Human rights have a range of meanings, depending on who is
answering. However, the rounded meaning refers to the fundamental rights of
human beings, and the basic freedoms that every single person has (Human Rights
Commission, 2008). Regardless of sex, religion, ethnicity, beliefs, or identity,
as stated in the (The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). Human rights are vital in order for
society to run peacefully with no discrimination, racism, sexism or rape. When
everyone in society respects the human rights of others, a safe community will
come as a result (Human
Rights in New Zealand, 2010). In this reflective piece I will discuss
human rights in various ways and evaluate why this theme of human rights is
important to my values and beliefs, and how the theme could be refocused in
society.
Human rights are often taken for granted in countries such
as New Zealand, or in developed countries, and when we have the basic human
rights it is easy to believe that everyone is given the same luxury. However,
that is not the case, it is important to remember that not all people are
afforded the same rights, even in New Zealand. New Zealand can be perceived to
be quite a liberal country, we have same sex marriage (Marriage Amendment Act,
2013), we were the first country to give women the vote, and we are even known
to be a ‘green’ country. So it may come as a surprise to some, to learn the
racist and sexist tendencies New Zealand still holds. The way New Zealand has
developed over the past years, our ethnic diversity as a country has grown
remarkably, and this then alters the social/traditional side of New Zealand. It
becomes more important than ever to have all citizens abiding by the human
rights amendment (Universal
Declaration of Human Rights 1948), and to protect New Zealand’s minorities from
various discriminatory aspects of society.
The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, was created to ensure everyone was treated the
same and equally. However, it only takes one person to turn on the news or to
read the newspaper to show how the world does not abide by these declarations. When
people think of sexism, a surprising amount of people, would most likely think
of the 1950’s when women would stay home and not work, have little to no say in
a marriage and be considered property of their husband. Many people, even
women, do not believe that sexism is still a key issue in society today. Just
looking back forty years to 1970 to the Women’s Liberation Conference in Oxford, can show how far we
are from complete equality of the sexes (Cole, 2012). The Women’s Liberation
Conference, discussed the need for things such as free birth control and the
right to abortions, around the clock child care, equal pay, the right to an
education and the rights of black women. It is easy to look at these demands
and to believe that for the most part they have been achieved, with more women
in the work place than ever, childcare being available and that women now get
the same education as men, in most first world countries. This however leaves a
lot not achieved yet… Including equal pay, despite the 1973 Equal Pay Act,
women still earn around 82% of the average male wage (Cole, 2012). The availability
of birth control and abortion is highly dependent on where you are in the world
and is still not as available and socially accepted as it should be. Birth
control is only free at places such as Family Planning, and abortions are still
discussed as something no women should do, and many religions try and take this
choice away from women. Yes, women’s rights have come an incredibly long way and
have changed in society, women can do an increasing number of things they could
not do, just thirty years ago. Although, in order for women’s human rights to
be properly respected, there must be no difference and complete equality within
the sexes.
This theme of human rights is important in relation to my
values, beliefs and identify. Human rights are important aspect of one’s day to
day life, and if they are not carried out properly one’s livelihood can be at
risk. Human rights are important to me because I believe that everyone deserves
to be not only treated the same and fairly, but also should have the same opportunities
and freedoms within society. In particular, women. As I identify myself as a
woman, I find it incredibly hard when any women are not treated with the
fairness and justice and equality that she deserves. Every time I hear a story
of rape, or when the women are blamed for the attacker’s violent behaviors, it
results in me becoming incredibly angry that situations like these are still
happening in society. Despite the Sex
Discrimination Act of 1975, and countless declarations of human rights stating
the equality between not only races but genders as well, men and women are far
from equal in society. This is an issue that should be addressed by today’s
society. In New Zealand, in order for men and women to become equals, society
needs to treat them like equals (Cole, 2012). For example, the wage gap between
men and women should become nonexistent, the encouragement of birth control for
women and less negative stigma surrounding abortion- allowing women to freely
make their choice without endless guilt, and finally to eradicate female slut
shaming. These issues need to be addressed by society today in order for society
to become fully functional and to eliminate sexism completely.
Regarding different disciplines
approach to human rights, it ranges incredibly throughout the differing disciplines.
In my discipline of being a social sciences student, I have learnt the different
ways that each class goes about teaching in relation to human rights. In
particular, psychology has addressed human rights. Psychology is the study of
the mind and the various behavior’s humans demonstrate on a day to day
basis, (Saul, 2011). Psychology looks at humans and their actions, they do
not look or discriminate regarding a person’s race, religion, sex or sexual
orientation. This is due to psychologists looking at humans as whole, rather
than discriminating against these aspects of humans. They look into and question
why things such as gender etc. might be contributing factors towards issues
within sexism, (Saul, 2011). Then they question why this might occur, and what
can be done to help this issue rather than discriminating against women. In comparison
to psychology, disciplines such as child labour do not address human rights at
all, children are worked tirelessly in terrible working conditions, making extremely
little money and this threatens the child’s mental and physical well-being. In
my opinion this is a discipline that could use some assertion of human rights
to be addressed.
To conclude, human rights play an extremely important role
in society, it is something that can often be taken for granted, as people can
become easily distracted by materialist items and become ungrateful for what
they already have. In comparison to many third world countries we are extremely
fortunate in New Zealand, although it is easy to forget. Human rights are import
at for everyone, and should be readdressed in countries who have forgotten that
we were all created equal and deserve to be treated the same.
Word count: 1320
Cole, M.
(2012). Introduction: Human rights, equality and education. In M. Cole (Ed.), Education,
Equality and Human Rights (pp. 1-8). Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge
Fault
Lines: Human rights in New Zealand. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Human Rights Commission. (2008). What are human rights? Retrieved 1st June 2016, from
Human
Rights in New Zealand. (2010). International
Human Rights Framework. Retrieved from
Joy, S. (2016, June 8). Census shows worrisome data on child
labour. Deccan Herald. Retrieved from
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/551146/census-shows-worrisome-data-child.html
McLeod, Saul. (2011). What
is psychology? Retrieved 3rd June 2016, from
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights 1948
