Women’s Lives, Women’s Rights: The Global Crisis We Cannot Ignore
A Life of Privilege—and a Duty to Speak Out
I have lived a life of privilege in a society where my education and opportunities to contribute to others are respected and acknowledged. But most women in the world are not as fortunate.
The horrendous injustices and abuses that the majority of women endure—and which are often tolerated or perpetuated—have troubled me all my life.
The Global Spectrum of Gender Inequity
The inequities women suffer span a devastating spectrum:
- Healthcare Neglect: Women’s medical care often ignores unique female physiology, leading to misdiagnoses and inadequate treatment.
- Sexual Violence: Rape remains a weapon of war. Survivors who escape their captors are often rejected by their own communities, as are the children born of rape.
- Denied Rights: In many societies, women are forbidden to own property, vote, drive, or travel freely. They’re compelled to conceal their bodies entirely, as though their beauty were an irresistible trap for men.
- Horrific Punishments: Women face brutal consequences for violating social customs, including stoning and honor killings.
- Economic Inequality: Even in advanced nations, women continue to earn less than men for the same work.
- Basic Survival Threats: In the world’s poorest regions, women are denied nutrition, education, and even basic healthcare.
Gender Bias Begins Before Birth
The assumption that women are somehow the “less valuable” sex appears even in science. Until recently, it was believed that female development in the womb happened “by default,” while male development required active genetic and hormonal processes.
New research shows that female fetal development is an active, highly regulated process, with unique gender-specific biology.
Even the United States Is Not Immune
Americans must not be smug about their treatment of women. Shockingly:
- The U.S. ranks among the ten most dangerous countries in the world for women.
- Maternal mortality in America is the highest among developed nations.
- Black women in the U.S. suffer a maternal death rate of 43.5 per 100,000 live births, compared to 12.7 per 100,000 for white women.
A Growing Movement Toward Justice
There are signs of progress. Around the world:
- Women are finding the courage to report sexual abuse, even when facing threats to their careers.
- Scandals like Tokyo Medical University’s deliberate lowering of women’s exam scores have exposed systemic discrimination, sparking reforms.
- The feminist movement, once slow and hard-won, is gathering momentum, demanding equal rights and transparency.
Why Women’s Well-Being Matters for Us All
The savage, multifaceted disregard of society for women has produced a tremendous loss of talent and potential from which humanity should have benefitted. Societies that ignore the well-being and rights of women pay a steep price in stunted progress, weakened economies, and social injustice.
We must continue this fight. The penalty for societies that ignore the importance of women’s well-being should be as draconian as governments can make it.
About the author: Marianne J. Legato, M.D., Ph.D. (hon. c.), F.A.C.P. is Emerita Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins.