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Human beings have distinctly different characteristics that according to anthropologists of the past claim these differences are biological. Now, in the modern era with advances in science and human development, these different human characteristics are viewed as a cultural concept rather than biological. Through our readings, we learned that race was once not important or determined of our status in society only previous to colonization. Then, race became a factor to ascribing status to individuals in our society. Now, with the awareness of racism in our society, we as human beings have declared race an unessential factor to our way of life in America . Biological characteristics mainly discussed in the text book is the color of our skin. The color of our skin has many connotations tied to what the textbook claims as a meaningless fraction that in fact ignoring the color of our skin we as humans are unable to come to terms with historical events that led to the destruction of certain peoples, lands, and cultures.

When we examine race, we can view race as being culturally constructed by human beings. When race is culturally constructed, we being to learn that race means more to us as humans than we like to admit due to the destruction and perversion against other humans in history especially in North America in the name of superiority and inferior nations. We are able to take race as we know it today and elaborate on how race challenges traditional Western notions and ideas of race itself. I have read the source, “Dimensions of Inequality in the Contemporary World: Class, Caste, Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism”, from the text book and included information from our class notes to explore, explain, define, and outline meanings of race, how race is culturally constructed, and more importantly, what race means to us today and the effects racializing people in our society, all, in efforts, to present my own personal view of cultural and race in modern society tied to past anthropological occurances.

Definitions of terms:

We discuss terms without really ever defining these terms clearly so we have a foundation and outline of what we discuss in this paper, therefore, this paper will clearly define the terms used in order to guide what it is we are discussing so there is no confusion. When we think of anthropology, we often view anthropology as the study of old human bones, dug up like some old dinosaur that will teach us about the people of the past. However, we can take the anthropology concept further by labelling the term cultural anthropology, whereby cultural anthropology is the study of explaining human cultural diversity (Schultz 2005: 1). One area of our human cultural diversity is the concept of race.

Race is not clearly defined in the text book, however, race has been described in our class notes as the cultural concept of humans rather than a biological concept that is ascribed, which is the reason that social anthropologists view race as important. Race is at times tied to forms of culture concepts. Culture is according to the Schultz (2005), from a historical perspective, a complex whole that draws together the unity of knowledge, beliefs, laws and customs for groups of people. However, I argue that culture is more that the whole, culture is the total way of living and viewing the world each one of us live in.

According to my belief, culture is evolving and never stays the same; There are many different cultures and not one can be defined so clear, but just different. We can not view other groups culture without stating our own cultural biases, which is why anthropology is crucial to studying human behaviour through time. For example, we as humans are naturally stratified according to Schultz by race, economic status, or employment status. This stratification system put in place in many nations divide and limit individuals ability to move towards a better life or future. Many people are succumbed to a rigid system of inequality all in efforts to keep the status quo of a hierarchy. Class is the form of economic stratification and caste is stratification based on whom one is born into.

Race is Culturally Constructed:

Race was defined as a cultural concept developed by humans mainly and for greater purposes than we admit and not a biological determined fact. Therefore, we can understand that race is separate than culture. Schultz provided an example of the melting pot in what we call Mexico now, back then, where people became oblivious to the racial cultural caste system (2005: 205). There were Spanish, Indigenous, and African Americans who were not to mix or interbreed, however, due to unexplainable events, many of the racially culturally distinct groups intertwined and fused races and cultures together. There is a large historical significance that is tied to present events now. And these meaningful acts become ever more important as we look at the past.

We can understand that early anthropologists were unable to fully understand the concept of race or culture due to the racist beliefs of that time. For example, we learned in our class lectures that early anthropologists measured human skulls and place attributes and characteristics to a group of peoples labelling the group inferior to the anthropologist’s culture. According to Schultz, these actions of the anthropologists were justified by a means of being unaware of connotations that stemmed from these actions in the name of science. However, if these scientists really studied these cultural groups from a clear cultural perspective rather than studying the color of the skin and how it benefits the European descents, descriptions of cultures would be plentiful. Anthropologists and European scientists declared other cultures obsolete to their standards of living. We have yet to really grasp what culture means to the group being studied, unless we ask; instead, we impose Western thoughts and ideas, which have more than deadly actions than we understand. Race as a cultural concept is the best way to describe the historical events in human development.

What does this mean:

We can take the discussion further by elaborating on what race means to us when it is viewed as culturally constructed. If race is not seen as biological, then it means there is no need to view or label people according to race, but this is not a fact. We still have racism and racist ideas that are tolerated that was originally developed by racist attitudes of early scientists. We are human and naturally aware of differences of the skin, however, it is how we deal such matters of skin color that skin color should not be a factor. Take for example, culture means much more than race.

Culture is a way of doing or acting. We do not have to accept what scientists labelled truth when it is hurting a culture or people. Culture is learned and therefore social. We learn from the beginning from our parents how to act and behave based on thinking and ideas. The concept of ideas that change into actions is where we take the critical question of the meaning. From the text book of Schultz, they state that colonization and exploration of European states were the backbone for declaring races inferior which leads to today’s modern day forms of institutional racism among any race non-European. Reviewing how race is culturally constructed means that we today do not have to have racism in our society.

How does this Challenge Traditional Western ideas of Race:

The concepts defined above challenges the traditional concepts of race but we must as a society move forward and change the way we view race and culture otherwise the challenge we offer is obsolete. We can learn much from the study of cultural anthropology by learning that other groups can speak for themselves and declare important characteristics through their own forms of explaining and sharing. Many individuals are unaware of the social hierarchies in our society due to privilege. When individuals of privilege do not acknowledge their status, they are unable to assist the ones who have no privilege. Schultz discussed in the chapter, the importance of colorism and that once all colors are mixed there is no more racist beliefs, however there are always going to be inequalities.

Inequalities in our society stem from the early anthropologists who set out scientific guidelines to discriminate that we have to be very critical of how we use science. European descendents used race as a way to steal land and millions of dollars of resources, and justified killing many groups to gain authority, particularly Indigenous groups across North America . We are not like the old anthropologists of the past. Today’s anthropologists are more stringent towards our analysis, descriptions, and ways to classify people. This means a great deal today to you and me. We no longer are aimed to humiliate a peoples whose culture is different than our own ways; diversification stands for the new challenge against traditional Western ideas of race.

We need to have more anthropologists write books about how the wrongs of yesterdays have crippled today’s notions of other human beings being inferiour and thus feeling no justice towards inequality. The best way to conjure our thinking of the future is to not forget the mistakes of the past.

Analysis:

We have discussed the importance of race and culture. We also examined the historical events in anthropological undertakings of the European fallacies, and we even went further to discuss the challenges we face to break down the barriers built by the negative and racist notions related to race. These were dissected and analyzed to fully understand why one would do such a vicious act towards other humans, which was very difficult to comprehend unless there were clear cut theoretical frameworks to analysis this synapses.

We have analyzed the importance of learning from other cultures to better understand ourselves. We need a theoretical framework to outline and guide our knowledge as anthropologists. Everyone can be an anthropologist by simply living in the city of Toronto and studying interactions among the residents. Toronto is a new city that is similar to the city explained in the book where Indians of India who move to the city become less involved in their system of caste (Schultz: 2005). They are more likely to move up when they live in the city. This is true to the city of Toronto in my personal opinion. Toronto has a mix of cultures and people that race has become obsolete. The title of my essay is called, ‘Does race matter’, and I answer this question to confuse the reader. Race does matter!! Race matters because it is ingrained in our history and will never change the face that there is multitude of colors of people. What matters the most is to not forget there is racism that is tied to the historical significance. We as a people in a society on earth need to be more compassion towards cultural beings. Today there is no excuse to say one group is inferior as we have proved that many cultures are more sophisticated than ever imagined.

Conclusion:

Race was reviewed in this paper to understand that race, culture, identity, land, history, and peoples of a group are all tied together that it is impossible to distinguish or separate the meanings that bind the above together. Race has been viewed in this paper as socially constructed and that over time and eras the beliefs and institutions tend to change and remain the same at the same time.

Racism is culturally constructed as well that it was ingrained in our Western belief of knowing that in a country of multi-nations, western ideas will diminish over time as well. Caste systems and class distinctions are forms of cultural constructing race in order to make a group higher in status. Until the world understands how the anthropologists have made mistakes, then will there be a new beginning. I believe that Canada and new Canadians will explain the purpose of coming to know one another without racism or racist ideas. I explained and explored the notions of race being culturally constructed and this has been beneficially towards my higher learning leaving a mark on my cultural view.

Through past experience and research, hypermasculinity has led African American culture to be defined as a culture that strongly fights for their sign of status, and sexual aggressivity and dominance appear to be highly regarded. Research has concluded that media and false misinterpretations of hypermasculinity are the main causes, and the strong influences they have are causing these dominant, aggressive and demanding behaviours. Research has been done through personal interviews, field work and observation. Perhaps present and previous research is showing a better understanding for many cultures as to why African American men display certain characteristics, in which demonstrate power and control. Furthermore studies are creating awareness for society, although they are not justifying these behaviours as being acceptable.

Introduction:

Life threatening situations are brought upon us every day as we walk out the front door, into the bus or into the front doors of school. Growing up in today’s society and conforming to various norms, values and behaviours in which one witnesses, is traumatic and time consuming amongst young men and women, especially young African American men. Gender roles and societies’ expectation are presented at such a young age, this leading to pressure and unjustified behaviours, such as drug trafficking, prostitution and pimping. Within African American society, gender roles are depicted precisely and followed. Various different ethnic groups live in different parts of the world, but the “status of black males in American society has been in flux for the last several decades (Lips 2001, p.5)”. The reasons why all these groups must show status is to prove their images of what it means to be masculine. “Sentimental, submissive and superstitious (Lips, 2001, p.5)” are qualities associated with females in every country. On the other hand males are more likely to be connected to characteristics resembling “dominance, forcefulness and strength (Lips, 2001, p.5)”. In a variety of Hip Hop, Rap music video clips, the images being portrayed of how young men must behave always consists of the same factors; dominance, power, aggressivity and the ‘tough guy’. The question of how hypermasculinity is defined in African American culture and why sexual aggressivity and dominance appear to be highly regarded within this culture, has been an ideology for many. Despite false interpretation that the media portrays, and the pressure of “role models” and “real men”, the following paper will examine the main points and answers to these questions. Furthermore it will observe the use of the term “nigga” and “gansta” from an open minded point of view.

Hypermasculinity defined and expressed

Hypermasculinity is an extremely important sign of status for black males. Hypermasculinity is defined in the (Oxford Dictionary) as an “exaggerated masculine qualities”, although this term can be negative, it is also personalized when examining these behaviours as adaptive or maladaptive impassively. The term ‘gansta’ for example comes from the word gangster, which means a criminal who is a part of a gang; who would want to be viewed as a criminal. The other term often miss used, is the word ‘pimp’. A ‘pimp’, is an agent for prostitutes who lives off their earnings (Oxford Dictionary)”. Today pimp is being used to refer to guys who sleep with many girls, or the ones who can pick up any girl they want. Where will society draw the line, and who comes to decide whether one corresponds to the definition of a man “an adult human male, sometimes also used to identify a male human regardless of age, as in phrases such as men’s rights (Oxford Dictionary)”.

DeReef examines African American behaviour and defines masculinity to “the degree where a male is able to successfully manifest their attributes (DeReef, F. J. 2006, p.46)”. These behaviours are being shown in different ways where males are modifying or distorting their real behaviours in order to conform into society, as to what seems to be “correctly” acceptable. Over a long period of time until today black compulsive masculinity has been a dysfunctional response to solving racial domination and has been causing more problems within the environment. In other words black compulsive behaviours is an ideology composed of African consciousness, in which has created a reactionary masculinity in many African American males who “seek to imitate their white male counterparts (DeReef, F.J. 2006, p. 47)”. According to Wolfe African American males strongly believe it is hard to achieve masculine identity through usual work or responsibilities. They are justifying their behaviours through assumptions in which they believe that they are the only ones who must work hard and have responsibilities in order to achieve masculine identity. Maladaptive hypermasculine behaviours such as drug trafficking, or being a pimp are the ones being justified because there is not enough employment opportunities given to black men. There has been a correlation between joblessness and higher incidence of various maladaptive behaviours.

Hypersexuality and homophobia

Black males, especially young men are so afraid to be referred to as “wimps”, or “homos”, that they have even created the term “no homo (Masculinity, homophobia and Hip Hop, n.d )”,. The term ‘No homo’ must be said at the end of each sentence, in order for people not to think they sound gay, or they said something gay. During an interview regarding the term “no homo“, males claimed not to be reinforcing that their not gay because they know they’re not, but they are just making sure that when they speak others don’t assume they’re gay. Homophobia is a big issue that has aroused and has become serious within the generation today. Elijah G.Ward, discusses how the black churches are also encouraging homophobia amongst black males and most of the time those who are against homosexuality are uncertain of their own sexuality and fear that they will be categorised as a community. This strongly emphasizes their powerful beliefs that heterosexuality is the right way. Many cultures do not support homosexuality, a significant amount of black people according to Elijah G. Ward, see “homosexual relationships as unacceptable and morality wrong p.494”. In the black community a famous gansta-rapper Ice Cube has implanted in one of his famous songs “true niggers ain’t gay (Ward, G.E .2005, p. 497)”. Homosexuality is seen to be a sign of weakness and is associated with feminine characteristics, these also encouraging labels towards men such as ‘fags’ or ‘queers’. The black church strongly enforces that homosexuality is not what a ‘man’ is and a man should be violent, demanding and have control. Their main priorities are their labels and they pay close attention, not to be called ‘sissies’ which is the opposite of being cool. They want to portray that hard core ‘gansta’ rapper role model who is an “intensified, black male cultural reflection of patriarchy, sexism, hetorosexism and gansta-style (Ward, G. E. 2005, p. 497)”.

Violent behaviours and “gansta”

Throughout history, the black population have undergone several changes some harder to adapt to then others. The main issue with behaviours constantly changing and deviance sometimes being accepted, is when you adapt to an aggressive dominant behaviour you don’t want to let go of that control you have obtained. A problem which has occurred and is important to understand is to know the difference between, understanding what you have been told and believing and making your own judgements accordingly; if it is right. For example in the black society it is a “sign of status”, to sleep with as many women as possible. William, A. & Wolfe, summarize in their article that “it is right to deceive a girl in order to have sex with her (Wiliam, A. & Wolfe 2003, p 848)” and that they don’t believe in the use of the condom for a simple reason that they would be “undermining their masculinity (Wiliam, A. & Wolfe 2003, p. 848)”.Black males have been socialized into using their penis as a way to achieve manhood. Different expectations within a culture or society and how values have changed over time. This has also caused many African American women to fear their partners, and studies say that a woman has been in an abusive relationship is more likely not to speak up and fight her partner. In regards to sexuality and power the black African American society believes that when “sexual aggression exists in a relationship (Wiliam, A. & Wolfe 2003, p. 848 )”, this shows violence is involved therefore he is a man; concluding violence is manly. Adolescent black males are also accounted for having a “higher victimization rate than any other racial or age group (Gregory,S. 2007, p 371)”. African American women compare to their counter parts are the ones to usually get involved in abusive relationships and stay quiet due to their surroundings and or an abusive father. African American women are more vulnerable and listen to their partners when they use aggressive behaviours. This also brings out statistics which show that over “fifty percent of babies are born to minor females, fathered by African American men. They also show that the father is usually on average 26.1 years older (Wiliam, A. & Wolfe 2003, p. 849”.From this one can clearly conclude that a young African American female is no way has interpersonal skills and dominance over her partner to demand the use of a condom.

Furthermore, black males are often taught or trained to control their emotions internally towards exercises that stimulate minor frustration, although this does not emphasise the power that long term “maladaptive, self destructive and life threatening (Gregory, S. 2007,p.386) ” consequences have above it all. An infant who is brought up in a dangerous neighbourhood, attended an unsafe school and dealt with racism is more prone to recognize feelings towards aggression and violence. Black men who have experienced a tragic event of a life threatening situation will want to be prepared if it ever happens again, this is why Gregory, S. discusses the use of carrying of a weapon. In most neighbourhoods today and schools, young teens will not walk around with knifes and use it as an excuse of security purposes, although in neighbourhoods where there are at least three people getting stabbed every day, these young kids want to feel safe. The college of New Jersey evaluated that males are more likely to carry a weapon than females, and a survey in 2007 showed that 27% of boys did carry a weapon (Gregory, S. 2007, p.369). Carrying a knife or a gun is a sign of security, despite its encouragement towards violent behaviours. A weapon stimulates the “fight or flight” response which is a decision you make when experiencing a dangerous situation. Is the individual going to walk away, or will he make a decision and fight. In a situation where someone is carrying a weapon, almost one hundred percent of the time if they feel secure enough to fight and win, the weapon is their support and will cause them to partake in this dangerous behaviour. Statistics show that” in 1994, gun control accounted for approximately 1,700 Black youths aged ten to nineteen (Gregory, S. 2007, p 368)”. The following statistics tell us that most of crime is being committed at a young age by youth. Young children are the ones who are victimised, especially in schools in poor neighbourhoods and the fear they experience is unpleasant and it creates an awareness of danger.

Hip Hop; a justifiable reason leading to hypermasculinity

The third point, if not one of the most influential one in society influencing power, dominance and control is Hip Hop. As a whole Hip Hop has become a culture for most black African American men and this has brought up a new image of acceptable behaviours and hypermasculinity. Many video clips you watch or lyrics you read are not only full of vulgar language, but it’s always a battle over a girl, power or insulting someone’s mother. Rap has created a new lifestyle for young men, and also many role models like Eminem, 50 cent and Tupac. Luxury has also become a big part of status. Many African American men today believe that rap is a way to express their true black life. There are different kinds of rap music, this having an influence on different kind of behaviours that are being acted out in society. Rap is categorised using five different forms. “Teacher-rap, nation conscious rap, gansta rap, player/lover rap, porno rap and last religious rap (DeReef,F.J. 2006)”. These different kinds of rap all influence different ideas from social commitment to struggle, romance, sexual aggressive behaviours and spirituality of Christianity and Islam. It is amazing to listen to a rap song and interpret all these different ideas, and thinks to yourself, how can a young fifteen or sixteen year old kid understand this. What is being said is sometimes due to a personal experience or the rap artist is expressing his feelings and or emotions. Media has shown violence to be a part of masculinity, that it has become a norm and is no longer deviance within society. Statistics show that one in four men will use violence against their partner, and eighty-five percent of murders are being committed by men. As one can witness sexuality, criminality and violence play a strong role as being partners. Hip Hop role models like Lil Wayne display high rates of criminality for young African American men, and also use violence and strength towards sexuality. Young males are being brain washed and influenced in regards to these being the real characteristics of men and it’s a direct justification for hypermasculine behaviours.

Roots of slavery

The 17th century African American slavery was devastating and today has become a part of history. Slaves were not entitles any equal rights compare to what other had. They were demanded to do hard labour work and were treated with cruelty. Slaves were working ridiculous amount of hours a day and weren’t even treated as human beings.These slaves were being sold as if they were commodities from city to city. Slaves were seen by many as a different class of people in society. Many slaves tried to fights their master although there was not much success as they would be arrested or sent somewhere else. Slavery today plays a role on how society view black males and how they view themselves compare to society.

The word “nigga”

The word “nigga” is a good example or a word that has different meanings and that has been re-appropriated in society depending on who uses it. The word “nigga” comes from the word nigger which was originally used to refer to black people. The word was also used in the time of slavery for the black who were trying to escape. Today many African American men use the word amongst each other like white people would use the word “brother”. Although if a white person were to use the word nigger it is seen as insulting and some African American men take it to the extreme of being offended they might even beat someone up. Nigger for the African American culture is a sign of self identity amongst one another and pride. It is a moment in time of history and they want to hold onto this. In the 1970 the word nigger was seen as racists, offensive and as early as today it is a word that many will refrain from using.

Slavery and hypermasculinity

Men have enslaved other men to show their mastery over them, and think it is a weakness to show or express their feelings towards other human beings. Patriarchal masculinity has caused problems that are so complex. Long after “legal racial segregation ended ( Lips, 2001, p.2 )”, it is still clear how the white society treats Black men. Unless close attention is being payed to little factors which make a difference; often Black men are “referred to not as men but as boys (Lips, 2001, p.20)”. Black men lived through times where they were never given the same privileges as white men, and they always had to earn their masculinity, most of the time not feeling good about being a man. Black males were always viewed as inferior to other cultures and always had to prove themselves one way or another. They were always stereotypically related to drugs, poverty and violence. Black American youth during the period of black power to Hip Hop, were denied opportunities to exercise their citizenship; this having an effect today, they don’t want to fall back down beneath everyone. Being denied opportunities, rights and not able to achieve personal goals has stuck with the black society until today. Not only is being labelled “black” a mental damage, but creates physical aggression as well.

It seems that an individual who has been constantly emasculated over the years would at least try to conform to the dominant culture in hope of their being some acknowledgment of acceptance. It has been proven throughout society especially in the United States, that growing up as a black male has been a tough process. “Being a black male is a burden at times because some people see and think of me, and men like me, as “menaces to society.” The masculinity that has been a part of my life has been one that has been used to oppress others and oppress me (Clifford, A. 2006, and p.4)”.

The status of poverty for African American youth is the one that is the most revealing. ” In 2001 among all American children under the age of eighteen, the poverty rate was sixteen percent, but it was three times as high for black children; 30 percent (Collins, H, P. 2006, p.3)”. Black youth are the ones who are affected the most by social problems. Increasing employment opportunities for African American males would be ideal, this would give them a better environment, better surroundings and influence them that they are like the rest of the society. This is also why many black males rape, because that act of aggression towards a women is a form of status in which they would use in a workplace which is often not available for them. In other words, having the right to work and live a “normal life style”, will affect them positively. Several African American men have shaped their understandings and realities based on the past and keep exercising those actions. Having a normal life style remains a dream for many black youths living under the age of eighteen. The main problem that touches upon poverty is the “ineffectiveness of political strategies that strive to resist it (Collins, H, P. 2006, p.9)”. The civil rights movement was the primary strategy to solve racial integration, although African American politics are trying new social challenges to meet old responses. Despite some accomplishment, African Americans are frustrated because they don’t see anything opening up ahead of them and they are still dealing with high unemployment rates. Beyond social problems resulting to poverty, unemployment and lack of civil rights, masculinity today is a big part relating to the past. African American societies have developed strong personalities to prove who they are and what they are capable of. For instance when you look around today, you will see more black males working, neighbourhoods are less poor and opportunities and chances have been and are being given to black communities. Considering that young African American males occupy such a visible position within society, they have demonstrated a zero tolerance for “race, nation, gender, age and sexuality (Collins, H, P. 2006)”. All these different aspects that influenced black men have created the drives towards manhood today. When black men were in slavery they were being ordered around and always given commands; comparing that to this new generations they are the ones who are in control, and for the most are the ones giving commands.

Conclusion:

The issue of hypermasculinity is one that is quite complex and a total solution cannot be found. Research has shown that African American men believe in proving themselves as “real men”; this leading to behaviours in which can no longer be controlled. These actions are being ‘tolerated’ by society today especially for young black males. Sexual aggressivity, dominance and hypermasculinity are highly responded within the culture for a countless amount of reasons. Media is portraying false misinterpretations as to what it means to be masculine, there is always a constant pressure being brought upon black males which enforces violent and controlling behaviours and they are being accepted as ‘normal’. Thirdly, African American culture has such a strong influential past of slavery that their culture is looking at society through a different lens.

Black male needs to accomplish giving themselves an identity that will cause them to be comfortable with themselves. Ideally black males should critically assess the dominant culture’s norm of masculinity instead of reworking the norms to satisfy their social situation. Many black males have failed to see the problem of the dominant culture’s norms of masculinity in their lives. Society in general has labelled black men as being dangerous, and regardless if you know the person or not before even speaking to many black men they fall into that category that they are violent, dangerous or a sex maniac. Society has enforced black males to feel this way and cause them to do things in which they shouldn’t do. It has caused a psychological problem which is hard to erase. In no way do African American men believe they can show weakness, this would mean they are not men. Violence in the media is glorified, and is exposed to children of all ages. Police will not hesitate to use violence against suspects, and these young black males are often the targets of violent behaviours in their neighbourhoods; drugs, rape, gang related fights or domestic violence.

Fifty years ago, the abomination of slavery seemed like a thing of the past. But history has a way of repeating itself. Today, we find that human slavery is once again a sickening reality. At this moment, men, women and children are being trafficked and exploited all over the world. The Thirteenth Amendment did not abolish slavery completely, in fact, human trafficking is now the modern day slavery and is a problem in countries all over the world. Sex trafficking, illegal child labor, and illegal immigrant trafficking are all examples of human trafficking. A global underground problem, it is not only happening in the third world countries but civilized countries as well. Very seldom do victims of trafficking ever escape the vicious crime and many end up in dead or with diseases.

Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery

What is Trafficking?

Every year, millions of people are trafficked into the modern-day equivalent of slavery. They are secretly transported across borders and sold like commodities, or trafficked within their countries for the sole purpose of exploitation. It is a crime that violates the basic human rights of victims. (What is Trafficking, 2010). “Trafficking in persons” means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. (What is human trafficking?, 2010).

What does trafficking involve?

Trafficking involves forcible movement of a person from one place to another and forcible utilization of their services with the intention of inducting them into trade for commercial gains. The word ‘forcible’ means that the action is against the person’s will or that consensus has been obtained by making deceptive claims and false allurements. In some cases, consensus is obtained because of the victim’s social conditioning, where the victim is not even aware that s/he is being exploited. (What is human trafficking?, 2010). Trafficking in persons include but are not limited to sex trafficking, child labor, and immigrant labor.

Why People Fall Victim

International trafficking is not limited to poor and undeveloped areas of the world-it is a problem in virtually every region of the globe. Countries with large (often legal) sex industries create the demand for trafficked women, while Countries where traffickers can easily recruit provide the supply. Generally, economically depressed countries provide the easiest recruitment for traffickers. In such nations, women are often eager to leave the country in search of better employment opportunities. Traffickers exploit this fact and often trick victims into thinking they will be going abroad to work as nannies or models.

Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery and its victims are majority women and girls, but can also be men or boys. Sex trafficking victims are induced to perform commercial sex by force, fraud, or coercions and they’re also lured into this situation because they’re promised a good job in another country, a false marriage proposal turned into a bondage situation, being sold into the sex trade by parents, husbands, boyfriends, or being kidnapped by traffickers. “Types of Sex Trafficking have different forms of commercial sexual operations such as prostitution, pornography, stripping, live-sex shows, mail-order brides, military prostitution and sex tourism. ” (Rescue and Restore ). Trafficking of women is a transnational industry that generates billions of dollars. Although men, women and children are all victims of trafficking, it is a crime that disproportionately affects women and girls who make up approximately 80% of those trafficked transnationally, the majority of whom are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation

Child Labor

There are millions of children whose labor can be considered forced, not only because they are too young to choose to work, but also because they are, in fact, actively coerced into working. These include child bonded laborers — children whose labor is pledged by parents as payment or collateral on a debt — as well as children who are kidnapped or otherwise lured away from their families and imprisoned in sweatshops or brothels. In addition, millions of children around the world work unseen in domestic service — given or sold at a very early age to another family. Forced child labor is found primarily in informal, unregulated or illegal sectors of the economy. “It is most common among the economically vulnerable and least educated members of society such as minority ethnic or religious groups or the lowest classes or castes. ” (Forced and Bonded Child Labor, 2010) Children are especially vulnerable to exploitation because their lack of maturity makes them easy to deceive and ensures that they have little, if any, knowledge of their rights.

Immigrant Smuggling

Much like sex trafficking and child labor, the majority of people smuggled are immigrants and non-residents to the county they are being smuggled into. People are promised a good job with good pay with room and board provided. They fall for the trap and answer to the ad without knowing it is a trick. When they are brought to the place, traffickers already stole the immigrants’ passports and everything they own, making it impossible for the immigrants to go back home. Instead of the good job and pay they were promised, they end up working 12+ hour shifts, with basically no pay, and have bad living conditions. Men have been overlooked as potential victims of trafficking. Even when signs of exploitation that would sound alarms with women – such as confiscation of travel documents – are clear, immigration officers or assistance groups often classify men as “migrant workers” and send them on their way. In addition, men often don’t want to admit that they were trafficked because this signifies weakness or “failure.” (Cardais, 2009)

Recruitment Tactics

Traffickers used a variety of means to draw girls into the sex trade. The four key tactics of sex trafficking identified include: employment-induced migration via a broker; deception, through false marriage; visits offer; and force, through abduction. The majority of respondents (55%) were trafficked through false job promises. (Simkhada, 2008)

Trafficking In Nepal

Many girls involved in sex work do so because they are compelled by economic circumstances and social inequality. Some enter sex work voluntarily; others do so by force or deception, sometimes involving migration across international borders. Nepalese girls trafficked from Nepal to India are typically unmarried, illiterate and very young. Key routes to sex trafficking include employment-induced migration to urban areas, deception (through false marriage or visits) and abduction. Young girls who have been trafficked for sex work are a hidden population, largely due to its illegal nature. Employers of trafficked girls may keep them hidden from public view and limit contacts with outsiders. Trafficked girls may not identify themselves as such through fear of reprisals from their employers, fear of social stigma from involvement in sex work or their HIV-positive status or from their activities being revealed to family members. (Simkhada, 2008).

Enforcement in Nepal

In Nepal, high-level decision makers, lawmakers and politicians at the local level are often accused of being the protector of the traffickers. Many commentators blame the lack of legal enforcement arguing that policies are sound in Nepal but not their implementation and that political commitment is required to implement public policies. Political leaders and higher authorities in bureaucracy are accused of releasing the arrested traffickers from custody and taking political and monetary benefits from them or having associations with brothel-keepers. If a slave is trapped in a form of bondage other than commercial sexual exploitation, he or she is highly unlikely to be freed through police intervention.

Infections amongst Girls in Nepal

South Asia is currently home to 2.5 million HIV infected persons, 95% of whom are from India. However, HIV seroprevalence in a subset of neighboring South Asian countries has rapidly increased in recent years, due in part to migration and human trafficking from these countries into India. Female sex workers, especially those who are victims of sex trafficking to India, are increasingly recognized as a major factor in Nepal’s growing HIV epidemic. HIV seroprevalence among female sex workers in Nepal rose 24-fold (from <1% to 17%) from 1992 through 2002 (Silverman, 2008). Women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation from Nepal to India are considered particularly vulnerable to HIV infection because of their typically young age at trafficking, limited ability to negotiate condom-protected sex, and experiences of forced sex. Despite high rates of HIV infection among sex-trafficked victims and substantial prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among female sex workers in South Asia and elsewhere little is known about STI prevalence and co-infection with HIV among sex-trafficked women and girls. We therefore explored prevalence of syphilis and hepatitis B and co-infection with HIV among a sample of female sex-trafficking victims in Nepal. (Silverman, 2008)

Trafficking in Russia

Russia from small towns and rural areas to metropolitan areas, and into Russia from the former Soviet space to work on urban and rural building sites, in shops, and in the sex industry. As a low risk, high reward business, trafficking in people now rivals drug trafficking in its profitability in a globalised world. The lifting of many former restrictions on foreign travel from the former post-Soviet space, more permeable borders and the desire to migrate for work abroad provided a fertile legal, economic, social and attitudinal context in which traffickers, whether part of organized crime and large mafia rings or not, could take advantage of potential migrants, including children. When analyzing different patterns of trafficking, social scientists in Russia began to use the term torgovlya lyud’mi (literally ‘trade in people’), which was also adopted by some journalists, and later treffiking, awkwardly imported from English. (Buckley, 2009)

Interpretation in Moscow

The group in Moscow thought that work in prostitution was one variant for women. Whereas some condemned it as negative, the male student lightheartedly commented ‘if the girl is attractive . . . for an attractive girl it is easier’. The electrician, however, warned that ‘if a person goes to a modeling agency, when they show the clothes, it turns out to be a massage parlor’. The barman added, ‘in large towns, I literally saw this notice yesterday ”Girls are needed in a sauna. No work experience necessary”-interesting, in principle’. The barman gave another example: ‘Let’s say the girl is looking for work. She came to Moscow to enter an institute. She meets a young man. The young man already has several girls in such a profession and off she goes’. When pressed by the moderator as to whether the girl received a wage, the student answered, ‘naturally. Perhaps it is his business. Such girls are needed. It exists. The girl gets a percentage. There is a mass of variants’. The older singer added ‘the girl needs money. If she needs money, it is very simple to become a drug dealer’. Another interjected, ‘that means finding such structures’. The elderly economist in Moscow contributed another version: ‘she could marry unhappily, whether formally or not, and could learn a lesson in life from that. He could get her to sign a work contract, as they usually do to enlist girls in such work’. Her point was that social life and a partner could also lead to disastrous and unexpected work in prostitution. (Buckley, 2009)

Asian Culture

Asian culture, similar to many other cultures, subsequently socializes children to respect and obey parents and to contribute to the family’s well-being. This can be seen with Asian children who were trafficked and repeatedly explained how they put themselves at risk for the sake of economic improvement for their families. Many of them felt it necessary to make sacrifices for the benefit of their families, therefore living up to the cultural value of filial piety. Some of the girls who were trafficked for commercial sex talked about their mixed reactions to their experiences. They didn’t like what they were doing, but also felt that to not engage in commercial sex work would disappoint their families in terms of making a financial contribution and providing support. Some girls did not want to leave prostitution and return home because they hadn’t saved enough money to return without shame or embarrassment about the lack of savings to contribute or send home. A Thai saying captures the concept of filial piety. That saying is: ”Repaying the breast milk”. (Chung, 2009)

Western takes on Asian Culture

Western Asian female stereotypes constitute another factor that contributes to the abuse of power, since these stereotypes create the demand for Asian girls to be trafficked into commercial sex work. The Western stereotypes of Asian girls and women being subservient, obedient, hard working, submissive, passive, docile, shy, demure, softly spoken, eager to please, and exotic, all lead to the China doll, Suzy Wong, and geisha syndrome. These stereotypes increase the demand for Asian girls and subsequently trafficking into the sex industry. (Chung, 2009).

Child Abductions in Haiti?

The recent earthquake in Haiti left thousands of children homeless and orphaned. A group of ten American missionaries collected thirty-three children (some of whom had living parents) after the January earthquake. They were stopped as they attempted to return to the Dominican Republic, where they planned to establish an orphanage. Because the missionaries had neglected to get official permission to transport the children out of the country, Haitian authorities charged them with child abduction and jailed them. The prisoners’ families released a statement asking for leniency: “We are pleading to the Haitian prime minister to focus his energies on the critical tasks ahead for the country and to forgive mistakes that were made by a group of Americans trying to assist Haiti’s children.”

The Americans’ intentions may have been pure. Human trafficking, however, is a grievous problem in Haiti, and protecting children from exploitation was a “critical task” for the government even before the earthquake plunged the country into chaos. There have been calls for Haiti to lift restrictions on international adoptions in light of the greater number of children now in need. On the New York Times

Web site, journalist E. J. Graff noted the risks involved. “If you were a child trafficker or adoption profiteer,” she asked, “wouldn’t you pretend to be a humanitarian worker trying to save orphans?” (Commonweal, 2010)

Activist – Somaly Mam

Somaly Mam knows the harsh truth of the commercial sexual exploitation of children. For years she lived it from the inside. When she was 12, her grandfather sold her into the sex trade in Cambodia. In the ensuing decade she was traded through brothels across Southeast Asia where she suffered unimaginable horrors. She counts herself fortunate to have escaped death at the hands of entrepreneurial pimps and brothel keepers. But, unable to forget the faces of the girls she left behind, Mam decided to rescue them. Today, she fights child sex trafficking, sexual slavery, illegal confinement and sexual violence at home and abroad. (Olivera, 2010). Mam has won international acclaim and numerous awards for her activism. She has infiltrated brothels to save enslaved girls, engineering their escape and providing them with a safe refuge. She has, without hesitation, pressured the police to raid brothels – in spite of the fact that the legal system in Southeast Asia often supports the criminals, not the victims. In 1997, Mam and her ex-husband founded AFESIP, an organization dedicated to rescuing, housing and rehabilitating women and children in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam who have been sexually exploited. (Olivera, 2010)

U.S Takes on Trafficking

The United States has taken steps to respond to this trafficking dilemma. Congress first voted on an antitrafficking act in 2000, then again in 2003 and 2005. The government has appropriated $528 million toward this effort. In December, the government’s tools for combating trafficking were strengthened by the passage of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2008. On the international front, TVPRA establishes the Trafficking in Persons Report as a diplomatic tool to encourage foreign governments to increase efforts to refrain and fight against modern-day slavery. The annual publication will include reports on individual countries’ progress or lack thereof. The bill also contains provisions for penalizing countries that violate trafficking laws in an attempt to steer any traffickers. The passage of TVPRA was a big step forward for U.S. antitrafficking efforts overall. (Todd, 2009). Today virtually every credible antitrafficking organization-including UN agencies, NGOs and responsible governments- agrees that engagement with law enforcement is the best and only sustainable way to protect victims and apprehend perpetrators of sex trafficking. Corruption within police forces should not be a reason to deny trafficking victims the enforcement of laws designed to protect them.

Hollywood Movie – Taken

The recent release of the Hollywood film “Taken” opened up the eyes of all the viewers who watched it. It was about a man who loved his daughter very much and when she goes on a trip to Europe, she is abducted and enters the world of human and sex trafficking. The fathers stop at nothing to find his daughter. Movies like this give an overview of what the trafficking world really looks like .For a person that has never heard of the term, it really opens up one’s eyes and perspective.

Educating Women

Research has shown that investing in the education and financial power of girls and women generates multiple social benefits. Better educated women have higher incomes and raise healthier children. They are more likely to be able to plan the size of their families, and they choose to have fewer children. Women are more likely than men are to use their earnings to support the health and education of their children. One study showed that women invest 90 percent of their income in their families, whereas men invest only 30 to 40 percent. Investing in young women is the key not only to ending sex trafficking, it’s the key to changing the world.

Opening the World’s Eyes

Trafficking is a global problem and will probably always be a problem. It has been around for centuries and one can only tell when it will ever stop. Though there may never be an end to human trafficking, knowledge is the ultimate power and people working together to fight human trafficking, lives can be saved.

Human rights refer to the legal, social or ethical principles of entitlement or liberties to which all humans are entitled (James, 2009). Proponents of this concept assert that each person is endowed with certain entitlements by reason of being human. These entitlements can be justified as moral norms, natural rights or even as legal rights, either at a national level or within international law. However, this concept has been the subject of intense debate and criticism as there is no consensus as to what should or should not be regarded as a human right.

The modern conception of human rights, universalism, developed in the aftermath of World War II and its globalization was awakened by the crimes committed by Hitler’s government (the Holocaust), which increased pressure on the need for a global system of accountability and stability. This resulted in the adoption of this concept by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a declaration adopted on 10 December 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly. This forum aimed at paving the way for universalism by resolving the cultural differences between member nations, an approach which some argue, has led to the needs of certain cultures being compromised. The concept of universalism was further boosted by the adoption of the International Criminal Court in June 1998, with its core aim being the enforcement and promotion of the values agreed upon by the member states of the United Nations.

Over the course of the 20th century, many movements and groups have achieved intense social changes in the name of human rights. In North America and Western Europe, labor unions brought about laws which granted workers to strike and established minimum work conditions. The women’s rights movement succeeded in gaining voting rights for women while the National liberation movements succeeded in driving out colonial powers in many countries. The United Nations, together with its member states, have developed much of the discussion and bodies of law that currently make up international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

In reality, the concept of Universalism is basically based on Western philosophies and the values they place on the individual. This approach can be seen as a product of Christianity as well as the Greek philosophy and contends that one can use reason or nature to identify basic rights inherent to every human. This concept was challenged by a delegation led by China, Iran and Syria at the 1993 United Nations Conference on Human Rights which was held in Vienna. They argued that the current definition of human rights was not universal, but was based on Western morality and should therefore not be imposed as norms in non-western societies. They further argued that this concept disregarded the non-western societies’ historical and economic development and their cultural perceptions of what is wrong and right.

Cultural relativism, by contrast, is based on the thought that there are no objective standards by which others can be judged. It was introduced by the sophist Protagoras, among others who empirically established that there exist many different cultures in the world and each are equally worthy. For example, female genital mutilation is not mandated by any religion, but has become a tradition in many different cultures in Africa, South America and Asia. On the other hand, it is considered by the international community as a violation of girl’s and women’s rights, which has resulted in the outlaw of the culture in some countries. However, International Law has only recently begun to tackle the issue of cultural relativism by paying more attention to certain themes (Bozeman, 1971).

In Saudi Arabia, human rights are intended to be based on Sharia, a set of Islamic religious laws under the rule of the House of Saud, the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (US Department of State, 2004). The government of Saudi Arabia has often been criticized for its treatment of political and religious minorities, homosexuality and women. The Human rights of this country are specified in article 26 of the Basic System of Governance of Saudi Arabia, a constitution- like charter which is in accordance with Sharia. The National Society for Human Rights was the first independent human rights organization in Saudi Arabia, and was established in 2004. In 2008, the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia, also known as the Shura Council, ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights, a charter which affirms the principles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Charter and the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam. It provides for a number of traditional human rights, such as the right to liberty, protection of persons from torture, freedom to practice religious observance, among others.

Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries in the world with judicial corporal punishment, the formal application of caning, whipping, birching and strapping as an official sentence by order of a court. In Saudi Arabia, judicial corporate punishment is carried out under Sharia, and includes whipping for lesser crimes such as drunkenness and “sexual deviance” and the amputations of hands and feet for more serious crimes such as robbery. This country also engages in capital punishment, which includes public executions by beheading. This is in accordance to strict interpretation of Islamic law as a punishment for rapists, murderers, and armed robbers. There were 191 executions in 2005, 38 in 2006, while in 2007; there were 153 executions (International, 2009).

The government of Saudi Arabia has been criticized for lack of protection and violation of several human rights such as the freedom of religion. In this country, the practice of non-Muslim religions is aggressively prohibited. With the government declaration of the Holy Quran and the Sunna (tradition) of the Prophet Muhammad as the country’s constitution, Saudi Arabian law does not recognize religious freedom. Saudi Arabia, being an Islamic State, offers preferential treatment for Muslims and prohibits the burial of Non-Muslims on Saudi soil. During Ramadan, the month of fasting, eating, drinking or smoking during daylight hours in public is not allowed, even for Non-Muslims (Abdul, 2008). Foreign schools operating in Saudi Arabia are required to teach a yearly introductory segment on Islam and missionary work by any religions other than Salafi/Wahabi Islam is forbidden.

Anti-Semitism, prejudice towards Jews as a result of hatred of their culture, religion and/or ethnic background, is very widespread in Saudi Arabia. In 2007, it was reported that a state website prohibited Jewish people and Israeli passport holders from entering the kingdom. The Saudi administration removed the offensive language, claiming that it was a mistake (CNN, 2004). A study of Saudi Arabia’s revised schoolbook curriculum in May 2006 discovered that the eighth grade book included text that discriminated against “Christian infidels of the communion of Jesus”.

In Saudi Arabia, LGBT rights, initials referring to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, are not recognized. In accordance with Islamic morality, cross-dressing and homosexuality are seen as decadent acts and are treated as solemn crimes. These acts, as well as the involvement with any activity that hints at the existence of an organized gay community, are punishable by imprisonment, lashing, deportation for foreigners and sometimes execution.

According to the law, all Saudi citizens infected with HIV or AIDS are entitled to protection of their privacy, free medical care and equal employment and educational opportunities. However, most Saudi hospitals will not treat infected patients and many hospitals and educational institutions are reluctant to share out government information about the disease. This is because of the stigma and strong taboos associated with how the virus can be spread (Yamani, 2005). However, the situation has started to change, with the government recognizing World AIDS Day, and permitting information about the disease to be published in local newspapers and journals. Any foreigner found to be HIV positive (or with any other serious medical condition), is deported back to their country.

Political freedoms in Saudi Arabia are also curtailed, with the Saudi government restricting the freedom of speech and the press to forbid criticism of the government. Political organizations and trade unions are banned, public demonstrations are outlawed and Internet reception within Saudi Arabia’s borders is actively censored by the government. The arrest of Fouad al-Farhan, a prominent Saudi blogger and reformist in December 2007, was seen as a crackdown by the Saudi government on online dissent. He was jailed in solitary confinement, without charges, after criticizing several prominent Saudi business, media and religious figures (Murphy, 2008). Fouad was released on 26 April, 2008.

In Saudi society, gender roles come from Sharia, Islamic law, as well as the tribal culture. All women, regardless of social status or age, are required to have a male guardian. Saudi women do not have voting rights, and cannot be elected to high political positions (Sasson, 2001). However, there is substantial evidence that Saudi women do not want radical change. Advocates of reform in this country reject the Western critics of Saudi Arabia for failing to understand the Islamic uniqueness of the Saudi society (Zoeph, 2010). Advocates argue that Saudi women do have rights, though these rights are dependent on their obligations in life.

Majority of the Saudis do not view Islam as the main obstruction to women’s rights and dismiss perceptions of Islam as being patriarchal as a Western typecast. To prove that Islam allows strong women, Saudis often invoke the life of Prophet Muhammad. Khadijah, the Prophet’s first wife, was a powerful businesswoman who employed him and is the one who initiated the marriage proposal. Aisha, another one of his wives, commanded an entire army at the Battle of Camel, a battle that took place in Iraq, at Basra in 656, and for this, she is the source of many hadiths (Betsy, 2010).

Saudi women face discrimination in many aspects of their lives, such as the civil, common and religious systems. Despite the fact that they make up over 70% of those enrolled in public universities, due to social reasons, Saudi women only make up 5% of the national workforce. The efforts by the government to support expanded employment opportunities for women in this country met fierce resistance from the religious police, the labor ministry as well as the male citizenry (Canlas, 2006). In most parts of this country, it is believed that the role of the woman is to care for her husband and family. There is widespread segregation in Saudi homes, with some rooms having separate entrances for the men and women.

Driving had been banned for women, until 1990, when it was introduced as official legislation after 47 women drove cars through Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Though illegal, women in areas outside the cities and in the rural areas of Saudi Arabia do drive cars (Y, 2009). Saudi women are permitted to fly aircraft, though they are required to be chauffeured to the airport (Bascio, 2007). Many Saudis believe that allowing Saudi women the right to drive could lead to an erosion of traditional values and Western-style openness. Before a Royal Decree in 2008, women were not permitted to enter furnished apartments or hotels without a mahram or chaperon. With the decree, the only requirements they needed were their national ID cards, and the hotel must inform the nearest police station of their length of stay as well as the room reservation (Canlas J. , 2008).

The current government, under King Abdullah, is considered reformist. This government has appointed the first female cabinet member, opened the nation’s first co-educational university and is also credited for passing legislations against domestic violence. However, critics say that the reform is very slow and is more symbolic than substantive. Conservatives see the Saudi society as the center of Islam and hence the deed for unique conservative values. They seek to preserve the culture’s traditional gender roles, while on the other hand; radical activists compare the condition of the Saudi Arabian Women to slavery (S, 2010). A government poll conducted in 2006 found out that over 80% of Saudi Arabian women do not think that women should work or drive with men. A subsequent poll found that most Saudi women are not of the opinion that women should be allowed to hold political office. Saudi women are in high support of their traditional gender roles and are of the opinion that reforms would be opposed to Islamic values. They argue that they already have a high level of independence and that reforms would bring about unwanted Western cultural influences (Saleh Ambah, 2010).

In Saudi Arabia, all women are required to have a male guardian, who can be a father or husband. This guardian has rights and duties to his woman in various aspects of civic life. Saudi women must first seek their guardian’s permission for various matters such as marriage and divorce, education, travel (if below 45 years), employment as well as opening a bank account. Guardian’s requirements are not written law, but are applied according to the society’s customs, as well as the understanding of particular institutions such as hospitals and banks. Official transactions initiated by women are often abandoned and officers often demand the presence of a guardian in order to prove authorization. In a recent interview, Saudi women defended male guardians as providing love and protection (Zoeph, 2010).

In 2008, some Saudi women launched a petition defending guardians, which gathered over 500 signatures. The petition also requested the punishment for those activists equality and mingling between Saudi men and women. Liberal activists on the other hand reject guardianship and see it as demeaning to women. They object to the treatment of women as subordinates or children (Wagner, 2010). They cite cases of women whose careers were ended by their guardians, or who lost custody rights over their children. In a case in 2009, a father prohibited several of his daughter’s attempts to marry outside their clan, and sent her to a mental institution as a form of punishment (Jahwar, 2009). Activists agree that most Saudi men are caring, but see this kindness as a result of pity, from lack of respect for their women, and they compare male guardianship to slavery, with ownership of a woman being passed on from one man to another.

The ludicrousness of the guardianship system is shown by what would happen to a woman if she tried to remarry: she would have to seek the permission of her son (Betsy, 2010). The Saudi government has defended itself by saying that there is no law of male guardianship and maintains that agreements are applied in the courts and other legal channels.

The male guardianship system is very closely related to sharaf, a system which involves the protection of females in the family by a male individual. The male provides for them, and in sequence, the women’s honor is reflected on him. Since the honor of the male guardian is affected by that of the women in his family, he is expected to control their behavior. If a man loses his honor because of a woman under his care, he is permitted to cleanse his honor by punishing her, which can be death in extreme cases. In 2007, a young Saudi lady was killed by her father for chatting with a man on Facebook. Conservatives called for the government ban on Facebook, because it causes social causes social strife by encouraging inter-gender mingling and inciting lust (Frthjof, 2007).

In many Islamic states, women are required cover parts of that are arwah i.e. not meant to be exposed, which is mainly the face. However, in Saudi Arabia, the whole of the woman’s body is considered arwah, with exception of the hands and eyes. Women are therefore required to wear the niqab, or veil, a hijab; whish is s head covering, as well as an abaya, which is a full black cloak. In this country, women’s clothing must not reveal anything about her body and is therefore required to be loose, thick and opaque. It is generally required to be unadorned and of a dull color and should not raise interest to the male (Saleh, 2009). Saudi women are however not bothered by the dress code and place it low on the list of priorities for reform. Majority of the women wear the veil with pride, and say it reduces destructions from their male counterparts.

Sex aggregation is anticipated in public, especially between non-mahram women and men. Most official and educational institutions have separate entrances and exits for both men and women. According to law, there should be clear visual and physical separate sections for both sexes at all meetings and gatherings, including weddings and funerals. Public places such as amusement parks and beaches are also segregated, sometimes by time, so that men and women visit at different hours. Many Saudi homes have different entrances for men and women, with private space being associated with women and public space such as living rooms being reserved for men. Since eating requires the removal of the veil for women, most Saudi restaurants are segregated to different sections and they also bar entrance to women who come without their mahrams or husbands (Murphy, Saudi Arabia: Dining by Gender, 2010).

Even Western companies for instance Starbucks and McDonald’s enforce Saudi religious regulations and maintain sex-segregated zones in their restaurants. This has often led to these companies being criticized by Western activists as the facilities in the women’s zones are usually lower in quality. The segregation rules sometimes apply to banks and even hospitals. However, the number of mixed-gender workplaces has been on the rise since the crowning of King Abdullah, though they are still strange.

Some clerics issued fatwa, a religious opinion issued by an Islamic scholar concerning an Islamic law, which encouraged women to provide breast milk to any man with whom she comes into frequent contact with. The milk should not come directly from the woman’s breast, and reduces the difficulties of strict sex segregation by allowing him to become a relative of the family. In Islam, this breast milk kinship is considered to be as good as blood relationship and therefore allow the males to come onto contact with the without having to break Islam’s rules about mixing. Another scholar disagreed, saying that the milk should come straight from the womb’s breast, an issue which was ridiculed by reformists who argue that this could end up being more erotic, and definitely not maternal.

Women’s economic rights in Saudi Arabia are also severely infringed. In order for a woman to buy or sell a piece of property, she is obligated to bring two men as witnesses to identify her identity. In addition, she is required to bring four other male witnesses to testify that the first two are valid witnesses and that they actually know her. This makes it hard for women to attain their legal rights, and therefore, they often end up finding other solutions such as paying bribes.

Since childhood, Saudi girls are taught that their key role is to take good care of the household and raise the children, though Sharia allows women to work, as long as she does not neglect her essential homemaking duties. Government offices strictly advocate for the minimization of interaction between women and non-mahram men. They are allowed too work as long as their male guardians or husbands approve. A woman’s work must be deemed suitable for her physique and mentality and for this reason, they cannot be appointed as judges or to positions of high public office.

The Saudi labor ministry has been inconsistent in its support for reforms promoting women’s right to work. In 2006, the then minister of labor, Dr.Ghazi Al-Qusaibi was quoted as saying that the labor Ministry was not acting to promote women’s employment because the best place for a woman to serve is in her own home (Al-Awsat, 2006). In recent years, mixed gender workplaces have become more common, especially in industries that must serve women such as medicine and banking. In this country, 71% to 78% of females are literate, compared with males who have 85% literacy rates. The number of women who receive secondary and tertiary education is higher than that of men with over 50% of working women having a college education (Forum, 2009).

The freedom of movement for Saudi women is strongly limited as they are not supposed to leave their houses or neighborhoods without the consent of their male guardian or in the company of a mahram. Women are not allowed to drive and are forbidden from using public transport. When allowed, they are required to use a separate entrance and sit in sections reserved for women. However, the bus companies with the widest coverage of Saudi’s capital, Riyadh, do not allow women at all.

In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to run for public offices, but they are permitted to hold positions on boards of chambers of trade. There is one woman in a cabinet position, as assistant minister for women’s education. In court cases, the testimony of one man is considered to be equivalent to that of two women. In April 2010, women were issued with new ID cards with fingerprints and GPS tracking features. Women are registered in their father or husbands’ identification card and conservatives argue that cards which show the unveiled face of a woman violate Saudi’s customs. Though the government banned the practice of forced marriages, females are not allowed to make their own decisions on this issue.

Just like in any other domain, states should not be pushed into creating local or universal structures that bypass their levels of control. As in the case of Saudi Arabia, most of the groups in society whose rights are violated do not have equal access to the law. This demonstrates how both theories create a double standard, with men readily accepting western norms and women bearing the brunt of cultural authenticity. However, with realistic strategies, cultural sensitivities in countries like Saudi Arabia can be reconciled with universal goals.

Since the beginning of Human Rights until recent Human Rights issues, the interpretation and concept of Human Rights have been diversified significantly. Western construct have played a big role in the creation of Human Rights and in questioning the meaning of ‘universal’ rights. “The rights one has because one is human” is a clear and concise meaning of human rights, which is an appurtenance to an individual, where certain parts are not included, such as benefits. The western ideology of Human Rights have greatly inputted in Human Rights through various concepts that have been introduced to non western societies. These various concepts of western construct have influenced Universal Human Rights, where western politics have greatly altered the concept of Human Rights, also through colonisation which is particularly affected Indigenous communities, and by western cultures and societies. The western construct of Human Rights is eminently viewed in Human Rights, which are present in both western and non western societies.

Human Rights have gradually been altered and changed to insert western values and political thoughts into non-western states and societies. The western political emphasis for “the right to development and to freedom from hunger” is predominate in Africa as a rightYet, some of these rights do not correlate within societies in Africa. In result of this, many African leaders repudiated western political emphasis of Human Rights into their societies and designed their own Human Rights Charter, or also known as the “African (Banjul) Charter on Human Rights”, to suit their society.3 Even though the African Charter was created to suit the African society, western political influence is still clearly evident in the charter. “Individual freedoms and rights as values” has lost its significance in non western political thought, which is much of a variance, though non western societies have trouble determinating this significance that would be easier in western societies. Political influence is widely viewed in Human Rights and it influences the rights that are also used in non western societies.

The western concept was also brought through colonisation and it too affected the Human Rights significantly. It is how the western ideology was introduced in non western societies. Colonialism creates the basis and idea of Human Rights throughout history. The colonisation of certain states that have Indigenous People has influenced the Human Rights that are present in their societies. The fleet that arrived in countries with Indigenous People, particularly Australia, were asserted in the Indigenous Community without their permission, thus resulting in ascendancy in the communities. Bringing “civilisation” and “the religion of Christianity” was a priority for the fleet, to introduce them with their style of Human Rights. Though, this occurrence ended in a bloody way by killing and damaging many of the Indigenous People in order to universalise “universal moral values.” Indigenous People were greatly affected through colonisation all due to insertion of western construct of Human Rights, which resulted in many casualties questioning whether basic Human Rights have been breached just for introducing the western construct of Human Rights.

The post colonisation period, many Indigenous people have been ridiculed and degraded in society. Many rights, which are of western construct, are evident in the Indigenous society, where it lacked some rights or in some cases the rights did not fit in. Group rights, which are rights intended for a group of people, created problems in the Indigenous community. Group rights were mainly to do with economy and social class, rather than individual problems such as racism and ethnicity. Some speculate that if the existence of Group Rights was not evident, “ethnic integration” would not have been as difficult, and an end to “ethnic hostility” would have been seen.6 Indigenous People are seen to be excluded from the “social life” and “economic opportunity”, through practical questions such as “why are their health conditions worse?” et cetera. Only a handful of governments apologised to the Indigenous People, which brought them closer to the western society and the reconciliation process was starting to take effect.6 Colonisation was seen to affect Indigenous Communities and result in western rights implemented into their societies.

Through colonisation, western culture has been introduced and changed, through Human Rights, in non western societies and cultures. It differs greatly from the cultures evident in non western societies. Indigenous Rights, in Latin America, was seen to be the main priority. It focused on the state abusing the Indigenous people and pushing for Indigenous people to have rights to their land and culture The Spanish community and people in Latin America have been introducing western culture into the Indigenous community of Latin America, thus implementing the Human Rights as a western construct. It is evident that in Universal Human Rights, the “cultural imperialism” is dominant by the west. The argument brought by Fernando Teson is that domination of certain attitudes seen in cultures, are accordingly “appropriate” and “moral. Another point Teson argues is that “ethnocentrism” that relativists view are not supplying the same basic rights to “non western cultures” as opposed to the “western cultures” receiving those rights. Western culture has been a big influence in the non-western cultures and societies, it change the rights significantly in the non western society and adapted the western idea and thought but in the same time the western construct of rights was viewed differently in the non western cultures.

The western society has also greatly impacted on the non western society, with the influence of western life and living which altered the Human Rights, and thus impacting it on the non western society. Human Rights, to a certain extent, accepts the idea that they are “rights of the human in society”. In 1789 the French recognised and stated the fundamentals of Human Rights which are evident in society, suggests that society too is in power to deliberate those rights, stating that western society can change and dismantle any specific right in any society.Edmund Bourke creates one of the most protruding “historical criticism” of the notion that Universal Human Rights derives from western construct and western societies that are implemented into non western societies. He argues that the French revolution changed the rights of many individuals and groups in society into a western for of rights. Bourke’s “Reflections on the Revolution in France”, states a large argument of “traditional communities” and problems in “traditional values”, such as “religion and loyalty”, creates problems, disorder and integrity of western societies, thus the western societies alter many of the rights in order to suit their desires and to comply with the way they live Western society has changed many of the traditional concepts in non western society, thus the western society impacting greatly on non western societies with Human Rights.

It is evident that the western construct has greatly impacted and significantly changed and altered the idea of Human Rights. These Human Rights are being implemented into non western societies, and the eastern oriental community are having to follow these concepts and ideas. The ironic title of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is much seen as a western creation of Human Rights. The examples shown in this essay argues the idea of western construct in the universal human rights through various factors such as politics, culture, colonisation and society.

Eunuchs are addressed by many names: hijra, kinnar, transsexuals, the third sex, or the other sex. The very first image that comes to our mind when we think of eunuchs is that of a man-body clad shabbily in a sari. The face caked in whitish powder and cheeks circled with cheap rouge, bright red lips, and dark kohl-eyed people – and the ludicrously odd travesty of womanhood clapping clamorously in a busy market hustling for five or ten rupees.

Eunuchs in India are deprived of normal rights as our law codes recognize only two sexes: male and female. Eunuchs are generally dressed as females, adopt feminine names and referred to as “she” and “her”. They are still fighting for their rights to education, jobs, voting and above all, social acceptance.

Eunuchs live in their own communities – a separate world of their own. They have their own Gods, they follow their own laws and everyone who belongs to this world has to abide by these laws. Among these ostracized eunuchs, many of them are castrated, few are genetically born hermaphrodite, that is, they have genitals of both sexes, and few are transvestites, that is, a female mind trapped in male body or vice versa.

History of eunuchs is eons old. In earlier times, they were appointed as guards of kings’ harems to avoid the sexual relationships with royal queens. This sexual perversion still exists in society and they are forced to live their lives in isolation. Now the survival instincts drive them to unsafe and insecure corners of sex trade, extortion and crime.

The American Heritage Directory defines Eunuch as ” a castrated man employed as harem attendant or a man or a boy whose testis are non-functioning or have been removed.

There are three categories of Eunuchs:

People who are born with deformed genitalia,

Hermaphrodites, that is, people who have both male and female sex-organs,

Homosexual cross-dressers

Some males who undergo castration to be accepted in Eunuch community.

EUNUCH IS NOT A MALE

A Eunuch is not a male because of the following:-

They have imperfect or absent male sex-organ

They do not have sexual desire for women as men usually have,

They have female names, walk like female, dress like female and behave like female.

EUNUCHS ARE NOT FEMALE

Eunuchs are not female because :-

They do not have female reproductive organs, and

They cannot bear children.

Eunuchs belong to a separate category of sex, that is third sex. But the problem is that the third sex is not recognized by law or the Indian society. So the Eunuchs or the ‘Hizras” have no legal identity.

Since the law recognized only two sex- categories, that is male and female, let us find out how sex is determined. Sex is typically determined at birth by focusing on external genitalia. This is problematic in two particular cases

Where the sexual organ is ambiguous, and

Where the external genitals do not correspond to chromosomal sex.

For example, individuals with Androgen Insensitivity syndrome (AIS) have male XY chromosome but female external genitalia. The point to be noted is that determining sex by only looking at external sex-organs is an erroneous inquiry because it ignores other significant biological sex characteristics, including reproductive sex glands, internal sexual organs, hormones and secondary sexual features.

In North America, it is estimated that at least 80,000 men are castrated each year as a result of prostrate cancer. Similar is the position in India. The question arises as to which category they belong now. External genitals always determine sex in India. So loss of testis would mean loss of maleness or male identity. Going by the strict definition of male, one who has lost his testis will lose his legal status as male. But he is also not a female. So in which category we should put him now?

So the problem is:-

The classification or the mode of determination of sex is dominated by majority view, and

the majority view of determining sex is not a perfect one,

the third sex is not at all recognized by the legal system, and

This lack of recognition serves to isolate the transgender community specially the eunuchs in matter of civil rights.

Are Hijras born or made?

The term hijra is often translated as “eunuch” and the archetypal hijra is raised as a man and undergoes ritual removal of the genitals to become a hijra. However, anthropologist Serena Nanda explains that many hijras come from other sexually ambiguous backgrounds. They may be born intersexed, be born male or female and fail to develop fully at puberty, or be males who choose to live as hijras without ever undergoing the castration procedure.

The cultural category “hijra” appears to be a magnet for a variety of sexual and gender conditions: ambiguous sexual anatomy, impotence, infertility, homosexuality, and others, which may not have an analogue in Western cultures. Nanda writes that the crude surgery is done by ‘dais’ (country nurses) whose ‘training’ is based solely on experience. The eunuchs call this ‘operation’ nirbaan meaning ‘mukti’ because the act suggests a ‘transition’ of the person from one ‘life’ to another. Indian legal statutes do not permit such forced castration of males and therefore, there is absolute secrecy around the act of ‘nirbaan.’ The operation is always conducted between three and four before the crack of dawn, while it is still dark, and no one else but the dai-maa and her assistant is present for this ‘ceremonial’ ritual. The whole act is given the colour of a religious ritual like the acceptance of deeksha for a better life in the next birth purely in order to veil the essential barbarity and brutality of the custom and make it seem both acceptable and ‘natural.’

In 1990, Dr. B.V. Subramaniam of the Surat Medical College wrote a paper based on his research on the making of a eunuch. The study reported that most eunuchs in India were the result of forced castration. The method adopted for the surgery is crude, unscientific, threatening to the health of the patient and done in the most unhygienic conditions. The genitals of a normally born male baby are slashed off with a knife dipped in boiling oil. After dressing the wound, a nail with a string attached is tied to the waist and drilled into the stump, which would, with medication and time, begin to look somewhat like a female crotch.

In cases of castration, Subramaniam’s paper says that breasts develop because the seat of the male hormones – testicles – has been removed. When the female hormones take over, the growth of secondary sexual characteristics, such as growth of facial hair, is restricted. So, also the regular change in voice. Castrated or not, eunuchs are sexually active. As they cannot form intimate relations within the parameters of either acceptable or aberrant behaviour due to lack of takers, they take to prostitution. Because of their indiscriminate sexual lives, Subramaniam warns that they are possible carriers of the HIV virus.

POSITION OF EUNUCH IN THE JURISPRUDENTIAL CONTEXT OF ‘PERSON’

In Jurisprudence, “person” means right and duty bearing units. Persons are of two types-Natural person and Artificial person. All human beings are Natural persons. So, all human beings have a legal personality. But in reality we find that eunuchs even though they are human beings and natural person, they are not assigned any legal personality.

In ancient system not all human beings were granted legal personality. For example slaves in ancient times were considered as a movable property of their masters and had no legal personality or rights. Persons who would renounce the world and become monks were considered civilly dead and were considered to be without legal personality.

In modern times however, legal personality is granted to al human beings but it is strange that eunuchs are not assigned any legal personality.

In Oxford dictionary “person” is defined as individual human beings. So as per the definition of person enumerated in the Oxford Dictionary, eunuch must be considered as person.

The Indian Penal Code and the General Clauses Act define “person” as following-

“Person shall include any company, or association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not”. It means that person includes an individual. So even by this definition eunuchs are persons

To award punishment, the law or the courts sometimes consider the eunuchs as males and sometimes as females. At that time they are considered as person but not for conferring civil rights. If section 8 of the IPC is interpreted, it would mean that offence can be committed only by a male or a female. It can be logically argued that a eunuch is neither a male nor a female so how the eunuch can be charged of any offence under the sections of IPC. So in the interest of justice, it is important to interpret the word ‘he’ in IPC, section 8 to included third sex too. If this is done there will be no need for the courts to treat eunuchs sometimes as male and sometimes as females.

POSITION OF EUNUCHS IN INDIA:

India is the only country where the tradition of eunuchs is prevalent today. There are about 1 million eunuchs in India. Most of the eunuchs in India live by begging. They normally come out in groups of about five to ten and spread out in streets approaching small shops and restaurants for alms. Normally people give them small alms out of fear of being cursed. It is widely believed in India that the curse of a “hijra” is very effective; same with their blessings.

Groups of eunuchs learn some music and dancing based on Hindi movie songs and offer to dance at small family functions like naming ceremonies of newborn children, weddings and other village functions. Though eunuchs are not very respected people enjoy them perform and give them alms.

Eunuchs normally live in large groups in particular localities. Other people normally do not dare to go and live along with them due to their abnormal behavior and social stigma. These localities generally consist of shanties, about fifty to hundred of them all grouped in closely.

Eunuchs in India trace their origin to myths in Ramayana and Mahabharata. The story goes that, at the time of banishment of Lord Rama from the kingdom, Lord Rama was impressed with the devotion of Eunuchs and granted them power to confer blessings on people on auspicious occasions like childbirth and marriage and also at inaugural functions. But the reality is completely different from mythology.

REAL AND PRESENT POSITION OF EUNUCH IN INDIA:

Hijras (Eunuchs) in India have virtually no safe spaces, not even in their families, where they are protected from prejudice and abuse. The PUCL(K) Report on Human Rights Violations against the Transgender Community has documented the kind of prejudice that hijras face in Bangalore. The report shows that this prejudice is translated into violence, often of a brutal nature, in public spaces, police stations, prisons and even in their homes. The main factor behind the violence is that society is not able to come to terms with the fact that hijras do not conform to the accepted gender divisions. In addition to this, most hijras have a lower middle-class background, which makes them susceptible to harassment by the police. The discrimination based on their class and gender makes the hijra community one of the most disempowered groups in Indian society. The systematic violence that hijras face is reinforced by the institutions such as the family, media and the medical establishments and is given legitimacy by the legal system. The hijras face many sorts of state and societal harassments such as:

Harassment by the police in public places

Harassment at home

Police entrapment

Abuse/harassment at police stations

Rape in jails

The media, instead of helping their cause, has hampered it almost irreversibly by projecting them either as a dark and sinister group of people with criminal instincts, to be avoided at all costs, or as the laughing stock in films, and rarely with empathy and humanity. The hijra community is a close-knit one, their ways and habitat kept secret from even the closest of neighbours who nurse more hatred than fear for them but prefer not to show it. Only the odd beggar who sleeps on the pavement across the road from a hijra colony seems to envy their deviant existence. They appear to care little for social acceptance but have enough sensitivity (though their manner does not reveal this) to hate being ridiculed by ‘straight’ people. Many of them have turned to crime and prostitution.

The roots of contemporary violence against the hijra community can in fact be traced back to the historical form that modern law in colonial India has taken. It took the form of the enactment of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 which was an extraordinary legislation that even departed from the principles on which the Indian Penal Code was based. To establish an offence under the India Penal Code, the accusations against the accused has to be proved beyond reasonable doubt in court of law. But certain tribes and communities were perceived to be criminals by birth, with criminality being passed on from generation to generation. It fitted in well with the hierarchical Indian social order, in which some communities were perceived as unclean and polluted from birth.

The link between criminality and sexual non-conformity was made more explicit in the 1897 amendment to the Criminal Tribes Act on 1871, which was sub-titled, ‘An act for the Registration of Criminal Tribes and Eunuchs’. Under this law, the local government was required to keep a register of the names and residences of all eunuchs who were “reasonably suspected of kidnapping or castrating children or committing offences under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code”. Any eunuch so registered could be arrested without warrant and punished with imprisonment of up to two years or with a fine or both. The law also decreed eunuchs as incapable of acting as a guardian, making a gift, drawing up a will or adopting a son.

Regarding Civil law they are also not spared here. The hijra community is deprived of several rights under civil law because Indian law recognizes only two sexes. This means that hijras do not have the rights to vote, marry and own a ration card, a passport or a driving license or claim employment and health benefits. In north and central India, hijras, who have contested and won elections to local and State bodies, are now facing legal challenges. In February 2003, the Madhya Pradesh High Court struck down the election of Kamala Jaan as the Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Katni. The court’s logic was that since Kamala Jaan was not a woman, she could not contest the seat, which was reserved for women. Lawyer Pratul Shandilya, who is arguing Kamala Jaan’s case, said: “I have already filed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court, and the court has also granted leave in the petition.”

The High Court verdict came despite a direction from the Election Commission (E.C.) in September 1994 that hijras can be registered in the electoral roles either as male or female depending on their statement at the time of enrolment. This direction was given by the E.C. after Shabnam, a hijra candidate from the Sihagpur Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh, wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner enquiring about which category hijras were classified under.

The law that is used most to threaten the hijra and kothi communities, as well as the homosexual community in India, is Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal” even if it is voluntary. In effect, it criminalizes certain kinds of sexual acts that are perceived to be `unnatural’. The law, which has its origin in colonial ideas of morality, in effect presumes that a hijra or a homosexual person is engaging in `carnal intercourse against the order of nature”, thus making this entire lot of marginalized communities vulnerable to police harassment and arrest. The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA) of 1956 (amended in 1986), whose stated objective is to criminalize brothel-keeping, trafficking, pimping and soliciting, in reality targets the visible figure of the sex worker and enables the police to arrest and intimidate the transgender sex-worker population. So we can summarize the real position of eunuchs in India as follows:-

Constitution of India does not consider them as third gender; they are deprived of social, civil and political rights.

They do not have right to vote, do not have rations cards.

They are not at all recognized as citizens of India and thus they are deprived of protection and rights available to a citizen.

They face prejudice and sometimes this prejudice is translated into violence, often of brutal nature, in public places, prisons, police stations etc.

The entertainment industry in India portrays them as butt of ridicule. Children learn about the eunuchs through the movies and the only thing they learn is that Eunuchs are something to be joked upon.

Eunuchs in India are treated with contempt by the society. The family of Eunuchs disowns them when they come to know about their sexuality.

Eunuchs in India find hard to get good education.

Most public and private companies use several excuses to deny employment to the Eunuchs. The end result is that they are forced into prostitution.

Sometimes people who scoff at the eunuchs during the daylight approach them at night for perverted sex. They end up having various sexually transmitted disease including AIDS.

SILVER LINING

With every single thing going against the Eunuchs; a notable amount of awareness has also been seen all over the world. Around the world, countries are beginning to recognize the rights of transgender people. In a landmark judgment (Christine Goodwin vs. the United Kingdom, 2002) the European Court of Human Rights declared that the U.K. government’s failure to alter the birth certificates of transsexual people or to allow them to marry in their new gender role was a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. It said that a test of biological factors could no longer be used to deny recognition legally to the change of gender that a transsexual had undergone. In New Zealand, in New Zealand Attorney General vs. the Family Court at Otahuhu (1994), the court upheld the principle that for purposes of marriage, transsexual people should be legally recognized in their re-assigned sex.

Of late the Indian hijra community has begun to mobilize themselves through the formation of a collective. Sangama, an organization working with hijras, kothis and sex workers in Bangalore, has played an important role by helping them organize and fight for their rights. Its services include organizing a drop-in centre for hijras and kothis, conducting a series of public rallies and marches, using legal assistance in case of police harassment, and establishing links with other social movements.

The organizations of the hijra community can be seen as constituting a larger movement of sexual minority groups in India. They are challenging the constitutional validity of Section 377 and are organizing a campaign questioning the government’s stand that the law should remain. The discrimination and violence that hijras face show that it is high time that both the government and the human rights movement in the country begin to take this issue with the seriousness it deserves.

SUGGESTIONS

India has to travel a long way towards granting full constitutional rights to Eunuchs, Gays, Transvestites and Homosexual individuals.

The traditions of India are full of deep rooted prejudices against Eunuchs in general. In India Gays, Transvestites and Homosexuals are seen living along with Eunuchs and find themselves safe there. This is because of the deep rooted social stigma against them.

Of late the election commission of India has allowed the Eunuchs to fill the election form by stating “Other” in the slot where one has to fill either “male” or “female”. This is of course a very small step in the right direction and lot more need to be done.

Eunuchs are natural persons and they have a legal entity. It is high time that law and judiciary should recognize them as third sex.

Comprehensive Civil Rights legislation should be enacted to provided eunuchs the same protection and rights guaranteed to others.

Law should be made to punish the person, who discriminate people on the basis of their gender identity.

In Voter’s Identity card, one category of Eunuch can be added other than male and female.

Right to marry is the fundamental right of the people so laws must be made regarding the marriages of eunuchs.

The Press Council of India and other watch dog institution of various popular media should issue guidelines to ensure sensitive and respectful treatment of issues relating to Eunuchs.

We people can make a difference. Eunuchs are victims of biasness not only from the side of Government but also from the side of people. So we must accept them and our attitude towards them must be positive. We must realize that law alone cannot reverse the centuries old history and tradition of ruthless discrimination against the Eunuchs. We must accept them as ‘one of us’

Without economic empowerment the emancipation of an exploited community is a distant dream. Suitable vocational training may be provided to them with a view to integrating them into the mainstream of society in appropriate jobs.

Millions of such souls in our country lead lifeless lives. The government has taken few steps to bridge this gap. In passports, ration cards, and other utility forms O (for other sex) or E (for Eunuch) has been added under the ‘sex’ category. But still, a lot needs to be done. This can only be achieved once we change our mindset and by spreading awareness to every stratum of the society. It’s high time to think seriously about the oppressed lives eunuchs live in India. It’s not about what we can give to them. It’s about the respect, love and status they actually deserve as human beings.

Easier said than done but it will surely be a very noble thing to adopt a eunuch as a child.

Right from conception to the day of death, a human’s life is constantly developing and changing. However, most of these changes and developments are solely caused by the diverse stages we go through as human beings. The development stages are purely determined by biological and sociological heritage encountered by human beings. There are various developmental stages in the life of a human being which need to be addressed with great care so as to mitigate the negative effects associated with aging. As we age, there are various advancements that occur in us. For instance, we are able to properly use our bodies, develop relationships, communicate and work as well as experience love. The importance of possessing adequate knowledge on ageism and stereotypes associated with it cannot be overemphasized. This is due to the fact that the unfolding of human development lifespan is the base of our problems in life. There have been widespread views on death of human beings during various points of development. As such, religious and cultural perspectives have had different views about human development and death. Nevertheless, human life can be likened to journey where one moves from one point to another, facing various challenges and moments of joy distinct from others’.

Promoting health and wellness in old age

Promoting health and wellness during late adulthood can be very helpful in the mitigation against negative impacts of aging. It is considered that late adulthood starts at the age of 65 years. According to experts, this stage of life can be made a lively one if individuals obtain satisfaction and meaning in life rather than disillusionment and bitterness (Miller, 2008). Similarly, people within this age bracket are advised to develop a resolution between integrity versus despair which is always in conflicts throughout ones life. Statistics has shown that about 20% of the American population is composed of people aged 65 years and above. Moreover, further studies have demonstrated that with the improved modern medical technology, there is likelihood that longer lives can be attained artificially. Furthermore, it has been proved that longevity of life is not always associated with physical and mental deterioration.

Psychologists have developed various ways through which individuals can eliminate the negative consequences of aging. For example, there are two theories that have been associated with successful aging: activity theory and disengagement theory. The former relates to the fact that as people age, their involvement in the normal societal activities is advisable due to the relief from difficult responsibilities. Consequently, opportunities are opened up for the younger people leading to better benefits to the society (Miller, 2008). The latter theory contradicts the former. It emphasizes that for better adjustment to aging, earlier activities of life should be maintained. Moreover, the proponents of the theory argue that being active ensures maintenance of the normal quality of life. In addition, maintenance of activity of a complete whole: physical, mental and social, prevents negative impacts of aging.

Ageism and old age stereotypes

Ageism is discrimination based on age. This form of discrimination is apparent in all ages but mostly applies towards the older people. Due to this kind of prejudice, older people are compelled to retire even though they still feel fit to continue working. Ageism is associated with various stereotypes about older people. There is no particular truth associated with stereotypes and ageism. For instance, when a person makes a remark such as, “He drives like a little old lady”, they are making a stereotype that may not have reasonable truth. While it may be true for an elderly lady to do most of her things slowly, there are others that do not have issues with speed. In fact, they may be faster than most of people several years younger (Nelson, 2004).

Scientists have proved that the peak of ones physical strength as well as endurance is attained during the twenties. Thereafter, a decline ensues though at different rates depending on individuals. When one attains the late adulthood age, diverse physiological alterations may occur. Additionally, some level of brain atrophy may occur coupled with decreased neural process rates. Other numerous body changes such as decreased efficiency of the circulatory and respiratory rates and change of the gastrointestinal system occur during old age and they have profound impacts. Similarly, diminish of the bone mass particularly on women may lead to complications like osteoporosis. Other myths and stereotypes on aging include the believe that older people are senile, that the five senses are repressed during old age, that older people have no capacity and interest in sex, that most older people have a feeling of misery most often, that about 10% of aged live in long-stay institutions, that there is tendency towards being religious during old age, that old people are poor learners and during old age illnesses are bound to increase. The number of myths and stereotypes is somewhat inexhaustible. However, the fact is that these myths do not apply on all old people (Nelson, 2004).

The concept of death dying

Death and dying during different levels of human development have diverse views. Immense interest has always been associated with death and dying (Corr & Nabe, 2005). Innumerable views have been given by different people on the concept of death and dying. However, the society has played a central role in shaping the perceptions of the people towards death and dying during different stages of human development. From time to time, there have been changing attitudes about death. Besides the usual attitude of fear concerning death, other attitudes have emerged in the recent times. During the process of human development, changes occur on the view of death and dying. For instance, during birth, one does not have an idea of what death is. However, this changes as one advance in age. Similarly, views concerning death are varied during different stages of human development. For instance, death of a child may be regarded very inappropriate due to the loss of an unexploited human being (Corr & Nabe, 2005). Similarly, if one dies during the Middle Ages, it may be regarded as an intense loss due to the resources used on the person who does not benefit the society. Finally, when a person dies during old age, it may not be regarded as intense as the society has derived some benefits from them.

Different cultures have varied views about death and dying. According to philosophers, understanding the reality of death and the impacts on mans’ life; comprehension of the fears associated with death, enables people to live their lives fully. However, the American society does not believe in the reality of death; leading to confusion among people on issues of death. During the medieval days, people are said to have had a natural approach on death. This is contrary to the today’s technology age where the western people have been separated from the reality of their biology. Consequently, there has been an obscurity of death realities. Different cultural perspectives about death and dying relate to care accorded to the dead, the life after and body disposal (Corr & Nabe, 2005). There are rituals performed during these times depending on culture such as cremation as in Hindu, sky burial as in Tibet and mummification in other cultures.

Conclusion

Humans go through various stages during their lifetime. Various developments are attained before old age. Old age can be made more interesting though maintenance of proper focus on health and wellness. Myths and stereotypes about old age lead to prejudice on the old. Cultural variability has led to diversity on concepts of death and dying.

Sociologists have long argued about whether or not we are controlled by the structure of the society in which we live, in other words, are we or are we not ‘puppets of society’. Social structure theorists such as Functionalists and conflict theorists like Marxists, believe that we are ‘puppets’ and that our behavior is controlled by the structure of the society in which we live. Both theories suggest that people are controlled by society but this argument is opposed by social action theorists such as Symbolic Interactionists who believe that society is created by the individuals themselves. To show far it can be argued that human beings are ‘puppets of society’ this paper will look at functionalism and social control through the family, Marxism and social control within the education system and then look at the opposing theory of Symbolic Interactionism. It is also intended to discuss the recent structuration theory of Giddens who argues that these theories are no longer valid in determining if we are ‘puppets’ because both structure and action are necessary for society to exist and thus in some instances in our lives we are ‘puppets’ and others we are not.

According to Jones, Functionalists like Durkheim consider ‘human behavior as learned behavior'(Jones, 2004, p.6), in other words everything we know and do has to be taught to us given that when we are born we have no knowledge of anything. Functionalist perspectives, which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability (Schaefer, 2009, p 14). They argue that all our behavior is learned through the socialization process. Functionalists consider that primary socialization is the basis to learning the norms, values and roles of society and we undertake this process within the family unit. It is, according to Functionalist theory, where we are taught the traditions and cultures of the society we are born into. It is through learning these norms and values of our own culture that we learn our own role within society and are able to contribute to that society and help maintain social stability. It could be argued that through these ‘unwritten rules of society’, which we learn within the family, we are forced to behave in a way that is beneficial for the whole of society, thus we are ‘puppets of society’. Functionalists see society as a consensus state where almost everyone, because of the norms and values passed onto them through their primary socialization, agrees to abide by them. Most people generally appear to respect and follow by these rules and it could be, according to Functionalists that it is due to the fact that from birth we are: confronted by a social world already in existence. Joining this world involves learning “how things are done” in it (Jones, 2004, p. 6). Jones appears to suggest that we can only belong to society if we learn what is already known. It does not allow for the fact that people may confront and challenge the learning process of socialization, it assumes that we will just accept what we are told, without question. So it could be said that we are ‘puppets of society’ because we comply with the rules of the society that have been created before we were born and therefore we are abiding by societies rules as well as those of our own family learned through socialization.

Functionalists also view the family as crucial to maintaining social stability and assisting with social control via the adult as: The family provided …… the adult with the physical and emotional support needed for their roles in society (Wilson, 1985, p. 21). If a member of the family goes against the ‘rules’ then, generally, punishment is kept within family and it could be argued that the family is ‘acting as an agent of social control’ (Moore, 2001, p164) so, by ensuring that the family members all know what is acceptable behavior in public society and the private sphere and that bad behavior is disciplined as necessary we can see how the idea of ‘puppets of society’ within the family fits in with a Functionalist point of view. However, a criticism of a Functionalist view on how we behave within society is that it looks at the family from a macro approach, which focuses on the large scale structures of society. It fails to take into consideration the individual family unit. Functionalists base their argument on the nuclear family; yet in today’s society there are a number of different types of family, who may all have different values due to their individual circumstances. We therefore cannot assume that every family in today’s modern society agrees with and teaches their children the same norms and values as that of their neighbors and thus because there is less consensus regarding the rules of society the idea that we are ‘puppets of society’ no longer appears quite so clear.

In his article, What is the role of education? Czereniawski states that according to Marxist theorist Althusser, education: socially controls people in two waysaˆ¦..convince pupils that the capitalist system is a fair and just one…it prepares people for their later ‘exploitation’ in the workplace (Czereniawski, 2004). It could be argued then that schools manipulate their pupils to have the right attitudes and obedience that is needed to maintain a capitalist society. Via the streaming system children soon learn that they are not equal to their peers; they realize that some are better than others and it is exactly this kind of influence at school that, Marxists believe, will ensure that people accept, without question, superior authority in the workplace. Although this view does not necessarily suggest that the education system is a way for the ruling class to threaten and intimidate the pupils to be subservient to its rules, it is, perhaps, evident that Marxists consider that human beings are controlled through the class system and especially through socialization within the education system.

However, from a completely different perspective Symbolic Interactionists believe that the each individual is responsible for helping to create society. They consider how society works from a micro, or individual, approach and they look at the many daily actions by its members and believe that it is the individual input into these actions that creates society and therefore they do not believe that we are ‘puppets of society’. The Symbolic Interactionists argue that: the most important influence on an individual’s behavior is the behavior of other individuals toward him (Jones, 2004, p. 17). They believe that human beings are more than capable of realizing what

the actions around them mean and they are quite capable of responding to them in a way that is beneficial to themselves as individuals. Symbolic Interactionists look at society from the individual perspective and analyses the effect each individual action has on another. Jones states that ‘nearly all human action is voluntary’ (Jones, 2004, p. 18). This gives the view that everything we do is not learnt through socialization but that all actions are the choice each individual makes in response to another action towards them. When a child is born into a family it is, usually, loved and cherished and the more the child gets used to the smiles and cuddles from it’s parents it will, even at such a young age, understand the meaning of those loving symbols and the understanding of the world around it will increase as the child encounters more and more symbols of society, equally if a child is abused the interpretation of the abusive symbols

may be duplicated by them because they do not understand anything else. Within schools teachers interpret children in the way they behave in class but the children’s behavior in turn is an interpretation of the way the teacher is towards them and the subject they are being taught and their interest and ability in it. Symbolic Interactionists, therefore, do not believe that we are acting the way we do because of social control or ‘puppets of society’ but that all human action is individual and therefore it is that which creates society.

The sociologist Anthony Giddens rejects the whole idea that society is formed merely through either individual agency or the structure of society. He developed a new theory concerning human action and social control which he calls structuration theory. Giddens argues that: that social life is more than random individual acts, but is not merely determined by social forces. aˆ¦.. it’s not merely a mass of ‘micro’-level activity – but on the other hand, you can’t study it by only looking for ‘macro’-level explanations (Giddens, 2004). Giddens is suggesting that both human agency and social structure work together to form society. This implies that even though there may be a controlled or consensual way of behaving within the structures of

society, these things can change because human beings will challenge and replace or interpret things differently over time.

It is clear that the main argument between structural and action perspectives is that structural perspective believes that society controls people’s behavior because of either a general consensus to the rules of society or of the masses being controlled by the ruling classes through the class system but a social action perspective sees that people’s interpretations of the world and human action around them influences behavior and in turn creates society. Thus structural theory argues that human beings are ‘puppets’, however social action theorists believe they are not ‘puppets’. It is easy to see why Functionalists and Marxists suggest that we are ‘puppets of society’ but equally so it is easy to understand the Symbolic Interactionist viewpoint. Giddens structuration theory may give us the balance needed to understand why we behave as we do. It is clear that at different times in a person’s live their actions may not necessarily be down to their individual free will but they do have a choice to continue with the action and therefore both action and structure are needed, so it could be argued, therefore, that even though at times we are free agents and have an individual choice in our actions we are also ‘puppets of society’ because of the many of the structures of society.

In recent years, focus has been on discovering if poverty is ‘gendered’, that is to say to what extent women may be more at threat of poverty than men. In this essay I shall be discussing how women are affected by poverty and what factors lead to women being poorer than men. Peter Townsend et al (1987) have argued that there has been a ‘feminisation of poverty’, this term may be understood in various ways, it may refer to the increased risk of poverty or the increased visibility of women’s poverty it may also refer to the reconstruction of poverty from a woman’s viewpoint.

It is difficult to compare the poverty of men and women because statistics are usually based on households and this suggests that household incomes are shared evenly between adult members. Glendinning and Millar (1987 maintain that men get a larger share in most cases and this may echo their higher earning ability and the fact that in many households men still make the decisions of how money is spent.

It has been shown that women are more likely to be poorer than men, although their poverty has often been masked behind studies that focused on ‘ male-headed households’ Ruspini (2000).

Townsend acknowledges four groups which make up the majority of the female poor, these consist of women who take care of children and other dependents they are unpaid and are unable to take up employment. There are also lone women with children who dip in and out of employment. Then there are elderly women like pensioners who live alone. There are also women with low earnings where the incomes of others in the household do not contribute towards the total household income to enable the women’s income to go over the poverty line. Women unquestionably tend to experience more poverty than men because their labour both unpaid and paid is undervalued, in addition women have always experienced work in a different way from men.

A private and public split has always existed where women were seen as belonging in the private sphere of hearth and home and the ideologically constructed family, whereas men were seen as belonging in the public sphere of the market and the state.

In terms of work, three main reasons for why women’s poverty continues have been identified, the first is because a third of all women of working age still remain outside the labour market almost twice the proportion for men, they do not have equal access to the core of the labour market and they are disproportionately represented within part-time and lower paid jobs and on average women are paid less than men. The New Labour government has aimed to maximize labour force involvement by supporting (the idea of work-life balance) and trying to make it easier for people to merge paid work and family life. In-work benefits and tax credits were introduced as incentives however the working families tax credit has been more beneficial to women earners than those whose main income comes through male partners since it is more likely to be paid through the pay packet. The development of a National Childcare Strategy was also introduced but it does not measure up to the levels of childcare provision to be found in most other European countries.

The second reason involves the responsibility women have for most of the tasks associated with social reproduction in the way of unpaid care work and domestic labour.

The third reason is the sharing of income and resources within families, in the majority of cases this does not benefit women. Individuals can be poor in households with adequate incomes. This finding has important implications for policy initiatives aimed at the relief of poverty (Pahl 1989; Kempson 1996).

Other forms of inequality have persisted within the public sphere, Gillian Pascall (1997) and others have argued that while women now make up a high proportion of the public sector workforce in healthcare, social work and education, they remain under represented in senior and management positions. This is characteristic of the ‘sticky floor’ where women are concentrated in specific occupations with low pay and status and what they do at work is often similar to what they do at home, although the introduction of the minimum wage in April 1999 has been beneficial to women who are dependent on low paid work but not to other wage groups. Though most health service workers are women, most of the surgeons are men and it is largely men who control health and social services including services that concern women, for instance reproductive healthcare, as well as support for informal carers and the education system. This is typical of the ‘glass ceiling’ where women are less likely to hold senior positions and when they do hold senior positions they have to work harder and for longer hours in jobs that are classed as men’s work. In the 1970’s 70 percent of managers were men and today 90 percent of judges are men.

Anti discrimination legislation has sought to outlaw all forms of sex discrimination but this has mostly brought about advances for individual women but has not benefited all women although it has improved the practices of most employers as well as raising public awareness.

While the education system no longer just prepares girls for domesticity, it is tending to equip them for sub- servient occupations especially in the public sector on the other hand it has also expanded women’s options in the labour market.

Despite the fact that women have been allowed to vote and participate in the democratic process on the same terms as men since 1928, in 2000 only 20 percent of Westminster Members of Parliament were women and in 2001 only 28 percent of local government councillors were women (EOC 2001).

Although there has been a feminisation of the labour market, the increase in women’s workforce participation can have disastrous effects on their health because of the double burden they have to shoulder, at home they take care of children and perform domestic tasks which are unpaid as well as doing their paid job.

The General Household Survey of 1998 showed that the majority of carers were women who provided more than a hundred hours of care per week which was far more than any paid worker would do. It has been shown that caring is costly in various ways, for one there is loss of earnings and the rate of adults providing care who are in paid employment is low, the effect is even greater for women than men and greatest of all in the case of a mother providing care for a disabled child Arber and Ginn(1995): Baldwin (1985).

In addition costs that are associated with disability like house adaptations to accommodate special equipment and higher transport costs.

There is also the cost to the carer in terms of the stress and strain (Glendinning and Millar1992; Pahl 2006).

Social policy is beginning to acknowledge the contribution of carers, one way was the introduction of the Carer’s Act 1985 which imposed an obligation on local authorities, however the support that carers receive is still limited.

Financial support is also provided by the social security system with benefits like carer’s allowance and disabled person’s tax credit for low paid disabled workers.

There are also many ways in which care can be paid for Ungerson (2000); see also Ungerson (2006).

The way social security is arranged and its effects on women can be attributed to the architects of the welfare system who were so used to patriarchal assumptions about respective roles of male breadwinners and female homemakers that the National Insurance system for example was founded on the idea that married women would mainly be financially dependent on their husbands and although obvious biased elements have since been removed, the inheritance of the assumptions on which the system was founded remains.

Lewis and Piachaud (1992) demonstrated that women have always been poorer than men by showing the proportion of women amongst adults in receipt of poor relief or social assistance was at around 60 percent and was the same at the end of the 20th century.

Women are the main recipients of most benefits and rely more on means tested benefits even though it means greater personal scrutiny, rather than contribution based benefits like jobseekers allowance, incapacity benefit and industrial injury benefit because these types of benefit rely on the recipient having been employed, and for women their work patterns are sometimes interrupted when they take time out to raise children and therefore their national insurance contributions are affected. Women are also in some cases hidden claimants because they receive benefits as dependents of male breadwinners, and for this reason, the welfare state may also function directly to make women dependent on men, although housing and social security provision has provided at least some measure of independence to women like those escaping from violent or dysfunctional relationships.

Donzelot (1979) has observed that families seem to have extended functions and are subject by the welfare state to greater levels of surveillance and control for example women’s performance as mothers and informal carers may be subject to supervision by healthcare and social service professionals. ‘The family has not lost its functions, but it has lost control. It is still the major arena for the care of dependents, but traditional female tasks are now defined and managed outside the family and by men’. Pascall (1997: 23). This is seen in the cases of lone parents 90 percent of whom are women who will have social assistance benefits withdrawn if they should cohabit and they can be compelled to cooperate with the making of child support assessments against the father(s) of their child(ren).

In terms of work the, mother -as-work policy ignores that child care is also work and lone mothers stand little chance of becoming equal stakeholders because they must be both breadwinners and carers, and the position at present is that lone mothers are likely to be praised for the paid work they do and condemned as ‘welfare dependent’ for the unpaid work they do and the eradication of the Lone Parent Premium to income support which directly disadvantaged many lone parents most of whom are women.

In recent years studies have shown that pensioners are far more likely than the working population to experience ongoing poverty, between 1998 and 2001, 18 percent of pensioners experienced persistent poverty as compared to 7 percent of the working population. Studies have also found that in recent decades older women and those from ethnic minorities are more likely to experience poverty than other pensioners.

Findings from these studies led Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to state in 2002: ‘ Our aim is to end pensioner poverty in our country’. the introduction of a pension credit in October 2003 which guaranteed a minimum income of half of those people in this age group in the UK attempted to meet this goal but the success of this policy depends on all those entitled to claiming the benefit actually doing so Flaherty et al (2004).

The majority of people over state pension age do retire from the labour market, but as longevity has increased the labour markets have tightened and retirement has become in Townsend’s words ‘ a kind of mass redundancy’ (1991:6).

As a group, old peoples vulnerability to poverty is not as great as it was in the post second world war period, but this should not mask the fact that there is now greater inequality between older people than before.

Since the number of old people both as a proportion of the total population and in absolute terms has grown this means that pensioner poverty is still a major issue.

The employment of older people can be sensitive to changes in the labour market conditions and they may be shut out of jobs when the demand for labour falls.

Age concern (see McEwan 1990), argue that older people are frequently subject to discrimination if they choose to re-enter the labour market often on mistaken assumptions about their reliability and adaptability.

Additionally when older people do eventually become frail they suffer the same problems associated with disability.

The lack of provision of universal pension in this country is out of sync with most industrialised countries, although the introduction of stakeholder pensions for people with no access to private pensions and the introduction of free eye tests has gone some way in helping pensioners at a disadvantage.

Feminists tend to view welfare state provision as being important for improving women’s lives but it also reinforces female dependency on men and the sexual division of labour.

Some strands of feminism stress that women are closer to nature and are naturally more caring and less aggressive and they address the world ‘in a different voice’ Gilligan (1982).

Other strands of feminism discard this view and assert that the gendered nature of society is the exact product of power relations and patriarchy. It is a result of the dominance of men over women and can be rejected.

So in conclusion, having assessed and considered all the evidence and studies on gender and poverty, it is clear that although successive governments have through legislation and policies attempted to lessen the poverty of women, the gap between the sexes still exists and women are still very disadvantaged and are poorer than men and a major reason is the structure of the welfare state which contributes to and reinforces the differences.

Abstract

When thinking of a police officer, what is the first image that comes to mind? If you are like most people, the image is that of a crime fighter, dodging bullets and saving citizens from the grasps of crime and corruption. What if I was to tell you that the realism of law enforcement, conversely, is that of something far less theatrical?

How the Role of Police Changed over time:

How the Role Change Affected the Public’s View of Police

The role of a police officer plays a significant part in normal everyday life. Most recently, however, the role of a police officer started to shift, and that changes many things, including the public’s view on policing. Whether the view change is for better or worse, rest assured these brave men and women will be doing everything in their power to keep us safe. This analysis explores how the role of police has changed over time by answering the subsequent questions,

What was the past role of the police officer?
What is the role of the police officer currently?
What has caused this change in the role?

Understanding these inquiries will better our understanding of how effectively our police force is changing over time to protect its citizens. This will also give the communities a better understanding of just how difficult the role of a police officer is, and maybe with the understanding, more communication and cohesion between the department and its neighborhood are in order.

What was the past role of the police officer?

Before we can look at the current role of a police officer, we have to travel back in time and quickly view the role of the police officer then. Since the beginning of what is known as the professional (or reform) era, law enforcement arose as the key task of police officers (Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec, 2011, p. 139). Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec define law enforcement as, “The police agency’s application of the criminal code to specific situations” (2011, p. 139). Situated at the nucleus of law enforcement is, arresting the accused (Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec, 2011, p. 172).

With the demands so high for law enforcement officers to remove criminals from the streets, a policy known as localized policing came into effect. Localized policing is the formation of smaller departments throughout a larger area (Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec, 2011, p. 146). This meant that police officers could now focus on the parts of town where crime was significantly higher. With the practice of localized policing came the problem of fragmentation. According to Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec, fragmentation is, “The lack of coordination among law enforcement agencies in the same geographical region due to the existence of many small departments” (2011, p. 146). The disadvantages of fragmentation is that, with departments not talking, one district could be enforcing certain laws stricter than its neighboring jurisdiction (Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec, 2011, p. 146-147). A contrast of these neighboring departments could lead to the one community’s thought of the police department changing to that of excessive force. What is even worse than this is, any criminals that run their business in the jurisdiction of the strict police department, might take their illegitimate deeds to the neighboring town creating a massive problem for the less forceful police department and its citizens (Meese III, 1993, p. 2). With these problems on police administrator’s hands, they knew something had to be done to help these officers.

What is the role of the police officer currently?

Fast-forwarding back to current times, the administrators have come up with certain changes in the role of police that might help with past complications. One big change that came through was the new roles of a police officer. As said before, the key role was enforcing the law. In this current time, the police officer actually has three major roles now. They are, maintaining order, law enforcement, and providing service. Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec define maintaining order as, “Peacekeeping activities including enforcement of quality of life laws such as no loitering” (2011, p. 171). According to Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec, this now includes, “traffic control, and crowd management during sporting events, concerts, and parades” (2011, p. 171). Service activities is defined as, “Non-law enforcement activities performed by officers on an as-needed basis, such as, giving someone directions” (Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec, 2011, p. 172). Besides the general change in services, the rudimentary outlook of the police officer changed too. In the past, the police officer would chiefly react to occurrences. Now, the officer investigates, strategizes, and takes the initiative (Meese III, 1993, p. 2).

The most significant change in policing came with the invention of community-oriented policing. Prono defines community policing as, “A cooperative relationship between the police and the community where they operate in tandem to diagnose and address crime issues” (2013, p. 1). Community policing is known for making neighborhoods more conscious of crime, and how to avert it (Prono, 2013, p. 1). One of the biggest components of community policing is civilianization. This is defined as, “assigning to civilians tasks previously performed by police officers” (Masters, Muscat, Dussich, Pincu, & Skrapec, 2011, p. 175). The goal of civilianization is to enlarge the amount of community inhabitants actively partaking in policing. Besides the cutback in crime, another influence that community policing has is, the expansion of a progressive relationship amongst the police and the community.

What has caused this change in the role?

Since there seems to be a new way of policing, administrators decided that they should bring in some new faces around the department. They thought these new faces could help bring some new and exotic ideas to the table. In the 1950s-1960s virtually every department consisted of all white male officers (Sklansky, 2006, p. 1210). As Sklansky states, “In 2005, for the first time in the history of the NYPD, a majority of the new officers graduating from its academy were members of racial minorities” (Sklansky, 2006, p. 1213-1214). This is a huge step toward equality in the workforce.

Something even greater than that comes with the upcoming vast diversity of the police departments. Studies have shown that communities have a better rapport with police officers when some of those police officers are from that descent (Howell, Perry, & Vile, 2004 p. 62). It is not just about race anymore, all genders and sexual orientations are now able, and widely accepted to join the police departments. There is a saying that is implemented in the NYPD, the saying is, “Blue is blue” (Willis, 2002, p. 29). That saying sums it up completely, three little words that have a huge meaning behind them.

Another reason for the change in the role of policing is the public’s opinion of police officers. In the past, the affiliation between African Americans and police officers was difficult [to say the least] (Howell, Perry, & Vile, 2004, p. 45). With the help of diversifying the police force, and largely to community policing, the views of African American citizens on their community police department have improved considerably (Howell, Perry, & Vile, 2004, p. 48). Over the years, with just these few examples, many have seen countless transformations to how the roles of policing have changed for the better.

Our communities are never going to stop diversifying anytime soon. Many positive alterations have already begun to take place. With the help of community-oriented policing, and different points of view throughout the departments, thanks to the expansion of race, gender, and sexual orientation, many communities are seeing police in a whole new light. It will take hard work and determination to stay with the times, and not fall back onto beliefs and practices used in the past. With the help of different community based organizations, and a vast amount of backgrounds, our police departments relationship with the communities should flourish. The role of the police officer should become even more community based, because there still is a feeling in many urban communities of race discrimination, and use of excessive force. With time, this should all be taken care of, just like the many problems faced in the past.

References

Howell,S.E., Perry,H.L., & Vile,M. (2004). Black cities/white cities: Evaluating the police.Political Behavior,26(1), 45-68.

Masters,R., Muscat,B.T., Dussich,J.P., Pincu,L., & Skrapec,C.A. (2011).CJ: Realities and challenges(2nded.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Meese III,E. (1993). Community policing and the police officer.National Institute of Justice, (15), 1-11. Retrieved from www.ncjrs.gov

Prono,L. (2013). Community policing. InSalem Press Encyclopedia. Ipswich, MA: EBSCO Publishing.

Sklansky,D.A. (2006). Not your father’s police department: Making sense of the new demographics of law enforcement.Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,96(3), 1209-1233.

Willis,C. (2002).NYPD: Stories of survival from the world’s toughest beat. New York, NY: Thunder Mouth Press.