is a major key in a girl's improved health, her social and economic status, and her sense of self-worth. Educated women start a cycle that can be passed down from mother to child. Women make up the majority of the population on earth. Women raise the children and support the family. Without improving the lives and health of women globally, these dangerous health outcomes are fatal not just to women, but to our world. Poor health impedes progress and limits economic growth. Continuing to work towards empowering women and investing in their success and education is imperative in order to improve global health (Global Health).
I have attached a video of a documentary that was done on women living in India. India may not be the overall worst place to live as a woman but is definitely not a good one. The video shows how women are treated in India. This documentary is from June 2013 so it is pretty recent. 28-year-old Rohda is the star of the film going to India to learn about the lives of women and the battles that they face. This documentary was created following the brutal and deadly assault and rape of a young woman on a moving bus. It’s a 57 min documentary. You don’t need to watch it but it is very crazy the things that can happen.
Gabon is considered as the most prosperous and stable country in Africa. Polygamy remains a tradition that is still practiced in Gabon. In the past, a man could have up to 50 wives, but the current government has limited the number to four. Although some women hold high-ranking position in the army and the judiciary, women are still discriminated based on customary laws such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. Gabon signed the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (The Maputo Protocol) on the 27th of January 2005 but has not ratified it. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was ratified on the 21st of January 1983. Gabon has not yet adopted a National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (Gabon). Gabon to me when reading up on it does have standards for women and they are the keeper of the house and do the things to take care of the children. I do not believe that it is dangerous to your health to live in Gabon as a woman.

"Gabon." Make Every Woman Count. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2013. <http://www.makeeverywomancount.org/index.php?option=com_fjrelated&view=fjrelate d&id=93&Itemid=104>.
"Global Health: Being Born a Woman: A Dangerous Prospect for Your Health." Global Health: Being Born a Woman: A Dangerous Prospect for Your Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. <http://globalhealthpdx.blogspot.com/2013/03/being-born-woman-dangerous- prospect-for.html>.
India A Dangerous Place to Be a Woman BBC Documentary 2013. N.d. YouTube. YouTube, 27 June 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StYj8gzEtGQ>.
Raham, Alison G. "Countries and Their Cultures." Culture of Gabon. Advameg Inc, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. <http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Gabon.html>.

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