The Empowerment Of The Oppressed

THE EMPOWERMENT OF THE OPPRESSEDINTRODUCTIONEmpowermentandoppressionaretwotermswithverydistinctconnotationsthat,whenplacednexttooneother ,createanoxymoron.Couldtherebeaworldwherethetwotopicscollide?Canwe,ashumans,beginthestartofempoweringtheoppressed?Evenifwecannotphysicallyhaltpersecution,andevenifthereisaslimlikelihoodofchange,thesepeopleneedtobeheard.AsMartinLutherKing,Jroncesaid,theultimatetragedyisnottheoppressionand cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.GENDERInthis21stcentury ,manyaspectsandvisionsoflifehavechanged.Y et,inequalitytowardsacertaingenderstilloccursonmanyoccasions.Discriminationtowardsthefemalegenderisstillobviousatworkplaceswheretheyarebeinglookeddownon.Itissaidthat forevery100menpromotedtomanager ,only86womenarepromoted (MaggieW ooll,2021).W omen,especiallymothersarenotalwaysgiventhesameopportunities.Otherthanthat,manyunderagegirlsarebeingforcedintomarriagewitholdermen.AccordingtotheU.N.children sagency ,UNICEF ,morethan650millionwomenwhoarealivetodayweremarriedbeforetheageof18andin2016alone,another5.6milliongirlsundertheageof18becamechildbrides(W orldvision,2022).Girlsshouldbegiventhefreedomtodecidethecourseoftheirlife.Whenwethinkaboutdomesticviolence,usuallyweassumethatfemalesarethevictimsbutintherecentlightoftheJohnnyDeppversusAmberHeardcase,malesaretoounderstoodtobevictimsofdomesticviolence.Thiscasehasbeentheturningpointformalesurvivorstosharetheirstories(Marca,2022).Thus,inequalityamongstgendersshouldnolongerexistandeveryoneshouldbetreatedthesame.Peopleshouldbemoreawareofthesesituations and try to avoid them.RACERacismisanothernegativefactorthatrestrictsoursocietytogiveequalrightstopeopleofallskintones.Prejudice,bigotry ,andhostilityaimedagainstsomeonebecauseoftheirskincolourareallexamplesofracism.Racismisprominentlyevidentinthewaysocietytacklesthisongoingracialcrisis(KwateN.O.2014).OneofthemostcommonactsofracismthatopposesathreattotheminoritiesisRacialassaultandharassment.T oavastmajorityofpeople,Racismiscommonlyrelatedtoactionsofviolenceandabuse.However ,racialharassmentdoesnotalwayshavetobeviolentorscaryinnature.Thebestwaytodelineatethisphenomenonistoconsidertheuseofracistslursandjokesthatlingersthroughoutourdailylife.Eventhemost"harmless"racialjokecanaddontothatperpetuation.(Sibbitt,R.1997).Eventhejusticesystemisunfairtowardspeopleofcolour .AccordingtotheUniversityofMichiganLawSchool,blackmaleswhocommitthesamecrimesaswhitemenwillbesentencedtoaharsherprisonsentence(Starr ,SonjaB.2014).African-Americanadultsare5.9timesmorelikelytobejailed,whileHispanicadultsare3.1timesmorelikely(TheSentencingProject,2018).Generallyspeaking,racismwillneverceasetoexistwithinour society if the privileged groups are not wary of how serious the situation is.RELIGIONSociety sperceptiononreligionshavenegativelyimpactedtherelationshipbetweenpeoplefromdif ferentreligiousgroupsduetolackofknowledge,leadingtodiscriminationandpersecution.IfwetravelbackintimetotheV ictorianera, mostV ictorianswereChristians.Thus,thereexistcertainprejudicesagainstreligionsotherthanChristianity .Muslims,forexample,wereportrayedas"filthy ,illiterate,andmostevil"(Hurst,2014).Incomparisontotoday'sworld,notmuchofthatmindsethaschanged.ThiswasseeninChina'scurrentcrisisin2017;Xinjiang'smodern-dayconcentrationcamps,whichimprisonedover3millionUighurMuslims,engaginginrelentlessindoctrination,systematicsexualassault,andharshphysicalpunishmentssuchasfingernailrippingandforcedabortions(Rubio.M,2019).Thisdemonstratesthat,ratherthanimproving,religiousawarenessseemstobedeteriorating.Astudyhasproventhatgenerationzistheleastreligious.AccordingtoPewResearch,athirdofindividualsdonothaveareligiousaf filiation,whichissimilartoMillennials,comparedto23percent,17percent,and1 1percentforGenerationX,BabyBoomers,andtheSilentGeneration(Parker ,K,Graf,N,&Igielnik.R,2019).Foraslongasitisnecessary ,peopleofallreligionshavefaceddiscrimination.Forexample,requiringadresscodethatprohibitspeoplefromwearingreligiousclothing:MuslimwomenwearinghijabsorSikhmenwearingturbans;prohibitingthewearingofsacredreligiousitems:Sikhs'karasymbolicbraceletorChristians'crucifixnecklace;andrequiringpeopletoworkonreligiousdays:MuslimsduringRamadan,JewsonSaturday ,orChristiansonSunday(Morris,D.2022).Asaresultofignoranceandimmaturity ,interactionsbetweenmembersofdiversereligiousgroupsarestrained, resulting in inequality .APPEARANCESCritiqueonappearancescanaf fectanindividualmentallyandphysically .Individualsqualificationsinworkandpersonalitiesarebeingoverlooked.Astudyconductedin2013wheretheeducation,workexperience,language,andcomputerabilitiesof10,000applicantswereequalforeachtypeofjobof fer ,withtheexceptionofname,nationality ,sex,race,andphotographs.30percentCVsreceivedcallbackswithattractivemen47percentandwomen54percentreceivedmorejobof ferscomparedtounattractiveindividuals(Busetta,G.,etal.,2013).Anotherexperimentwasdonewhereyoungwomenandtheirmotherschooseamong3picturesofmalesbasedonlooksandtrustworthinesstobetheirdaughter spotentialboyfriend.Resultshaveshownthatwomenpayalittlemoreattentiontoattractiveness(Nierenber g,C.,2017).Peopleshoulddressinwaysthatfascinatethem.Inthe1920s,Gilette,ashavingmanufacturer ,statedthatwomenwhodonotshaveareunattractiveandunfeminine(Jazmin,R.,2020).MenandwomenworeclothingwithnumerouslayersandslimfitsizesthroughouttheV ictorianera(Sydel,S.,2021).Inthemodernperiodnow ,peoplecanexpresshowtheystylethemselves,appearancewise.Humanvalidationshouldbeavoidedatallcosts.Self-esteemisahugefactorinwhypeopleusedatingapps(Dixom,S.,2022)whichshowshowpeoplewanttobeaccepted.Beingcalledoutonhow'bad'theylookseveraltimescanhaveanegativeimpactonaperson'smentalhealth.Suchasgoingonstrictdietsinordertomeetbeautystandards,whichcanleadtoeatingdisorderssuchasBulimiaNervosacausedbyfeelingguiltyforeatingandvomitingaftereating,leadingtomedicalcomplicationssuchasthroatbleedingfrompushingyourfingersdownyourthroat.whichcanleadtoheartfailure(HarrisCountyPsychiatricCenter ,n.d.).Peopleshouldconstantlyrespecttheirflaws,becausesomeoneelsemayadmirethem.Furthermore,peopleshouldrecognisesomeone sef forts as they also push working companies forward.POVER TYMostpeoplebelievethatpovertyisanunsolvableproblemandthatanypriorattemptsatsolvingitwerefailuresbecauseitisanabhorrentandunjustsituationthathasalwaysplaguedhumanity .Itiscommonthatlowerincomeindividualswillexperiencehigherratesofillness,diseaseanddisabilitiesastheywouldnothaveenoughfundstotreatthemorseekmedicalhelp.Thisisalsorelatedtotheproblemofpovertyunderasocialandeconomiclight(KotlerP ,LeeR.N,.2009).Thelifestylebetweentherichandthepoorisastronomicallydif ferentaspovertyisconsideredasocialchallenge.Asexamples,twocountriessuchasIndiaandtheUnitedKingdomaretwodif ferentsituationswhereoneisathirdworldcountryandanotherisafirstworldcountry(KrugmanP ,.2014).Someofthereasonswhypovertyshouldbeasocietalfocusisaspovertyisoneofthebiggesttopicsthatoftengetsdisregardedinsociety .Thisviciouscycleofpovertymeansthatlifelongbarriersandtroublesarepassedonfromonegenerationtothenext.Povertyencompassesvarietyofissuesbeyondincomeinequality ,includingthedenialofeconomicandsocialrights,instability ,discrimination,exclusionandhelplessnessbeacauseofthisintimesofeconomicdif ficulty ,humanrightsshouldnotonlynotbeneglectedbutalsobegivenevenmoreattention(KhanI.,2010).Therefore,societymustnotoverlookthisdevastatingissuethatisbeingexperiencedbypeoplefromallaroundtheworld.W emusttrytomaketheworldabetterplaceforthefuturegenerationssothattheycan live a more peaceful and healthy life.CONCLUSIONAgain,itmaynotbepossibleforushumanstophysicallyhaltpersecution,butitisimportantthatwerecognizethatweliveinasocietywheregendersarepittedagainstoneanother ,wherethecolourofourskinmatters,whereourfaithisabother ,wherethelookonourfaceisthecatcher ,andwheretheamountofmoneywehavegivesuspower ,butwhatwealsohaveto recognise is that, we shall always bleed the same colour .(word count: 1500)REFERENCEBetterup (2021) Gender Inequality In The Workplace: The Fight Against Bias.Retrieved from:https://www .betterup.com/blog/gender -inequality-in-the-work-placeBusetta, G., Fiorillo, F ., & Visalli, E. (2013) Searching for a job is a beauty contest.Retrieved from:https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/49392/2/MPRA_paper_49392.pdfDixom, S. (2022) Most popular reasons for users in the United States to use online datingwebsites or apps as of May 2021,Retrieved from:https://www .statista.com/statistics/976189/reasons-why-adults-use-dating-websites-apps-usa/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20survey%20of,than%20five%20in%20ten%20respondentsHarris County Psychiatric Center (n.d.) Eating Disorders.Retrieved from:https://hcpc.uth.edu/pages/wimi/eating-dis.htmHurst (2014)Islamophobia in Victorian Britain.Retrieved from:https://www .hurstpublishers.com/islamophobia-in-victorian-britain/Jazmin, R. (2020) (Un)popular opinion: Do